A description of residues and their distribution on experimental
tools can be found in table 82.
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C u ttin g and slicing leaves (Table 59)
The m ajo r use w ear to re s u lt from c u ttin g (across th e g rain ) or slicing (along th e grain ) leaves w as edge frac tu rin g . It ten d e d to consist of a few sm all fra c tu re s sc a tte re d along edges (P late 120). O nly low p ercen tag es of th e m ean edge len g th
s u s ta in e d frac tu rin g . M ost fra c tu re s w ere of th e sn ap a n d fe a th e r v a rie ty , a lth o u g h som e step fra c tu re s did occur. No a rte fa c ts
su s ta in e d m ore th a n te n fra c tu re s, even a fte r as m uch as 20 m in u te s of continuous use. No edge polish w as seen, even on th e chalcedony a rte fa c t (chalcedony su sta in e d polish in o th er
ex perim ents). T he w ear produced on th ese e x p erim en tal tools w ould probably n o t be recognised as such am ong th e G ra m a n a rte fa c ts u n less u se re la te d resid u es w ere also p re s e n t.
All e x p erim e n tal tools re ta in e d resid u es on th e ir su rfaces a t th e conclusion of th e experim ents. All tools h a d p la n t tissu e (cellulose an d lignin) on a n d ad jacen t to th e u tilise d edge, often sm e are d in th e d irectio n of use m otion. O th e r resid u es found w ere p la n t fibres, sta rc h g ra in s an d resin o u s su b stan ces. C u ttin g an d slicing p la n t stem s (Table 60)
All tools u se d to cut or slice p la n t stem s su sta in e d edge fra c tu rin g , th e m a jo rity h a d m ore th a n te n fra c tu re s p e r edge. F ra c tu rin g occurred along m ore th a n one th ird of th e le n g th of m o st edges , w ith th e average scar ab o u t one m m in w idth. E dges w hich s u s ta in e d m ore th a n te n fra c tu re s ten d e d to have la rg e r scars a n d a g re a te r p ercen tag e of th e ir edge le n g th fractu red . O th e r th a n fra c tu re n u m b ers th e re w as g en erally little v a ria tio n b etw een lig h tly or h eav ily fra c tu re d edges. M ost fra c tu re s w ere sn a p s or h a d fe a th e r term in a tio n s.
Tip tra n s v e rs e sn ap p in g w as also q u ite comm on am ong th ese tools. All tra n s v e rs e sn ap s h a d in itia tio n s on th e face of th e edge.
P la n t tis su e a n d sta rc h g rain s w ere found on th e w orking edges of all tools u se d w h ilst p la n t fibre an d re s in w as found on 60% of edges. T he flax-like fibres of th e rice flow er (Pimelea )
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w ere p a rtic u la rly noticeable an d u n iq u e in th e ir physical
a p p ea ra n c e am ong fibres produced d u rin g p la n t w orking (P late 121). Such fibres w ere n o t observed on any of th e arte fac ts ex cav ated from G ram an , n o r have th ey been recorded am ong m acroscopic p la n t re m a in s recovered from th e site. T h a t o th er form s of fibrous p la n t m a te ria l have survived on tools an d in
deposits a t G ram an , su g g ests t h a t Pimelea sp. m ay n o t have b een w orked a t th e sites.
S crap in g p la n t stem s (Table 61)
S crap in g woody p la n t stem s re s u lte d in a differen t w e ar p a tte r n to t h a t produced w h ilst cu ttin g th e leaves a n d stem s of su ch p la n ts .
A lth o u g h th e m a in form of w ear w as edge frac tu rin g , edge ro u n d in g w as common, a n d th e m ajor fra c tu re type produced w as of th e step v ariety . M ost of th ese frac tu re s w ere a ro u n d one m m in w id th an d on m ost tools less th a n 20% of th e edge len g th w as frac tu re d . O nly one edge h a d m ore th a n te n frac tu re s and
g e n erally fra c tu re n u m b ers w ere low. D espite sim ilar periods of use, edges u se d to scrape stem s su sta in e d less edge fra c tu rin g th a n those u se d for stem cutting.
P la n t fibres survived on all of these tools, in c o n tra st to th e c u ttin g im p le m e n ts u sed on p la n t stem s. P la n t tissu e , sta rc h g ra in s a n d resin o u s m a te ria l w ere also found on th e tool edges. No sta rc h g ra in s could be found on tools used to w ork rice flow er
(.Pimelea sp.) b u t th ey w ere common on tools used to w ork b u lru s h
(Typha ) an d g ra ss tree (.Xanthorrhoea ).
S crap in g b a rk (Table 62)
S im ilar w e ar fea tu res to those of th e p la n t stem scrap in g tools w ere found on those used for scraping b ark , a lth o u g h b a rk scrap in g w e a r a p p e a rs to be som ew hat m ore pronounced.
Edge fra c tu rin g occurred on every u tilise d tool. N early 50% of edges h a d te n or m ore fractu res. More th a n 30% of tools
sustained edge rounding, although on half of these it was only slight.
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Artefacts with ten or more fractures per edge tended to have been utilised for a longer period than those with small numbers of fractures. These artefacts also had a higher percentage of their edge length fractured than artefacts with less than ten fractures per edge. Bending
fractures with feather term inations were dominant on most edges but large num bers of step term inated fractures were also present (Plate 122).
Only the chalcedony artefact sustained edge bevelling and striations during use (Plate 123). The chalcedony appeared to be softer th an th a t used prehistorically at Graman and the edge became bevelled within a very short time. Longer utilisation, had it been possible, would probably have resulted in polish formation on the bevelled edge. No bevelling or polish was observed on any silcrete tools.
P lant fibres and/or tissue were found on all used edges (Plate 122). Starch grains and gum or resin were found on about half of the tool edges. Most of the resins or gums were red/brown in colour except for the orange resin of kurrajong (Brachychiton
populneus ) bark. No starch grains were seen in residues on tool
edges used to work blackwood (A. melanoxylon ), grey box (.E.
mollucana ), apple box (E. bridgesiana ), or red gum (E. blakelyi )
barks.
Scraping medium density timber (Table 63)
Use w ear from scraping medium density tim ber was more pronounced th an th a t resulting from woody stem and bark
scraping. Over half the edges sustained ten or more fractures, and half sustained edge rounding. Edge fractures were generally larger th an those produced during stem and bark scraping and most edges had over 40% of their length fractured. Feather term inated fractures were dominant on most edges (Plate 125).
Edges with ten or more fractures tended to have been used for longer periods than those with less than ten fractures. This
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