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9 Understanding the Function of Coral Tools from Anse à la Gourde An Experimental Approach Harold J. Kelly and Annelou L. van Gijn Introduction Coral objects are found throughout the Caribbean in archaeological excavations. A magnificent example is the mask from Anse à la Gourde (Hofman et al. 2001). Other examples are the zemis made of Acropora palmata and Porites sp. found at Golden Rock on St. Eustatius and several Saban sites (Hoogland 1996; Steenvoorden 1992). However, coral fragments also were collected as raw material for the manufacture of tools. Sometimes these pieces of coral were not further modified; sometimes they were shaped into standardized artifacts. These tools have been recognized for some time and reported by various researchers (e.g., Rostain 1997; Steenvoorden 1992). Coral tools that were reported included grinders, metates, and rasps, functions that were basically inferred from morphological characteristics of the artifacts and by means of analogy to tools whose function was known. So far, however, use-wear studies of these tools by means of microscopic analysis are lacking. In order to better understand the role of the coral tools in the technological system of the native peoples of the Caribbean islands, it was decided to examine a selection of tools for traces of wear (Kelly 2003). The tools derived from the site of Anse à la Gourde, a Saladoid-Troumassoid (a.d. 400–1400) site on Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe (Hofman et al. 1999; Hofman et al. 2001) (Figure 9.1). Tools of shell, flint, and hard stone from this site had already been microscopically studied, the results of which could be integrated with the study of the coral tools (Van Gijn et al. this volume). No experiments with the use of coral tools were yet available in the Laboratory for Artifact Analysis of Leiden University. A first objective of the present research 116 / Kelly and van Gijn was therefore to establish an experimental reference collection and to determine whether interpretable wear traces developed on the coral tools. The approach was subsequently applied to a selection of the coral tools from Anse à la Gourde. The second objective was to understand the role of coral in the technological system of the Amerindian inhabitants of Anse à la Gourde. Methodology and Sampling Use-wear traces on flint tools include use retouch, edge rounding, polish, and striations . Use retouch and rounding can be observed by stereomicroscope (Low Power microscopy), polish and striations by incident light microscope (High Power microscopy ) (Van Gijn 1990; Van Gijn et al. this volume). Initially, it was thought that it would only be possible to look at macroscopic use-wear traces like abrasion and breakages. It was assumed that use-wear polish and striations would not be visible, considering the coarseness of the coral. However, as it was not possible to distinguish the traces from the various contact materials by stereomicroscope , it was decided to attempt to use the incident light microscope, with magniFigure 9.1. Location of the site Anse à la Gourde on Guadeloupe. Function of Coral Tools from Anse à la Gourde / 117 fications of 100–560x. As it turned out from the experiments, the corallite ridges within the honeycomb structure of the coral behaved very much like other finegrained surfaces such as flint or shell, displaying clearly developed polishes with topographical features similar to the ones observed on flint tools (Van Gijn 1990). The topography and relative smoothness of the polish can be assessed within the spatial confines of these ridges. The only difficulty is that, in order to evaluate the extent, distribution type, and limit of the polished zones, one has to “jump” as it were from one ridge to the next to obtain an idea of the extent of the wear. Polish does not develop on the coarse-grained interstices between the corallite ridges. Contrary to our expectations, therefore, the macroscopic wear such as edge removals and rounding was sometimes difficult to distinguish. It was decided to concentrate on High Power analysis, using the stereomicroscope only to obtain an overall view of the macroscopic wear and to detect residue. The polish was described the same way as on flint tools, making use of the same attributes such as polish brightness, topography, directionality, and so forth. Problematic was the limit of the polish, in other words, whether it gradually fades out or whether the polish stops abruptly. This is because of the fragmented polish distribution : only on the corallite ridges. A few extra attributes were added to account for the specific physical properties of coral, the...

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