THE ARTIFACT AS SITE - AN EXAMPLE OF THE BIOMOLECULAR ANALYSIS OF ORGANIC RESIDUES ON PREHISTORIC TOOLS

The analysis of use-residues on tools using methods drawn from microsc opy, biochemistry, radiocarbon dating and molecular biology results in information which can be at least as informative as excavation-based reconstructions of past cultures. The analysis of a collection of tool s from a now destroyed site in north-western Canada yields species ide ntification of the residues, the age and task association of the tools , and necessitates a change to the reconstruction of the subsistence a nd economy of the late prehistoric period in the region.