Ground stone tools have only in the last few decades become a key area of archaeological inquiry. Even more recently use-wear studies of ground stone tools are beginning to gain interest. One thing missing for us researchers investigating use-wear are reference banks of use-wear images on various types of raw materials.

The purpose of this web site is to offer a reference bank of digital use-wear images from quartzite ground stone tools. The tools are from Tigrai, northern Ethiopia. While the majority of images are from grinding stones, other tools such as pestles and possibly hide working tools are also included.

There are also background pages (see below) that provide project information, raw material details, methods of data collection, use-wear by type (adhesive, abrasive, fatigue and tribochemical wear), and a few examples of interpretations of functions of particular tools. There are links to my applicable publications on grinding stones as well.

Perhaps in the future we will be able to add collaborators and their reference collections. Let’s talk!