Cercopithecoides williamsi, a Plio-Pleistocene primate, is believed to have been a terrestrial colobine monkey. Dental microwear analysis of C. williamsi specimens from South African cave sites was employed to test these assumptions. Analysis of the features shows that although the microwear signature of C. williamsi is similar to that of folivorous primates, there are also similarities with terrestrial papionins. Overall, the dental microwear analysis demonstrates that C. williamsi could have indeed been a folivorous, terrestrial monkey. A high amount of puncture pits also points to a substantial amount of grit in the diet. Similarities between the microwear features of C. williamsi and Cebus apella indicate that fruit or hard objects could have been a supplemental food of C. williamsi. The consumption of underground storage organs covered in grit would explain the heavy pitting of C. williamsi teeth. Being terrestrial, C. williamsi would have been in direct competition with terrestrial papionins.

For a long time, research of bone industry in archeology was disorganized and mostly limited for classification according to the tools' shape, from which the function was deduced. This method was frequently imprecise and complicated for bone artifacts as well as for chipped stone artifacts. In the last few decades, scientists have tried to apply to the bone industry microwear analysis, which was then successfully applied to the chipped industry. Microwear analysis can help us recognize usewear traces and give information about the manufacturing and functioning of the tools. Using microscopes can prove which artifacts were manufactured by humans and which were simply broken in order to get marrow, and which were bitten by predators. The goal of this research is to expose the functions of tools and artifacts, which are previously unclear, by use of experimental archeology and use-wear analysis, primarily for artefacts known as bone skates (or bone ice skates), which are classified only according to their shape (and often incorrectly). In many foreign countries, the method and application of microwear analysis is increasingly popular. However, in the Czech Republic, it is largely overlooked. Therefore, we would like to extend the sample of possible contact materials and contribute to the progress of...

Polished-edge discoidal knives are part of the lithic material culture from the British Isles with an approximate Late Neolithic date. These artefacts are manufactured in three basic shapes: circular to D-shaped, triangular, and broad leaf to lozenge (Clark 1929). The aim of this project was to explore the function of polished-edge discoidal knives. To achieve this aim, the following objectives were completed: Objective 1: Develop a broad understanding of the literature surrounding polished-edge discoidal knives; Objective 2: Develop a database containing all the available information regarding the known knives for study in this project and as a tool to help further research and select archaeological samples for study based on type, condition, find location, and current location; Objective 3: Understand how these tools were used; and Objective 4: Review all data and produce a narrative about polished-edge discoidal knives’ function in Late British Neolithic Society. This project has revealed that these knives were possibility used for activities involving birch bark, clay, or other wood types. This research has also produced a database of knives, a modern distribution map, a revised typology, an archaeological date and possible contexts, and an object itinerary.