Molecules on the Edge This project involves the determination of
blood residues on excavated stone tools from the archaic period
and assesses the impact of storage, handling, and washing on
molecular preservation. The materials that are the subject of
the research are from the Tuban Cave, Israel. The cave contains
evidence of more than 80,000 years of human occupation.
Determining if the adhering material on the tools contain
protein of lipids and if it is of human origin, this project
will result in the formulation of guidelines for archaeologists
and collection managers that optimize the preservation of such
information on excavated objects. In 1995, with funding from the
National Center for Preservation Technology and Training of the
National Park Service, examination was carried out of a
assemblage of stone tools excavated from several sites,
collectively called Barney Circle, along the Anacostia River in
Washington, D.C. Parallel experimentation was performed on a set
of experimental tools in order to ex