Artefact Analysis & Assemblage Assessment: an overview
Every artefact tells a story. We record it carefully.
Artefact analysis is the post-fieldwork work through which archaeological material recovered during heritage surveys, watching briefs and excavations is examined, classified, interpreted and assessed for cultural significance. The quality of that analysis shapes the quality of the heritage record. A well-documented assemblage analysis meets regulatory requirements and adds to the understanding of Aboriginal cultural heritage in WA.
Trace Archaeology's analysts work with assemblages from across WA, from stratified deposits in the Pilbara and Kimberley to surface scatters in the Goldfields and coastal sites in the south-west. Our analyses cover lithic technology, raw material identification, assemblage characterisation, chronology and significance, written clearly for the Traditional Owners, proponents and regulators who rely on them.
What is involved
Our artefact analysis services cover what excavated and collected assemblages typically require. We conduct lithic artefact analysis, classifying stone tools, flakes, cores and debitage by technology, raw material, reduction sequence and functional category, and assessing what the assemblage shows about the past activities, mobility and technological traditions of the people who made and used them. We use portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) for non-destructive raw material sourcing, identifying the geological origins of stone tools and patterns of movement and exchange across the landscape.
Where assemblages need more specialised analysis, use-wear analysis can identify the activities artefacts were used for, residue analysis can detect organic materials associated with tool use, and radiocarbon or optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating can establish the age of deposits and assemblages.
Artefact Analysis & Assemblage Assessment in the field
All artefact analysis undertaken by Trace Archaeology is conducted in accordance with AACAI guidelines and the relevant curation and storage requirements of the DPLH. Our assemblage reports are structured to meet regulatory requirements while communicating findings clearly and accessibly to Traditional Owners, proponents and decision-makers alike.
Trace Archaeology is a division of Trace Enterprises, which brings heritage, environmental and planning specialists together under one roof.
See the artefact recovery and recording from our test excavations at Greenbushes.
More Aboriginal Archaeology & Anthropology services
Every artefact tells a story. We record it carefully.
Artefact analysis is the post-fieldwork work through which archaeological material recovered during heritage surveys, watching briefs and excavations is examined, classified, interpreted and assessed for cultural significance. The quality of that analysis shapes the quality of the heritage record. A well-documented assemblage analysis meets regulatory requirements and adds to the understanding of Aboriginal cultural heritage in WA.
Trace Archaeology's analysts work with assemblages from across WA, from stratified deposits in the Pilbara and Kimberley to surface scatters in the Goldfields and coastal sites in the south-west. Our analyses cover lithic technology, raw material identification, assemblage characterisation, chronology and significance, written clearly for the Traditional Owners, proponents and regulators who rely on them.
Our artefact analysis services cover what excavated and collected assemblages typically require. We conduct lithic artefact analysis, classifying stone tools, flakes, cores and debitage by technology, raw material, reduction sequence and functional category, and assessing what the assemblage shows about the past activities, mobility and technological traditions of the people who made and used them. We use portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) for non-destructive raw material sourcing, identifying the geological origins of stone tools and patterns of movement and exchange across the landscape.
Where assemblages need more specialised analysis, use-wear analysis can identify the activities artefacts were used for, residue analysis can detect organic materials associated with tool use, and radiocarbon or optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating can establish the age of deposits and assemblages.
All artefact analysis undertaken by Trace Archaeology is conducted in accordance with AACAI guidelines and the relevant curation and storage requirements of the DPLH. Our assemblage reports are structured to meet regulatory requirements while communicating findings clearly and accessibly to Traditional Owners, proponents and decision-makers alike.
Trace Archaeology is a division of Trace Enterprises, which brings heritage, environmental and planning specialists together under one roof.
See the artefact recovery and recording from our test excavations at Greenbushes.
Every heritage, environmental and planning project starts with the right conversation.
Tell us what you are planning and where. We'll tell you what assessments and approvals it needs, who should be involved and what happens next.