uth Blasco, researcher at the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), has participated in an article published in the Journal of Microscopy in which three analysis techniques to study cut marks on bones have been compared for the first time: the Confocal Laser Microscope, 3D digital Microscopy and micro-photogrammetry, concluding that, with certain adjustments, they are all equally suitable for the creation of high-resolution sections and 3D models, which would facilitate future analyses of the taphonomic alterations of bones at Prehistoric sites.

The study of the cut marks on the bones is vitally important for the interpretation of slaughter processes at Prehistoric sites. However, it is not always easy to differentiate the cut marks from others generated by other phenomena or agents. That is why there is vast literature establishing several criteria for their description and classification, as well as the application of microscopic analysis and 3D techniques.

Based on the analysis of 26 experimental samples, this work, led by Maté-González, from the Polytechnic School of Ávila and the University of Salamanca, has demonstrated that the techniques used produce statistically similar results and could be equally valid for the study of the modifications found on bone surfaces.

"Despite the fact that it is possible to observe small differences, the general results indicate that these methods, which are not related a priori, can produce statistically indistinguishable results", states Ruth Blasco, specialist in Taphonomy, who has used the Confocal Laser Microscope pertaining to the Laboratory of Microscopy and Microcomputed Tomography to analyze the samples.

Besides the Confocal Laser Microscope, the study compares other equipment and techniques, such as the 3D Digital Microscope at the Institut català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES) in Tarragona, and the micro-photogrammetry developed at the Polytechnic School of Ávila. The latter is particularly noteworthy, as it proves to have a similar high resolution as microscopy but at a low cost. Just like the other equipment, this technique brings together aspects such as the morphology, the depth, the width and an estimate of the angle to ultimately create sections of cut marks.

"The compatibility of the three methods and the possibility of creating high-resolution 3D models using any of the techniques will, without a doubt, facilitate future analyses of the taphonomic alterations of bones at Prehistoric sites", concludes Ruth Blasco.