This thesis explores the life of gunflints from Dutch cargo ship and mercantile contexts, and from a military Nepalese British context through a use-wear and contextual perspective. Typological...Show moreThis thesis explores the life of gunflints from Dutch cargo ship and mercantile contexts, and from a military Nepalese British context through a use-wear and contextual perspective. Typological assessment and microscopic analysis of micro-wear and residue are employed in tracing the origin, the use-wear, the use-life and death of gunflints from these archaeological contexts. Experimental material is employed for comparative analysis of the use-wear. The resulting conclusions focus on the relationship between the use-wear and the historical contexts of the samples; the adequacy of high-power analytical techniques for use-wear analysis of gunflints and the limitations imposed by current lack of standardisation across this field of study. Analysis by the high-power approach has shown that use-wear varies in manifestation and degree across flint type, whose state and hence study is impacted by depositional factors. Furthermore, a cross-referencing of past publications has highlighted key issues in the modern study of historical gunflints. Finally, a methodology is proposed for the analysis and data collection of distinctive morphological features.Show less
