Is It Worth It? A Review of Plant Residue Analysis on Knapped Lithic Artifacts

Abstract

Residue analysis has become the go-to analysis for archaeologists in recent years. This review, focusing on the plant remains as residues from knapped lithic tools, has been carried out to understand the role of plant residues analyses in archaeological as well as associated experimental research, the advancements made in the field and the state of the art. Thirty-nine research papers starting from 1976 till 2020 have been analyzed critically in this review. In spite of numerous exemplary researches, it was observed that there are still many challenges to be overcome. The paper also makes a humble attempt at providing some suggestions for future research.