An Experimental Approach on Pearl Shell ( Pinctada margaritifera ) for a Microwear Study of Shell Artefacts From French Polynesia

Pinctada margaritifera (black‐lipped pearl oyster) artefacts are ubiquitous in the archaeological record throughout the Pacific and particularly in Polynesia. Despite efforts towards the development of typologies, the lack of microwear and use‐wear studies has prevented the development of technological approaches. We used 20 pearl shell valves to test, examine and create a reference for the development of microwear traces and to test proposed chaîne opératoires of Polynesian pearl shell tools. Experimental actions include removing the outer shell, the proteinaceous periostracum and prismatic layers, sawing, percussion, filing, cutting and drilling. Results indicate pearl shell is hard and time‐consuming to work, with some materials more effective than others in working it, including pearl shell and sea urchin spines for grooving, vesicular basalt with a slurry of sand and water for abrasion, Carcharhinus melanopterus tooth for perforation or cutting, and Pocillopora coral for filing.