Abstract: This paper analyses the technology and technological procedures of burin manufacture and puts forward a hypothesis that the bevel-edge was the main uitilised edge of the beveled burin. There are some obsidian bevel-burins in the Dadong site in the Changbai Mountain region, Jilin province. It has been found that three kinds of micro-wear existed on the beveled edge of these burins, along with combinations of micro-wear. These wear traces are parallel lines, blunting of edges, and flake scarring. Experimental burins were made of obsidian raw materials with burin technology, and they were used to work different objects such as wood, leather, bamboo and antler. As the beveled edges are used for scraping and planing, the same three kinds of use-wear as found on the Dadong burins appear on the edges of the experimental tools. Therefore the hypothesis is confirmed that the beveled edge was the functional part of these burins. In addition, based on analysis of the smooth surfaces of worked antler, the bevel-burin’s main function is judged to be fine-scale work. This conclusion is reasonable enough to suggest the application of grinding in the origin of bone artifact technology.

Key words: Changbai Mountains; Obsidian; Burin; Tool function