Striation marks are formed when the cutting edge of the tool is slid against a surface.

• A. When the cutting edge of the tool is slid against a surface
• B. When the tool is heated
• C. When the tool is dropped on a surface
• D. When the tool is polished

Answer: (A)

Striation marks come from the mechanical action of a sharp edge moving across a surface. As the cutting edge slides, it scrapes and displaces tiny surface features, leaving parallel, directional scratches that reflect the tool’s movement, edge angle, and wear. This sliding contact creates the distinctive striations used in tool-mark analysis to infer how the tool interacted with the surface.

If the tool is heated, the marks would not be the same; heat can soften materials or alter surface texture in ways that don’t produce the clean, directional striations seen with sliding edge contact. Dropping or impact would create different forms of damage like pits, cracks, or impression marks rather than the fine, elongated scratches. Polishing smooths the surface and can erase or diminish striations, rather than creating them.