Bone surface modifications in zooarchaeology

Fisher, John W.

doi:10.1007/bf02228434

Cited by 569 publications

(308 citation statements)

References 99 publications

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“…The guidelines of Binford (1981), Greenfield (2004), and Greenfield & Kolska-Horwitz (2012) were used to identify cut marks. Since small-sized carnivore elements can demonstrate species-specific skinning marks (Trolle-Lassen 1987), an actualistic study of the skinning of foxes, badgers, polecats, pine martens, stone martens, and weasels (Val and Mallye The nature and quantity of all surface modifications originating from carnivore and rodent gnawing, digestion (Lyman 1994a;Fisher 1995), subaerial weathering (Behrensmeyer 1978), and burning were studied.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small carnivores from a Late Neolithic burial chamber at Çatalhöyük, Turkey: pelts, rituals, and rodents

Pawłowska

Marciszak

2017

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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Results derived from the analysis of small carnivores from a burial chamber at the Late Neolithic Çatalhöyük (TP Area) shed light on the socioeconomic significance of stone martens (Martes foina), red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), and common weasels (Mustela nivalis). All of these are fur-bearing animals, though only the stone marten remains to show evidence that this animal was exploited for its pelt. The evidence consists of the observed skeletal bias (only the head parts and foot bones were present) and skinning marks. Two of five sets of articulated feet are most likely linked with an almost completely preserved human infant skeleton, one of two well-preserved skeletons that were interred on the burial chamber floor. In contrast to these, other human skeletons were found mostly incompletely preserved, though with evidence of articulation. It seems that the articulated forepaws were deliberately incorporated into the structure, most likely as a part of burial practice and ritual behavior. These distinctive deposits, along with rich grave goods, emphasize the uniqueness in the entire Anatolian Neolithic of the assemblage from the burial chamber, which is decorated by a panel incised with spiral motifs.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small carnivores from a Late Neolithic burial chamber at Çatalhöyük, Turkey: pelts, rituals, and rodents

Pawłowska

Marciszak

2017

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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“…The identification of both taphonomic and anthropogenic marks was based on criteria defined in the literature (e.g. d 'Errico 1991;Fisher 1995;Villa and d'Errico 2001;d'Errico and Henshilwood 2007). Identification of shaping techniques and use wear (including diagnostic impact fractures) is based on comparison with experimental replication of manufacture and use (Newcomer 1974;d'Errico et al 1984;d'Errico and Backwell 2003;Villa et al 2009;Yaroshevich et al 2010), as well as previously published examples of similar artefacts (J.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Poison arrows and bone utensils in late Pleistocene eastern Africa: evidence from Kuumbi Cave, Zanzibar

Langley

Prendergast

Shipton

et al. 2016

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

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Most of our current knowledge of late Pleistocene African bone technology is drawn from southern African sites, with recent discoveries indicating that bone-and stone-tipped arrows (propelled by a bow) were in use prior to 60,000 years BP. Integration of archaeological with ethnographic data similarly suggests that hunting with poison-tipped arrows on the African continent has an antiquity of at least 24,000 years. Unfortunately, similar analysis of material from eastern Africa is largely absent and consequently, with the sole exception of barbed points, we know very little regarding osseous technology in this region and how similar or dissimilar it is to contexts located further south. This paper presents a small assemblage of seven bone artefacts recovered from the late Pleistocene deposits of Kuumbi Cave, Zanzibar. Comparison of the bone projectile points, a bone awl and a notched bone tube with ethnographic and archaeological material from throughout the Sub-Saharan region suggests that, as elsewhere in Africa, bone technology was a central element in the Later Stone Age material culture repertoire of Kuumbi Cave's inhabitants. It also suggests that arrow points coated with poison were in use in eastern Africa around 13,000 years BP.ABSTRAIT Actuellement, la plupart de nos connaissances concernant la technologie des os en Afrique à la fin du Pléistocène dérivent de sites d'Afrique australe, avec des découvertes récentes qui indiquent que les flèches avec des pointes en os ou en pierre, propulsées par un arc, étaient en usage avant 60,000 ans BP. En outre, l'intégration des données archéologiques et ethnographiques suggère que la chasse avec des flèches

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“…The metric attributes of complete faunal samples were recorded following standard dimensions, as suggested by von den Driesch (1976). It was also important to note the bone-surface modifications, as these provide one of the most secure confirmations of the involvement of humans with a bone assemblage (Voigt 1983;Fisher 1995;Manyanga 2000).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An archaeological study of the Zimbabwe Culture capital of Khami, southwestern Zimbabwe

Mukwende¹

2016

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

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This study sought to understand the archaeology of the Zimbabwe Culture capital of Khami through synchronic and diachronic analyses of its material culture. The research employed a number of methodological approaches that included a review of historic documents, surveying and mapping, excavations, museum collection analysis, and artefact studies, in order to collect datasets from various sections of the site, including the walled and the nonwalled areas. The main indication is that there is a great deal of similarity in material culture distribution across the whole site. An analysis of objects by stratigraphic sequence exposes continuity and change in local and imported objects. Dry stone-wall architectural data suggests that the site was constructed over a long period, with construction motivated by a number of expansionary factors. The study confirms that Khami began as a fully developed cultural unit, with no developmental trajectory recorded at Mapungubwe or Great Zimbabwe, where earlier ceramic units influenced later ones. Consequently, this study cautiously suggests that Khami represents a continuity with the Woolandale chiefdoms that settled in the south-western parts of the country and in the adjacent areas of Botswana. On the basis of the chronological and material culture evidence, Khami is unlikely to have emerged out of Great Zimbabwe. However, more research is needed to confirm these emergent conclusions, and to better understand the chronological and spatial relationships between not just Woolandale and Khami sites but also Khami and the multiple Khami-type sites scattered across southern Zambezia.ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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Bone surface modifications in zooarchaeology

Cited by 569 publications

References 99 publications

Small carnivores from a Late Neolithic burial chamber at Çatalhöyük, Turkey: pelts, rituals, and rodents

Small carnivores from a Late Neolithic burial chamber at Çatalhöyük, Turkey: pelts, rituals, and rodents

Poison arrows and bone utensils in late Pleistocene eastern Africa: evidence from Kuumbi Cave, Zanzibar

An archaeological study of the Zimbabwe Culture capital of Khami, southwestern Zimbabwe

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