Revisiting Bone Grease Rendering in Highly Fragmented Assemblages

Abstract

<jats:p>Bone grease rendering is a low-return activity well described in the ethnohistorical and ethnographic literature. However, identifying this activity in archaeological contexts is complex because diagnostic criteria are few. The goals of this article are twofold: (1) to provide new experimental data on bone grease manufacture for assemblages associated with severe fragmentation, and (2) to assess how these data can be used to make stronger inferences about skeletal fat processing in the archaeological record. The results presented here show that, despite some variation, several forms of damage appear to be diagnostic of bone grease manufacture, regardless of the degree of fragmentation. The results indicate that extensive pounding produces many fragments that can be identified as deriving from articular ends, which conflicts with the oft-cited notion that articular ends are destroyed “beyond recognition” during this activity. Consequently, assemblages with few epiphyseal remains are not consistent with bone grease rendering, assuming that the comminuted fragments were not burned or discarded off-site after boiling. Because bone grease manufacture produces many small fragments, a close analysis of the indeterminate remains is strongly recommended, as is the use of fine mesh screens (2 mm or smaller) in excavations.</jats:p>

A refitting experiment on long bone identification

“…Future research should investigate whether these processes impact the identification of skeletal elements differentially. Fragmentation of bones by people at archaeological sites may also have been considerably more intensive than simulated in this experiment, including when bones are rendered for grease (e.g., Church & Lyman, 2003; Janzen et al, 2014; Morin, 2020; Morin & Soulier, 2017; Outram, 2001). Further research on the impact of density‐mediated attrition on the identifiability of different skeletal elements for animals of various sizes and from various taxa is warranted.…”

Human consumption of large herbivore digesta and its implications for foraging theory

“…Granting that commercially reared animals are fattier on average than their wild counterparts, even a wild bison with subcutaneous and visceral fat totaling just half of Hauer's 24 estimate (~15 lbs) would provide ~61,000 calories from fat, enough to sustain a group of 25 adult foragers for 3.5 days at the USDA's high-end recommendation for daily fat consumption (35% of total calories). Additionally, organ fats, marrow, and bone grease were important sources of lipids in some ethnographic and archaeological contexts, [35][36][37][38] and brain tissue is especially rich in essential fatty acids including Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). 39 In addition to seasonal changes in fat stores and muscle mass, animals' nutritional constitution varies according to their size, reproductive status, species, and geographical location (a proxy for forage quality and availability), which is a further barrier to quantitative modeling of nutrition-minded foraging.…”

Zooarchaeology of Mission Santa Clara de Asìs: Bone Fragmentation, Stew Production, and Commensality

“…First, cancellous bone is broken, occasionally pulverized, into fragments < 5 cm. (Church and Lyman 2003;Lupo and Schmitt 1997;Morin 2020;Saint-Germain 1997). The fragments are then boiled, the liquid is left to simmer from 3-8 hr, and the grease is skimmed from the surface.…”