An Experimental Study of the Anatomical Distribution of Cut Marks Created by Filleting and Disarticulation on Long Bone Ends

Analogical frameworks created through experimentation are a vital part of taphonomic studies for interpreting the archaeological record. Understanding the anatomical location of cut marks is crucial for interpreting the butchery behaviour of humans in the past, as well as for indirectly inferring the subsistence and economic function of archaeological sites. Two experimental/ethnoarchaeological studies have provided taphonomists with analogues to interpret filleting and disarticulation butchery behaviours from archaeofaunal assemblages. However, these analogues were made with limited control and both involved the use of metal knives. The present work provides the first systematic and controlled study of cut mark distribution on long bones made with stone tools, aimed at differentiating cut marks created by filleting or defleshing from those inflicted during disarticulation. It also studies the variability of cut mark distribution according to stone tool type (simple flakes, retouched flakes and handaxes). The results show some differences with previous studies made with metal tools and offer an updated analogue to interpret butchery (filleting, dismembering and skinning) from prehistoric contexts.     

Taphonomic identification of cut marks made with lithic handaxes: an experimental study

Recent experimental studies have developed new diagnostic criteria to differentiate between trampling and cut marks. Within cut marks, these diagnostic criteria have been useful to differentiate between marks made with simple and retouched flakes. The present study expands the application of these criteria using a multivariate analysis to discriminate marks created with handaxes from those made with stone tool flakes. A discriminant analysis resulted in a selection of specific variables, which can successfully differentiate cut marks made with handaxes from those created with retouched flakes in more than 80% of occasions. The utility of this analogical taphonomic signature created by handaxes is discussed in the light of their potential value as butchering tools.     

Factors affecting Early Stone Age cut mark cross-sectional size: implications from actualistic butchery trials

Early Stone Age cut marks are byproducts of hominins' tool-assisted animal carcass consumption and provide a potential avenue of inference into the paleoecology of hominin carnivory. If diagnostic cut mark characteristics can be linked to flake and core tool use or the completion of distinct butchery actions, it may be possible to infer ancient tool preferences, reconstruct the consumption of specific muscular tissues, and illuminate landscape-scale stone resource use. Recently, diagnostic morphological criteria including cut mark width and depth have been used to identify marks made by different classes of experimental and archaeological stone tools (Bello, S.M., Parfitt, S.A., Stringer, C., 2009. Quantitative micromorphological analyses of cut marks produced by ancient and modern handaxes. Journal of Archaeological Science 36: 1869–1880; de Juana, S., Galan, A.B., Dominguez-Rodrigo, M., 2010. Taphonomic identification of cut marks made with lithic handaxes: an experimental study. Journal of Archaeological Science 37: 1841–1850; Dominguez-Rodrigo, M., de Juana, S., Galan, A. B., Rodriguez, M., 2009. A new protocol to differentiate trampling marks from butchery cut marks. Journal of Archaeological Science 36: 2643–2654). The work presented here adds to this experimental butchery database by using measurements of cut mark cross-section taken from bone surface molds to investigate how stone tool characteristics including flake versus core tool type, edge angle, and tool weight, influence cut mark width and depth, ultimately testing whether cut mark size is a useful indicator of tool identity. Additionally, these experiments investigate the influence of contextual factors, including butchery action, carcass size, and bone density on cut mark size. An experienced butcher used replicated Oldowan flakes and bifacial core tools in experimental trials that isolated skinning, bulk and scrap muscle defleshing, and element disarticulation cut marks on goat and cow skeletons. This sample explores cut mark traces generated under realistic butchery scenarios and suggests the following results: 1) Core and flake tools were equally efficient at completing all butchery tasks in size 1 and 3 bovid carcasses. 2) Samples of cut mark width and depth produced by core and flake tools were similar and cut marks could not be accurately classified to a known tool type. 3) Skinning and disarticulation activities produced significantly wider and deeper marks than defleshing activities. 4) Cut marks on cows tended to be wider and deeper than those on goats. 5) Cut mark width is negatively correlated with bone density when carcass size and bone portion are taken into consideration. These results suggest that a general quantitative model for inferring tool type or edge characteristics from archaeological cut mark size is not warranted.     

A new protocol to differentiate trampling marks from butchery cut marks

Microscopic signatures have previously been used to emphasize the similarities of butchery and trampling marks. The experimental background applied to differentiate both types of marks has been rather limited and authors have sometimes reached conflicting conclusions. This is partly due to methodological reasons: some authors have used very high magnification to examine microscopic features, whereas others have relied on more reduced magnification. Likewise, some experiments have exposed bones to trampling for reduced periods (minutes) whereas others have used longer time periods (hours). The present study stresses that the use of a scanning electronic microscope is not practical for identifying the impact of butchery and trampling marks in complete bone assemblages. It also emphasizes that previous studies have not addressed all the possible variables that could potentially be used to discriminate these marks, nor have they quantified the morphological patterns of each type of mark. Here we present a multivariate analysis of more than a dozen variables and show that butchery and trampling marks have very distinctive microscopic morphology. We advocate the use of a low magnification approach (≤40×), which can enable the analysis of complete assemblages using either hand lenses or binocular lenses. We also show the morphological criteria that differentiate butchery cut marks made with simple and retouched tools. We show that whereas complete discrimination of marks is impossible due to some degree of overlap, the list of criteria derived through multivariate analyses can be confidently used to correctly differentiate butchery and trampling marks in more than 90% of cases.     

Flint and Quartzite: Distinguishing Raw Material Through Bone Cut Marks

Since the 1980s, several experimental analyses have been able to differentiate some lithic tool types and some of their raw materials according to the morphology of cut marks imprinted by such tools when used for butchering activities. Thus, metal tool use has been differentiated in contexts with an abundance of lithic tools, or even the use of hand axes has been documented in carcass processing, in contrast with simple unretouched or retouched flakes. As important as this information is, there are still other important aspects to be analysed. Can cut marks produced with different lithic raw material types be differentiated? Can cut marks made with different types of the same raw material type be characterized and differentiated? The objective of this study is to evaluate if cut marks resulting from the use of different flints and different quartzites are distinguishable from each other. In the present work, an experimental analysis of hundreds of cut marks produced by five types of flint and five varieties of quartzite was carried out. Microphotogrammetry and geometric–morphometric techniques were applied to analyse these cut marks. The results show that flint cut marks and quartzite cut marks can be characterized at the assemblage level. Different types of flint produced cut marks that were not significantly different from each other. Cut marks made with Olduvai Gorge quartzite were significantly different from those produced with a set comprising several other types of quartzites. Crystal size, which is larger in Olduvai Gorge quartzites (0.5 mm) than Spanish quartzites (177–250 μm), is discussed as being the main reason for these statistically significant differences. This documented intra‐sample and inter‐sample variance does not hinder the resolution of the approach to differentiate between these two generic raw material types and opens the door for the application of this method in archaeological contexts.     

Slicing Cut Marks on Animal Bones: Diagnostics for Identifying Stone Tool Type and Raw Material

Abstract

Butchering implements leave identifying signatures on bones. From these signatures, it is possible to distinguish the different raw materials and types of chipped stone butchering tools. The results of recent experiments enable us to distinguish the different types of raw materials and tools used in the butchering process, in particular those implements that produce slicing cut marks. Three types of chipped stone tools (blades,flakes, and side scrapers) and raw materials (flint, obsidian, and quartzite), as well as issues relevant to lithic production and use were examined and tested. Silicone molds of cut marks produced by each of the instruments were made and subjected to analysis in light optical and scanning electron microscopes under various levels of magnification. The criteria used for distinguishing tool type, raw material, type of production and use characteristics of the respective cutting instruments are presented, as well as a discussion of the application of the experimental results to the Early Bronze Age I site of Afridar, Israel. The data from Afridar indicate that almost all of the butchering marks on animal bones from the site were made by stone tools, in particular haphazardly-made flakes.     

Shell tool use by early members of Homo erectus in Sangiran,central Java,Indonesia: cut mark evidence

Sangiran has been known as a source of fossil Homo erectus but is better known for the absence of archaeological tools. Cut mark analysis of Pleistocene mammalian fossils documents 18 cut marks inflicted by tools of thick clamshell flakes on two bovid bones created during butchery at the Pucangan Formation in Sangiran between 1.6 and 1.5 million years ago. These cut marks document the use of the first tools in Sangiran and the oldest evidence of shell tool use in the world.     

Micro-photogrammetric and morphometric differentiation of cut marks on bones using metal knives,quartzite, and flint flakes

In a previous article, we presented an innovative method to analyze cut marks produced with metal tools on animal bones from a metrical and tridimensional perspective (Maté-González et al. 2015). Such analysis developed a low-cost alternative technique to traditional microscopic methods for the tridimensional reconstruction of marks, using their measurements and sections. This article presents the results of an experimental study to test this photogrammetric and morphometric method for differentiating cut marks generated with metal, flint, and quartzite flakes. The results indicate statistically significant differences among cut marks produced by these three types of raw material. These results encourage the application of this method to archeological assemblages in order to establish a link between carcass processing and lithic reduction sequences on different raw materials and also to define the kind of tools used during butchery.     

Could woodworking have influenced variation in the form of Acheulean handaxes?

The relationship between tool form and function is fundamental to hominin behaviour and evolution. Acheulean handaxes are known for their general consistency across more than a million years and three continents, albeit with some variation in size and shape. However, the influence of this variation on cutting has only rarely been studied, mostly in either butchery or generalized cutting tasks. Yet evidence indicates that handaxes were used for woodworking by at least 1.5 mya. Here, we experimentally tested whether woodworking could have exerted selective pressures on handaxe form. Additionally, these data were compared with a previous experiment that tested flakes during woodworking. For handaxes, no significant relationships were detected in woodworking efficiency. Accordingly, woodworking likely did not exert strong selective pressures on handaxe variability. However, the effectiveness shown by handaxes further demonstrates the functional flexibility of this technology, which is likely a factor contributing to their use over broad temporal, geographical and ecological spans. When comparing handaxes with flakes, only the smallest flakes were found to be significantly less efficient than handaxes. Therefore, the functional demands of woodworking were likely influencing hominin technological decisions about flake morphology, or the selection of flakes for woodworking, more than they were handaxe morphology.     

Cut Mark Cluster Geometry and Equifinality in Replicated Early Stone Age Butchery

Early Stone Age cut marks created during tool‐assisted carnivory potentially offer inferences into hominin butchery behaviour and access to complete or defleshed carcasses. Actualistic butchery trials of 16 goat and cow half‐carcasses were completed by an experienced butcher with replicated Oldowan tools to investigate how the geometric organisation of cut mark clusters reflects flake versus core tool use and bulk muscle versus scrap defleshing. A cluster of cut marks is defined as a series of adjacent cut mark striations that occur at an anatomical location and are bounded by unmarked cortical surface. Tool type and butchery action were predicted to differentially mark certain long bone portions and influence cluster attributes. Moulds of 613 cut mark clusters were photographed and measured using ImageJ software (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA) for cluster area, cut mark count, median cut mark length and standard deviation of cut mark length and angle. Analysis suggests the following results: (i) cluster attributes are correlated;(ii) changes in cluster geometry are related to increasing cut mark count and length but not tool type or defleshed muscle amount; (iii) large clusters occur on large animals; and (iv) long bone midshaft portions are cut‐marked during both bulk and scrap muscle defleshing. Analysis of 179 cut mark clusters on long bone shafts of sizes 1–4 mammals from three Okote member assemblages at Koobi Fora, Kenya, shows that archaeological clusters have a similar number of marks when compared with experimental clusters but are significantly smaller, have shorter median marks and include less deviation in mark length and angle. Archaeological clusters corroborate that increasing area is positively correlated with cut mark count, median mark length and standard deviation of mark length and angle. A quantitative inferential model that links cut mark cluster geometry to tool type or the amount of muscle defleshed is not supported by these data. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

UNDER THE HAMMER: RESIDUES RESULTING FROM PRODUCTION AND MICROWEAR ON EXPERIMENTAL STONE TOOLS*

This paper presents the results of an experimental programme investigating the effects of production processes on stone tools and their interference with use‐related features. In the first part of the experimental programme, a series of flint flakes was retouched with different kinds of hammers in order to assess the extent and nature of percussion residues. After careful environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) observation and energy‐dispersive X‐ray (EDX) analysis, the retouched flakes were thoroughly cleaned and the underlying flint deformation was recorded. The second part of the experimental programme involved selecting several uncleaned retouched pieces for use in short woodworking, hide‐processing and butchery experiments. These pieces were observed and analysed before, during and after use. Some of the percussion features proved to be surprisingly resistant to use, and in some cases turned out to be strikingly similar in appearance to use‐generated features.     

Quantitative micromorphological analyses of cut marks produced by ancient and modern handaxes

In this study, we analyse the three-dimensional micromorphology of cut marks on fossil mammal remains from a ∼0.5 million year old Acheulean butchery site at Boxgrove (West Sussex, southern England), and make comparisons with cut marks inflicted during the experimental butchery of a roe deer (Capreolus caproelus) using a replica handaxe. Morphological attributes of the cut marks were measured using an Alicona imaging microscope, a novel optical technique that generates three-dimensional virtual reconstructions of surface features. The study shows that high-resolution measurements of cut marks can shed light on aspects of butchery techniques, tool use and the behavioural repertoire of Lower Palaeolithic hominins. Differences between the experimental cut marks and those on the Boxgrove large mammal bones suggest variation in the angle of the cuts and greater forces used in the butchery of the larger (rhinoceros-sized) carcasses at Boxgrove. Tool-edge characteristics may account for some of these differences, but the greater robusticity of the Boxgrove hominins (attributed to Homo heidelbergensis) may be a factor in the greater forces indicated by some of the cut marks on the Boxgrove specimens.     

Investigating interrelationships between Lower Palaeolithic stone tool effectiveness and tool user biometric variation: implications for technological and evolutionary changes

Lower Palaeolithic hominins are thought to have been dependent upon stone tools during the acquisition and processing of food resources. Hence, it is hypothesized that the evolutionary advantages provided by efficient stone tool use may have selected for anatomical changes observed in the hand during this period. Similarly, hominin manipulative capabilities are suggested to have been of consequence to Lower Palaeolithic technological choices and tool use capabilities. The extent and character of these relationships are not, however, fully understood and it is not known whether these hypothesized co-evolutionary and co-dependent relationships are consistent across varying technological and task-type conditions. Here, six key biometric parameters of the hand are investigated in terms of their statistical relationship with cutting efficiency using both flakes and handaxes over extended periods of use and in multiple types of cutting task. Results indicate that (1) both handaxe and flake cutting efficiencies are significantly related with biometric variation of individual tool users, (2) relationships between biometric parameters and efficiency are consistent across extended durations but vary dependent upon task-type conditions, (3) manipulative strength is the most significant biometric trait in terms of predicting flake efficiency, while (4) hand size is the strongest predictor of handaxe cutting efficiency. These results demonstrate the long-term impact that stone tool use likely had on the evolution of hominin biometric variation during the Lower Palaeolithic, while also highlighting the variable influence of different tool use contexts. Most notably, results indicate that the onset of the Acheulean may have been dependent, a priori, upon hand dimensions that are close to the modern human range, and that prior to the appearance of this anatomy, handaxe use would have been an impractical (i.e. inefficient) tool use behaviour compared to the use of flakes.     

Cut marks on the Middle Pleistocene elephant carcass of Áridos 2 (Madrid,Spain)

Áridos 1 and Áridos 2 (Madrid, Spain) are two Middle Pleistocene sites belonging to the isotopic stages 9–11. Both places contain partial carcasses of Elephas (Paleoxodon) antiquus associated to Acheulian stone tools. In this work, the taphonomic study of the elephant remains of Áridos 2 is presented. This study has documented several cut marks on different bones, which indicate bulk flesh and viscerae extraction by Middle Pleistocene hominins. Several arguments are provided to support that at least some of the cut marks were made with handaxes, further suggesting that some of these artifacts were butchering tools in this stage of human evolution. Although cut marks on elephant carcasses have been documented at some Middle Pleistocene sites, very few have been published in detail to allow consideration of their status as hominin-imparted marks. By doing so, the present study provides more evidence of large carcass exploitation by hominins during this period.     

Molluscan Shell Knives and Experimental Cut-Marks on Bones

Abstract

Experimentation demonstrates that the retouched edges of molluscan shells can be used effectively as butchery knives in the absence of lithic raw materials and leave striations on bone surfaces that may be indistinguishable from cut-marks made by stone knives. The potential of such non-lithic cutting tools suggests one new possible category of early artifact, and may explain the presence of cut-marks on fossil bones in paleoenvironments where stone artifacts were absent or rare.     

Early hominid hunting,butchering, and carcass-processing behaviors: Approaches to the fossil record

A major aim of paleoanthropology is to learn what ancient behaviors were related to the acquisition, processing, and consumption of meat and when these behaviors arose. For this reason, studies focusing on purported early hominid hunting and butchery sites are important if rigorous criteria for recognizing such sites are used. Different criteria currently used as evidence of hominid involvement with ancient bones are reviewed and it is concluded that the presence of cutmarks, verified by scanning electron microscope (SEM) inspection, is the most reliable. Successful application of this criterion depends upon a thorough knowledge of the normal variations in microscopic morphology of different types of marks that are found on bones. Therefore, variations in microscopic and gross morphology within and among a large sample of known stone tool cutmarks, carnivore tooth scratches, and rodent gnawing marks are documented. The effects of sedimentary abrasion, as caused by fluvial transport of bones, are also presented. Guidelines are presented for using microscopic criteria to identify unknown marks on fossils and possible applications of this approach are discussed. Further, it is suggested that evidence of hominid carcass-processing activities can be placed into one of three ranked categories of certainty according to the type of data used. Explicitly stating the category and type of evidence used to deduce hominid activities, and by extension to define site types (i.e., butchery, kill, base camp), may improve the clarity of hypotheses about and interpretations of early hominid behaviors.     

The oldowan reassessed: A close look at early stone artifacts

Early Stone Age assemblages called “Oldowan” and early “Developed Oldowan” are discussed, based on the results of a long-term study of Plio-Pleistocene sites at Koobi Fora, Kenya and an extensive experimental research program of replicating and using early stone artifact forms. Five major conclusions are drawn from this investigation: (1) many Oldowan core forms (“core-tools”) are probably simple by-products of flake manufacture rather than representations of stylistic norms; (2) flakes and retouched flakes - were essential tools in Oldowan technology, particularly for activities involving cutting; (3) this simple technology does not necessarily reflect the cognitive abilities of the early hominids that manufactured the stone artifacts; (4) there is evidence to show that Oldowan technology can be viewed as a simple curated one, in which raw material was intentionally carried from place to place for future use; (5) early hominid populations that made and used stone implements were not necessarily dependent upon them for their survival.     

AN INTERIM REPORT OF THE STAR CARR MICROWEAR STUDY

Summary. This paper presents some preliminary observations based on the microwear analysis of 173 artefacts from the mesolithic site of Star Carr, near Scarborough, Yorkshire. One hundred discrete and utilized edges were identified by the presence of various microwear traces on 79 of the artefacts belonging to the following general types: scrapers, edge-damaged or marginally retouched blades and flakes, bilaterally backed blades (awls), burins, backed blades, axe resharpening flakes, denticulated or truncated blades and flakes, microliths, and cores. The microwear traces identified on the tools indicates that they were used in a variety of ways in the processing of hide, bone, wood, antler and meat. A comparison of wear-traces and tool shape has shown that there are morphological differences between scrapers used on hide and those used on bone, and also, that edge-damaged or marginally retouched blades were selected for use on the basis of their cross-sectional configuration.     

Why are some handaxes symmetrical? Testing the influence of handaxe morphology on butchery effectiveness

The morphology of Acheulean handaxes continues to be a subject of debate amongst Lower Palaeolithic archaeologists, with some arguing that many handaxes are over-engineered for a subsistence function alone. This study aims to provide an empirical foundation for these debates by testing the relationship between a range of morphological variables, including symmetry, and the effectiveness of handaxes for butchery. Sixty handaxes were used to butcher 30 fallow deer by both a professional and a non-professional butcher. Regression analysis on the resultant data set indicates that while frontal symmetry may explain a small amount of variance in the effectiveness of handaxes for butchery, a large percentage of variance remains unexplained by symmetry or any of the other morphological variables under consideration.     

河北昌黎渟泗涧细石器地点

<正> 淳泗涧细石器地点发现于1990年,91年10月,河北省文物研究所会同秦皇岛市文物管理处,昌黎县文物保管所对该地点进行了为期一个月的试掘。试掘面积25平方米,共发现400多件石制品,没有发现动物化石。 一、地理位置与地层 该地点位于昌黎县城东北2公里处,距其东南的淳泗涧村约0.5公里,地理坐标;E119°10′N39°44′,海拔65米。该地点背靠燕山余脉亮甲山,南为平原,京山铁路在地点南部穿过。其东南约14公里处即为渤海(图一)。 淳泗涧南为饮马河,东北为东沙河,两河向东注入渤海。地点附近的山前地带为饮马河的支流,支流两岸有两级阶地发育。二级阶地紧靠山脚,由于洪水冲刷以及山脚下基岩中泉水