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.     

Testing the Efficiency of Simple Flakes,Retouched Flakes and Small Handaxes During Butchery

Handaxes, simple flakes and retouched flakes are three types of stone tools whose adaptive advantages are highly debated. Interpretations of these technologically different tools suggest that their adequacy for butchery is uneven. Although some experimentation has been made in this regard, further research is needed to understand which of these tool types are more efficient for butchery, thus granting adaptive advantages to the hominins who used them. The present experimental work shows that small handaxes provide higher return rates in butchery activities than simple and retouched flakes. Efficiency (measured in time) is significantly positive in handaxes compared to the other tools when defleshing. In contrast, when comparing the three stone tool sets (simple flakes, retouched flakes and handaxes), the return values obtained for disarticulation are very similar. This study also shows that cut marks do not occur randomly and are less stochastic than previously assumed. Defleshing leaves a preferential cluster of cut marks on mid‐shafts from long bones and even on these sections, depending on element type, patterns are statistically demonstrable.     

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.     

A new experimental study on percussion marks and notches and their bearing on the interpretation of hammerstone-broken faunal assemblages

Preliminary experiments on bone breakage have shown the potential utility of quantifying some of its diagnostic features (percussion marks, percussion notches) for taphonomic inferences about human and carnivore involvement in bone breakage in faunal assemblages. The present study increases the range of experiments undertaken to understand the identification of hammerstone percussion (dynamic loading) and its differences from carnivore bone breakage through tooth pressure (static loading). This study contributes to a better understanding of frequencies of percussion marks, uncovers and quantifies those percussion marks that lack key diagnostic features to be identifiable and that could be mistaken with carnivore tooth marks, quantifies notch types, shows different size ranges for notches on bones from small and large fauna than previously reported, quantifies the proportion of notches bearing percussion marks, and introduces new size data for percussion (impact) flakes and percussion marks. Furthermore, all these variables have been applied to a dual experimental set: one experiment using non-modified hammerstones and another based on the use of modified hammerstones. Results vary considerably according to hammerstone type. Some of these taphonomic variables increase the range of equifinality when identifying marks and notches created by different human and non-human agents. This calls for further caution when using isolated variables and features rather than a holistic approach to make taphonomic inferences.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Differentiating bamboo from stone tool cut marks in the zooarchaeological record,with a discussion on the use of bamboo knives

The archaeological record of Southeast Asia is marked by a relative lack of Acheulian assemblages compared with the rest of the Old World. Suggestions that prehistoric human populations in this area relied instead on a non-lithic technology based on bamboo have not been supported by archaeological evidence. To provide a diagnostic means of assessing prehistoric use of bamboo, cut marks were experimentally produced on bone using chert tools and bamboo knives. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) examination revealed morphological differences in cut marks produced by the two materials that allow identification of bamboo knife cut marks on faunal materials. Such evidence, if found in Pleistocene through early Holocene archaeological sites in Southeast Asia, would indicate early human reliance on bamboo technology.     

Experimental study of cut marks made with rocks unmodified by human flaking and its bearing on claims of ∼3.4-million-year-old butchery evidence from Dikika, Ethiopia

In order to assess further the recent claims of ∼3.4 Ma butchery marks on two fossil bones from the site of Dikika (Ethiopia), we broadened the actualistic-interpretive zooarchaeological framework by conducting butchery experiments that utilized naïve butchers and rocks unmodified by human flaking to deflesh chicken and sheep long limb bones. It is claimed that the purported Dikika cut marks present their unexpectedly atypical morphologies because they were produced by early hominins utilizing just such rocks. The composition of the cut mark sample produced in our experiments is quite dissimilar to the sample of linear bone surface modifications preserved on the Dikika fossils. This finding substantiates and expands our earlier conclusion that—considering the morphologies and patterns of the Dikika bone surface modifications and the inferred coarse-grained depositional context of the fossils on which they occur—the Dikika bone damage was caused incidentally by the movement of the fossils on and/or within their depositional substrate(s), and not by early hominin butchery. Thus, contrary to initial claims, the Dikika evidence does not warrant a major shift in our understanding of early hominin behavioral evolution with regard to carcass foraging and meat-eating.     

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.     

Taphonomy of ungulate ribs and the consumption of meat and bone by 1.2-million-year-old hominins at Olduvai Gorge,Tanzania

The phenomenon of equifinality complicates behavioral interpretations of faunal assemblages from contexts in which Pleistocene hominins are suspected bone accumulators. Stone tool butchery marks on ungulate fossils are diagnostic of hominin activities, but debate continues over the higher-order implications of butchered bones for the foraging capabilities of hominins. Additionally, tooth marks imparted on bones by hominins overlap in morphology and dimensions with those created by some non-hominin carnivores, further confounding our view of early hominins as meat-eating hunters, scavengers or both. We report on the manual/oral peeling of cortical layers of ungulate ribs as taphonomically diagnostic of hominoid/hominin meat- and bone-eating behavior that indicates access to large herbivore carcasses by hominins at the site of BK, Olduvai. Supporting these inferences, we show that certain types of rib peeling damage are very rare or completely unknown in faunas created by modern carnivores and African porcupines, but common in faunas modified by the butchery and/or consumption activities of modern humans and chimpanzees, during which these hominoids often grasp ribs with their hands, and then used their teeth to peel strips of cortex from raggedly chewed ends of the ribs. Carnivores consume ungulate ribcage tissues soon after kills, so diagnostic traces of hominin butchery/consumption on ribs (i.e., peeling and butchery marks) indicate early access to ungulate carcasses by BK hominins. Tooth marks associated with the peeling and butchery marks are probably hominin-derived, and may indicate that it was not uncommon for our ancestors to use their teeth to strip meat from and to consume portions of ribs. Recognition of rib peeling as a diagnostic signature of hominoid/hominin behavior may also aid the search for pre-archaeological traces of hominin meat-eating.     

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.     

Identifying sword marks on bone: criteria for distinguishing between cut marks made by different classes of bladed weapons

Swords have been one of the major weapons used in violent conflicts for much of human history. Certain archaeological situations, especially those dealing with the recovery and analysis of battle casualties, may raise questions about what type(s) of bladed weapon was used in a particular conflict (e.g., the battle of Kamakura, Japan, AD 1333; the battle of Wisby, Sweden, AD 1361; the battle of Towton, England, AD 1461). Little work has been done, however, on developing criteria to differentiate sword cut marks from other types of cut marks, or to distinguish between marks created by different sword types. To develop such criteria, bovine tibiae (n = 7) were struck using six different types of bladed weapon and the resulting marks (n = 92) were analyzed. Eight traits describing the morphology of the cut mark – such as shape, the presence and unilateral/bilateral state of flaking and feathering, the presence of bone shards, associated breaks, etc. – are defined and related to blade type used. Sword marks were found to be easily distinguishable from knife marks. The variation in marks made by different sword types is significantly correlated with differences in blade weight (p < 0.0001), grip (p < 0.0113), and sharpness (p ≤ 0.0179). The criteria and analyses developed and implemented in this study will be of use to researchers in forensics and osteoarchaeology who want to infer bladed weapon type from marks on bones.     

Analyzing cut marks: lessons from artiodactyl remains in the northwestern United States

Analyses and interpretations of the human behavioral significance of frequencies of cut-marked mammal bones have been ongoing for at least 50 years. Many of these studies focus on determining the so-called “butchering pattern.” Few analysts comment on the tremendous range of variation in frequencies and anatomical distributions of cut marks across multiple assemblages of remains of a taxon. Such variation is evident even when faunal remains are associated with technologically, temporally, and environmentally similar cultures. This kind of variation is illustrated with frequencies of cut marked bone specimens comprising major limb joints of two artiodactyl genera from two sites in the northwestern United States. Three hypotheses are tested. The first and second hypotheses (one per genus) predict that the frequencies of cut-marked remains of a taxon from one site will match those frequencies evident on the remains of the same taxon at the other site. Both hypotheses are falsified. The third hypothesis is that remains of the larger taxon at each site will display more cut marks than the remains of the smaller taxon at each site. This hypothesis is statistically falsified at one site but not the other. Refutation of the hypotheses suggests that well-founded interpretations of frequencies of cut-marked remains may require unique kinds of contextual data.     

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.     

Pits and pitfalls: taxonomic variability and patterning in tooth mark dimensions

Archaeologists use experimentally derived tooth mark frequencies, locations, and size data to infer (a) the extent of carnivore involvement in the formation and modification of faunal assemblages, (b) the size classes of predators marking those assemblages, and (c) whether hominins accessed fleshy or defleshed carcasses (Blumenschine and Pobiner, 2007; Dominguez-Rodrigo et al., 2007). These inferences are often debated in part because frequency counts can vary widely among observers and because the carnivore taxa for which tooth mark dimensional data are available are limited. This study contributes to the body of actualistic/experimental tooth mark data and presents a methodology for collecting these data. We offer a greatly simplified method that may encourage others to collect and quantify tooth mark dimensions. We present dimensional data from feeding experiments with 16 omnivore and carnivore species of known age and mass, ranging in size from skunks to tigers, significantly expanding the taxonomic and size range of carnivores for which we have tooth pit data. Our results demonstrate considerable, but not complete, overlap in tooth pit dimensions among size, class, and taxon. Tooth mark dimensions on epiphyses and metaphyses were relatively strongly correlated with body mass, whereas diaphyseal tooth marks exhibited the weakest correlation. Human consumption of animal tissue produced tooth marks comparable in size to medium felids and small canids, suggesting the possibility that some tooth marks on Early Stone Age (ESA) faunal assemblages could, as suggested by Oliver (1994), result from small carnivore and/or hominin consumption.     

Optimum temporal and spectral window for monitoring crop marks over archaeological remains in the Mediterranean region

This paper aims to explore the formation of crops marks over archaeological features using remote sensing data. Crop marks are very important to archaeological research since they can reveal in an indirect way buried archaeological remains. Several researches have been able to locate subsurface relics via interpretation of multispectral and hyperspectral satellite images. However the best phenophase (time-window) where these crop marks are enhanced and which spectral bands are the most capable for this enhancement are still an open question for the scientific community. This study aims to address these fundamental aspects of Remote Sensing Archaeology. For this reason an extensive dataset was used: two control archaeological sites were constructed in two different areas of Cyprus (Alampra and Acheleia). In these areas both barley and wheat, were cultivated. In situ spectroradiometric measurements were taken over a whole phenological cycle (2001–2012) for both areas. More than 30 in situ campaigns were performed and more than 2600 ground measurements were collected. The phenological analysis of these measurements have shown that a period of only 15 days is best suitable for monitoring crop marks which is connected with one phenological stage; during the beginning of the boot stage of the crops. This period can be used in areas having similar climatic condition as Cyprus (Mediterranean region). Also as it was found, this phenological stage of crops might be also influenced by the climatic conditions of the area. The evaluation of a proposed Archaeological Index was performed at the Thessalian plain (central Greece), where several Neolithic settlements are established. The evaluation was made using both Hyperion and Landsat images. The results have shown that the proposed Archaeological Index is suitable for the enhancement of crop marks in satellite imagery.     

An experimental study of large mammal bone modification by crocodiles and its bearing on the interpretation of crocodile predation at FLK Zinj and FLK NN3

The taphonomic signature of crocodiles as agents of bone modification has been previously identified by specific tooth mark types (e.g., bisected pits) and by a conspicuous presence of these marks: more than 75% of bones modified by crocodiles bear at least one of these distinctive marks. Therefore, crocodile tooth-marking would be notably prevalent in bone assemblages resulting from crocodile predation and active scavenging. The present study contributes to refine this diagnosis by showing greater variability of these types of marks, a different degree of tooth-marking intensity, and a somewhat different distribution of tooth-marked elements according to skeletal parts from previous experiments with crocodiles. Some of these differences are due to different experimental variables and conditions and this highlights the need to understand behavioral variability in crocodile ecological settings. This variability in crocodile tooth-marking probably results from several as-yet-inadequately measured behavioral and ecological factors, such as intensity of feeding competition and differences between male and female crocodile feeding behaviors, among others. Furthermore, this study also contributes to a better definition of the microscopic criteria that can be used to distinguish crocodile-inflicted marks from other types of bone surface modifications. In light of these and previous experimental frameworks, we reevaluate the application of these analogs to modifications documented in hominin fossils from Olduvai Gorge (OH8 and OH35) and the resulting inferences about the hazard posed by crocodiles on the paleolandscape where FLK North North and FLK Zinj (Bed I) were formed. The taphonomic analysis also shows that Olduvai OH8 and OH35 were probably not preyed upon by crocodiles. It is concluded that no tangible evidence can be used to support the interpretation that OH35 was modified by crocodiles and that the overall presence of crocodiles in FLK North North and FLK Zinj was rather marginal, based on the virtual absence of crocodile-modified bones in both archaeofaunal assemblages.