Dear Michael,

The abundance of incisors but absence of the cheek teeth is indeed odd.

As far as the grooves on cattle incisors are concerned you should first
check with Miles and Grigson (1990; 494) who write that a groove below the
crown on its mesial surface is caused by grass being pulled between the
teeth during grazing.

Best,

Simon


Here is the full reference:

Miles, A.E.W. and Grigson, C. 1990

Colyer's variations and diseases of the teeth of animals.

Cambridge, University Press




----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael MacKinnon" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 7:08 PM
Subject: [ZOOARCH] cattle teeth in Roman latrine


> Dear all,
>
> Recently, I examined a collection of bones from excavations of a house
> (Casa dei Postumii) and its insula in Pompeii. Most of the material
> represented the standard collection of domestic mammals associated with
> many Roman sites; however, there were two latrine deposits with quite
> curious faunal assemblages. One latrine was located within a small,
> single-room shop (taberna), while the other was in a neighbouring
> four-room house/shop. Both latrines, or at least the levels where the
> materials were excavated, date to c. 79 AD, and so are contemporary with
> the last period of occupation at Pompeii. Neither produced a huge faunal
> assemblage (combined NISP of 132), but what was there was overwhelmingly
> cattle, and of this, close to 80% was incisor teeth (no premolars or
> molars). This odd collection appears deliberate (weird taphonomic
> conditions can't account for it), but I know of no other parallels in
> Roman contexts throughout Italy (and for most of the Mediterranean).
> Certainly, I've encountered contexts where bones are discarded in
> latrines, but not the case where cattle incisor teeth predominate.
> Curiously, it appears that a couple of these teeth have been worked --
> filed at the neck, producing a 1-4 mm "v" shaped groove, and in one case
> there is grooving on opposite sides of the tooth. I wondered if this was
> done to tie a cord around the tooth, perhaps to hang it as an amulet or
> charm. I also wondered if people were carrying a tooth as a charm in the
> folds of their toga, that such items could be lost while adjusting their
> toga at a latrine.  Some have argued this is the case for a high number
> of coins in latrines -- dropped in by accident while using the
> facilities. Of course, these teeth could just represent someone's
> discarded collection or relate to waste for bone working or other
> processing activities. If anyone has found similar deposits of cattle
> incisor teeth (or grooved incisor teeth), from Roman times, or any other
> temporal period for that matter, I'd be grateful for the help. Further
> thoughts and comments on this curious deposit are always appreciated.
>
> Many thanks in advance,
>
> Michael MacKinnon
>
>
> --------------------------------------------
> Dr. Michael MacKinnon
> Department of Anthropology
> University of Winnipeg
> 515 Portage Avenue
> Winnipeg, Manitoba  R3B 2E9
> Canada
>
> phone: (204) 786-9752
> e-mail: [log in to unmask]