Maybe this means I watch too much 'survival on an island' TV, but the mark
looks to me like one made by a cord wrapped around the bone and then
repeatedly dragged back and forth until it began to cut in. This would
mean to me a fire-starting tool, which was used until the notch got too
deep so that the cord began to bind....just a suggestion, for what it may
be worth. Cheers -- Deb Bennett
> Dear zooarchers,
> I currently work on a Late Prehistoric site in Montana which has yielded a
> quite peculiar bone, a bison metapodial that has been sawed all around the
> distal shaft before being broken. I had thought for a while it was a
> rather funny way to access the bone marrow. I had the chance to discuss
> with colleagues at the ICAZ who have seen similar specimens, particularly
> on guanaco metapodials in Patagonia. Their interpretation of such
> specimens was that the goal of the action of sawing-breaking is to obtain
> a clean, straight edge for a cylinder that may be used as a pounding or
> digging implement. In the case of my specimen, that goal would not have
> been attained because the break pattern did not follow the saw line.
> I am sending this email because I am curious if some of you have
> encountered such specimens on prehistoric sites, and, if so, what
> interpretation they gave of it.
>
> Photos:
> http://zooarchaeology.ning.com/photo/img-4902?context=user
> http://zooarchaeology.ning.com/photo/img-4903?context=user
>
> Thanks,
> Francois
>
>
>
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