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Dear all, at the multiperiod settlement site of Pool in Orkney in the Northern Isles of Scotland, some sheep metapodials show longitudinal splitting for marrow from the Neolithic phases through until the later Iron Age/Pictish period (probably c. C7th/8th AD). From phase 7.1 (when Viking influences are first seen on the site; C8th/9th AD) some metapodials have holes in the proximal articulation and the distal ends are broken or chopped away, or show signs of working into tools. These pierced metapodials are seen throughout the following phases to the end of the site, probably in the 13th century AD, though there continues to be a variety of modifications of the distal ends and some metapodials which have been split down the middle. Although not exactly the same as Gerry Bigelow's description, it's close enough and very different to the pattern of the preceeding 4,000 years of occupation on Sanday, but seems to appear much earlier than reports from the rest of the N Atlantic. So did a canny Orcadian export the idea? Pool isn't yet published, though I have high hopes it will be out next year. regards to all, Julie P.S. by the way, if anyone wants to know what the cattle marrow bones prepared in the 18th century looked like, I have some examples from a postmedieval assemblage, and can photograph on request! On Wed, 8 Dec 2004 11:43:57 -0500 "Thomas H. McGovern" <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Dear All > > The Bigelow reference tells the N Atlantic story as we know it- the > dual perforation (which looks drilled but actually can be done by > twisting a knife point too) seems to appear in Iceland (more or less) > post AD 1200, and as George Hambrecht points out this takes over as a > marrow extraction technique by early modern times. Today there is even a > little rhyme in Icelandic about dual perforation as a means of magically > averting the fracture of a live sheep's leg at this point. Before this > they are splitting metapodials lengthwise to get the marrow out (magic > seems to have come in later too). It gets to Shetland, Faroes (as Simun > indicates), and Iceland by later middle ages, and it sounds like arctic > Norway too. > > Interestingly the Norse Greenlanders NEVER make the transition and go > on splitting caprine metapodials down to their extinction ca 1450. So > this does not seem to be a Viking Age tradition (at least in the N > Atlantic) but comes in later. If anyone has ideas about the source, > route, or dating of this rather neat method of marrow extraction (which > also leaves a usefully shaped bone intact for craft use)we would be very > interested. Great thread everyone! > > Best > Tom > > Thomas H McGovern > Professor, > Dept of Anthropology Hunter College CUNY > Archaeology Coordinator, > CUNY Doctoral Program in Anthropology > Coordinator, North Atlantic Biocultural Organization > > > Address: > Anthropology Dept. > Hunter College > 695 Park Ave. NYC 10021 USA > tel. 212 772 5410 fax. 212 772 5423 > [log in to unmask] > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Analysis of animal remains from archaeological sites > [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Rene Kysely > Sent: Friday, December 03, 2004 9:54 AM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: [ZOOARCH] drilled metapodials > > Dear Peter, > this reference can help you: > > Bigelow, G.F., 1989: Archeological and ethnohistoric evidence a norse > island food custom. pp. 441 - 453. In: Colleen et al.. (eds.), 1989: > The > Viking age in Caithness, Orkney and the north Atlantic. Edinburgh > University Press. > > Rene > > > > ----- > > Rene Kysely > > Institute of Archaeology of Academy of the Sciences of the Czech > Republic. > > Letenska 4 > 118 01, Prague > Czech Republic > > tel.: + 420 - 257014302 > [log in to unmask] > www.arup.cas.cz ---------------------- Dr. Julie Bond Course Manager, MSc in Biological Archaeology Dept of Archaeological Sciences University of Bradford Bradford BD7 1DP 01274 233534 [log in to unmask]