That was my first reaction. How well sealed was the midden?
It’s certainly not like any coral I have seen
Mat
*From:* Analysis of animal remains from archaeological sites [mailto:
[log in to unmask]] *On Behalf Of *Worley, Fay Louise
*Sent:* Saturday, 19 November 2016 1:14 AM
*To:* [log in to unmask]
*Subject:* Re: [ZOOARCH] mystery object
Hi everyone, could it be a baked good? It looks like a salt dough
decoration to me and my archaeobotanist colleague Gill Campbell.
Fay
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*From:* Analysis of animal remains from archaeological sites [
mailto:[log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>] *On Behalf Of *Nicole
Reynaud Savioz
*Sent:* 18 November 2016 07:56
*To:* [log in to unmask]
*Subject:* Re: [ZOOARCH] mystery object
Dear Nerissa,
It reminds me of these objects, especially pipes, in white clay ("terre
blanche"). But it does not fit well with the inner structure?
Best, Nicole
Le 17.11.2016 à 23:48, Nerissa Russell a écrit :
I am posting this on behalf of a colleague. This object comes from a site
in Ithaca, NY, USA in a midden deposit dating to the first half of the 19th
century AD. It appears to be organic and looks like bone, but I have no
idea what it could be. As you will see in the second photo, it has a
spongy interior and a solid cortex (which looks rather like antler in
texture under a microscope). It is carved with a design on both sides, and
there were some pieces of jewelry in the deposit, so it could be a piece of
jewelry – or not. We would like to know both what the artifact is and what
it is made of. Could it be some kind of coral?
Photos:
http://zooarchaeology.ning.com/photo/albums/mystery-object
Many thanks,
Nerissa Russell
Professor
Department of Anthropology
Cornell University
--
Nicole Reynaud Savioz
*Archéozoologue*
Bureau ARIA-SA
Archéologie et recherches interdisciplinaires dans les Alpes
[image: logoaria]Rue du Rawyl 66
1950 Sion
027/323 51 07
http://www.aria-sa.ch
<http://www.aria-sa.ch/Aria_Investigations_Archeologiques_SA/Accueil.html>
https://aria-sa.academia.edu/NicoleReynaudSavioz
