Haskel
Various authors have reported termite damage to bone.
I have seen this several times in superficial and buried human bones
from eastern Australia. On the skull, the termites usually 'eat' the
inner table and the diploe. Any hole is always associated with some form
of furrowing. Where taphonomic processes have not been too intense, I
have seen the classic crumbly and cemented tunnels that the termites
move through.
That's for Australian species of termites of course.
Here are some references that might provide you with leads.
Kaiser, T.M. (2000). Proposed fossil insect modification to fossil
mammalian bone from Plio-Pleistocene hominid-bearing deposits of Laetoli
(northern Tanzania). Annals of the Entomological Society of America
93(4): 693-700.
Tappen, M. (1994). Bone weathering in the tropical rain forest. Journal
of Archaeological Science 21: 667-673.
Watson, J.A.L. (1986). The effects of termites (Isoptera) on bone: some
archeological implications. Sociobiology 11(3): 245-254.
Wylie, F.R., Walsh, G.L. & Yule, R.A. (1987). Insect damage to
Aboriginal relics at burial and rock-art sites near Carnarvon in central
Queensland. Journal of the Australial Entomological Society 26:335-345.
Richard Wright
On 20/07/2010 12:54, Haskel Greenfield wrote:
> Hi. Colleagues have found a human bone from Tel es-Safi, area F, in Israel,
> dated to the Ottoman period (most probably). It has some holes that look as
> if they were drilled from the inside of the bone's cortex. They were not
> drilled from the outer face since complete diameters are visible only from
> inside. Therefore, it seems they were probably made by some sort of insect.
> they are not from roots or human drilling. Has anyone ever see such holes or
> know what made them?
>
> thanks
>
> Best
>
>
>
> [Haskel Greenfield
>
>
>
|