distinguishing antler types

[Shoki Goodarzi-Tabrizi]

Dear Kate:
I am afraid I caanot help you with your problem as I am a sympathizer.  I
just thought to tell you that I have the same problem for my antlers from
a site in southeastern Turkey.  I was struck by your message for just
yesterday I was wondering how in the world am I going to tell them apart.
The antlers at our site however are worked into tools which is where I
come in the picture.
Anyways, good luck.  Let me know if you have any ways to figure it out if
the have been modified into tools.
Shoki

On Tue, 10 Mar 1998, Kate Peach wrote:

> Hello to all.
>
>         I am currently dealing with various collections of bone and antler tools
> from northern and southeastern Manitoba, Canada.  Some of these tools are highly
> modified and/or eroded.  With collections that I have worked on in the past, it
> has been fairly straightforward to distinguish between various antler types,
> based on external and internal texture, basic shape, etc.  The newest
> collections, however, are proving to be more difficult.  The potential sources
> of antler available would have included moose (Alces alces), elk (Cervus
> canadensis), and caribou (Rangifer tarandus).  Does anyone have any
> ideas/references/information regarding the potential distinctions between these
> types of antler?  I understand that the antler can vary based on population,
> animal condition, etc.  Do these factors serve to confuse the distinctions
> between the species?
>                 I would very much appreciate any help on this matter! Thanks in
> advance.
>                                                         Kate Peach
>
> e-mail at: umapeach at cc.umanitoba.ca
>