[Bonetools] utilised cattle bones at copper mine

[Stallibrass, Susan]

Hello.

I am looking for some help regarding animal bones from an Early Bronze
Age (very roughly 2300 - 1500 BC) copper mine in Wales. Most of the
bones are probably food refuse and derive from domestic cattle plus some
from domestic sheep and from domestic pig.

Several of the cattle bones appear to have been utilised (some with and
some without deliberate modification). 

There are two main types of utilised bones: cattle ribs and cattle long
bones.

The ribs appear to have been modified through use (with polishing of
their flatter ends). These are very similar to the utilised ribs
identified at a similar Bronze Age copper mine at Ross Island, Ireland
by Louise H. van Wijngaarden-Bakker: 2004. The animal remains.  In
William O'Brien 2004 Ross Island. Mining, metal and society in early
Ireland. Galway: National University of Ireland, department of
Archaeology. Bronze Age Studies 6. pages 367-386 ISBN 0 9535620 3 X

At the Welsh copper mine at the Great Orme, the copper ore was extracted
from soft mineral-rich deposits infilling cracks in the limestone. In
places, there are gouge marks in the soft deposits that are a suitable
size to have been made by the cattle ribs.

There are also several utilised cattle long bones including tibiae that
have been modified slightly to form a point and then this point has been
utilised (there is some polish on the point and there is also sometimes
polish on the 'handle' of the shaft/epiphysis: this is similar to, but
not the same as, the utilised cattle scapulae at Ross Island).

The PhD student working on the material is concentrating on the whole
collection of animal bones, and cannot undertake three years of work on
the worked material. But she would like to undertake a 'pilot'
investigation to highlight the potential research value of these
utilised bones.

I am sadly ignorant about how to study utilised/modified/worked bone. We
are hoping to undertake a little experimental work.

Could anybody suggest:

(1) Useful references of previous work investigating 'use wear' on bones

(2) Other sites where similar artefacts have been found

(3) suitable techniques for investigating polishing and surface
alterations (do we need to use SEM, for instance?)

(4) are there any experimental situations that you think would be
particularly useful?

Incidentally, very few deer antler fragments have been found at the
site, and it has very few other artefacts apart from hammer stones.

Any suggestions will be gratefully received!

Very many thanks
Sue





Dr Sue Stallibrass

English Heritage Archaeological Science Adviser for North-West England,
Department of Archaeology (SACE),
Hartley Building, Brownlow Street,
University of Liverpool,
LIVERPOOL
L69 3GS

email: Sue.Stallibrass at liverpool.ac.uk

direct phone: 0151 794 5046

departmental FAX: 0151 794 5057