[Bonetools] worn scapulae

[griffitt at email.arizona.edu]

Hello

No words of wisdom about the scapula tools (but I'm really curious about them)
but Etan Ayalon wrote--

> I wonder if the
> experts of use-wear found out what signs leave sweating hands holding a tool
> for a long time.

I?ve found that hand wear looks a lot like wear from leather and hide working
(using 50-400X and a metalurgical scope).  This is the case on my experimental
tools, used in varying degrees of sweatiness (and ineptness), and also on the
handles of some very heavily used old bone crochet hooks that belonged to my
grandmothers, a modern bone folder I got from a curator at the Arizona State
Museum, and a bone weaving tool I bought from a Mayan weaver in 
Guatemala a few
years ago.



Janet


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Janet Griffitts
Visiting Scholar
Dept. of Anthropology
Tucson, Arizona

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Quoting Etan Ayalon <etana at eretzmuseum.org.il>:

> Dear Rozalia,
> It does not seem probable that threads, even if tightened, can make 
> such grooves, especially that they are not even or completely 
> circling the object. It seems that they are the result of butchery or 
> of cleaning the bone to prepare it for its purpose, and only later 
> this part of the tool got polished because of the work done with it. 
> Perhaps thread or cloth were tied to it so it would be more 
> comfortable to hold ans use. I wonder if the experts of use-wear 
> found out what signs leave sweating hands holding a tool for a long 
> time.
> Etan Ayalon
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: bonetools-bounces at listserv.iif.hu on behalf of rozalia christidou
> Sent: Thu 11/22/2007 9:33 PM
> To: Mailing list for archaeologists of the research group for
> Subject: [Bonetools] worn scapulae
>
> Dear all,
> Dr. Lionel Gourichon sent to me photographs of tools made from 
> scapulae showing polished grooves near or on the neck of the bone. As 
> you can see on the photographs attached, their number, length and 
> distribution vary.
> He asked me if these marks could be produced by threads tightly tied 
> around the neck in order to prepare a handle for the tool.
> I cannot answer his question. I asked his permission to circulate the 
> photographs on this website and ask for information.
> We have already experimental specimens used as thong stretchers and, 
> of course, we have examined the examples published by Semenov and, 
> more recently, Dr. Sandra Olsen and comparisons will be made. We 
> would appreciate your help in order to examine the problem properly.
> We thank you in advance
> Rozalia Christidou
> PS.
> 1) I sent the photos in two separate e-mails. The photos come from 
> different objects.
> 2) To Etan Ayalon: I started looking at the bibliography and ask 
> Classical Archaeologists for more information
>
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