[Bonetools] Scapula tools

[Lionel Gourichon]

Dear Colleagues,


I recently found several worked scapulas of caprines (and one of /Bos/) 
among the faunal remains from the Early Bronze levels of Tell Qarassa, 
in southern Syria.
Almost systematically, the distal part of the scapula seems to have been 
used for scraping something: the shape of this part is straight, the 
edge is smooth and oblique in cross-section. Moreover, the neck and the 
lateral side of the bones look sometimes polished (from handling 
probably), and the spine was intentionally removed in some cases.
The study of the animal bones is in progress. As a non-specialist about 
bone industry, I would like to know if this kind of tool has been 
observed elsewhere in the Near East for the Bronze Age period.
Personally I already found scapulas used as tools (probably also for 
scraping) in two Neolithic sites (Mentese in western Turkey and Tell 
Seker al Aheimar in northern Syria), but does anyone have information 
for more recent periods ?

Thanks by advance for you help,

Lionel



-- 
Lionel Gourichon - CEPAM / UMR 6130 (CNRS) - Sophia Antipolis - 250 rue 
A. Einstein - F-06560 Valbonne - +33 (0)4 93 95 41 34
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