[Bonetools] General question about dot and circle motif

[Katherine M. Moore]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for this. It would definitely help if the craftspeople could do  
this with stone since while my area does have bits of bronze and gold,  
it's mostly for ornaments. The bottoms of the engraved circles in the  
examples I just looked at are square rather than rounded, but I need  
to take some better pictures now that I see what kinds of tools might  
be in use. My circles are very very small: often just 3 mm in  
diameter. It's also useful to be able to visualize the shape of the  
stone gravers. The stone tool types in the Bolivian assemblages don't  
include much in the way of burins or gravers, but the connections with  
the pieces in the Tomenchuk articles will be very useful.

best,

Kate (no relation!)



Quoting "Christopher R. Moore" <moorecr at uindy.edu>:

> Hello Kate,
>
> There is an American Antiquity article from 1997 that argues that  
> multi-spurred graving tools from Paleoindian sites were used for  
> engraving this motif on bone and shell.  The citation is:
>
> Tomenchuk, John and Peter L. Storck
> 1997	Two Newly Recognized Paleoindian Tool Types: Single- and  
> Double-Scribe Compass Gravers and Coring Gravers.  American  
> Antiquity 62(3):508-522.
>
> chris
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Katherine M. Moore" <kmmoore at sas.upenn.edu>
> To: bonetools at listserv.niif.hu
> Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 9:08:00 AM
> Subject: Re: [Bonetools] General question about dot and circle motif
>
> Dear Monica: thank you! This is exactly the kind of real-world
> experience I lacked.
>
> Kate Moore
>
> Quoting T + M Tielens <info at bikkelenbeen.nl>:
>
>> Hello Kate,
>>
>> I use it for the decorations on my bone articles. When I started with bone
>> carving I used the one hand tool with a metal fork and I turned it round.
>> But if you look at all the originals this is not the way our ancestors did
>> it. Nowadays I use a handdrill with a 3 fork metaltool specialy made by a
>> blacksmith. And although I am not satisfatied yet the result is much better
>> than before.
>>
>> Greetings
>> Monica Tielens
>> Bikkel en Been
>>
>> 2012/6/11 Katherine M. Moore <kmmoore at sas.upenn.edu>
>>
>>> Dear bone tool group colleagues:
>>>
>>> My eye was caught by the dot/circle motifs on that hair pin, and I address
>>> the list with a few basic questions about this motif, based on their
>>> occasional appearance on "fancy" pieces in Formative (neolithic) Bolivia.
>>>
>>> What tools and techniques are necessary to produce this effect? It is a
>>> one-step or two-step procedure to produce the dot and the circle together?
>>>
>>> I have seen reference to producing the circle with a fine, stiff reed or
>>> plant stem and abrasive. Does this seem reasonable?
>>>
>>> Does decoration with dot-and-circle seem like a more demanding process
>>> than free-hand engraving or less demanding of skill and training?
>>>
>>> There is spectacular free-hand engraving on bone for thousands of years in
>>> the New World, but dot-and-circle also appears. I don't have the experience
>>> to judge the implications for the production of the craft, much less what
>>> the social implications might be in choosing a dot-and-circle decoration
>>> over a hatched band or a little monkey or jaguar.
>>>
>>> Thanks for your insights,
>>>
>>> best,
>>>
>>> Kate Moore
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Quoting Marloes Rijkelijkhuizen
>>> <marloesrijkelijkhuizen@**hotmail.com<marloesrijkelijkhuizen at hotmail.com>
>>> >:
>>>
>>>
>>>> Dear all,
>>>>
>>>> A question from a German colleague.
>>>> This object is 6,6 cm long, diameter of the shaft is 0,4 cm. The dice are
>>>> circa 0,6 x 0,7 cm.
>>>>
>>>> Has anyone of you seen such a piece before, or has any other information?
>>>>
>>>> With best wishes,
>>>> Marloes
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Zooarchaeology Laboratory
>>> University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
>>> 3260 South Street
>>> Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA
>>>
>>>
>>> ______________________________**_________________
>>> Bonetools mailing list
>>> Bonetools at listserv.niif.hu
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>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Monica Tielens
>> Bikkel en Been
>>
>> Lingedijk 35
>> 4191 VB  Geldermalsen
>>
>> tel: 0031(0)345 582089
>> mob: 0031(0)629245711
>> e-mail: info at bikkelenbeen.nl
>>
>
>
>
> Zooarchaeology Laboratory
> University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
> 3260 South Street
> Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA
>
>
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> --
> Christopher R. Moore, Ph.D.
> Assistant Professor
> Department of Physics & Earth-Space Sciences
> University of Indianapolis
> (317) 788-3534
>
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Zooarchaeology Laboratory
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
3260 South Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA