[Bonetools] mesolithic artefact

[S O'Connor]

Dear Marina and David,

 

Just a few more thoughts. I would be very cautious about ascribing a use to these fish bones.  They look very rounded and ‘worn’ even in-situ in the fin where they clearly have not been used as a tool or modified by human agency.  

 

I am also dubious about them being used in the consumption of shell fish having prepared and consumed quantities of both oysters and mussels in my time!  You need a stout knife or a sharp and robust stone blade for the oyster and an empty mussel shell makes a perfect pair of ‘tweezers’ with which to eat the delicate cooked flesh of other mussels.  The sturgeon fin bone would not be useful for either role and is even too blunt for extracting the cooked flesh from marine gastropods such as cockles and winkles.  

 

Most likely the pile of bones found in Hamburg is just residue from fileting sturgeon.   The skin is likely to have been removed as a piece with the characteristic boney scutes  for processing into leather.  Cutting off the fins at the fish market would make it easier to stack, roll or fold the skin for transportation from the fish market to the tanners. If the heads were left on the skins the fin bones would be one of the few persistent skeletal elements left behind as the sturgeon has a largely cartilaginous skeleton. 

 

All the best,

 

Sonia

Dr Sonia O'Connor PhD FSA FIIC ACR Honorary Visiting Fellow, University of York

Post-doctoral Research Fellow

Archaeological Sciences

Division of AGES,  

University of Bradford

Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD7 1DP, UK

 

tel 01274 23 6498 (office) 5210 (lab)

fax 01274 23 5210

 

From: Bonetools [mailto:bonetools-bounces at listserv.niif.hu] On Behalf Of marinaevora at sapo.pt
Sent: 15 April 2014 14:11
To: Mailing list for archaeologists of the research group for the study of object and waste of bone, antler. ivory and horn.
Subject: Re: [Bonetools] mesolithic artefact

 


Thank you David and Sonia for your comments, no wonder I couldn't find parallels, I was not looking in the right place.

David, could you point me to the complete reference of the page and images you provided?

Best,
Marina

Quoting S O'Connor <S.Oconnor at bradford.ac.uk>:

That looks a pretty close match, for the sturgeon dorsal fin elements

 

See

 

http://web.pdx.edu/~virginia/white_sturgeon/images/caudal_fin_dorsal.htm

part of

http://web.pdx.edu/~virginia/white_sturgeon/white_sturgeon.htm

 

Sonia

 

Dr Sonia O'Connor PhD FSA FIIC ACR Honorary Visiting Fellow, University of York

Post-doctoral Research Fellow

Archaeological Sciences

Division of AGES, 

University of Bradford

Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD7 1DP, UK

 

tel 01274 23 6498 (office) 5210 (lab)

fax 01274 23 5210

 

From: Bonetools [mailto:bonetools-bounces at listserv.niif.hu] On Behalf Of Dave Constantine
Sent: 15 April 2014 11:28
To: Mailing list for archaeologists of the research group for the study of object and waste of bone, antler. ivory and horn.
Subject: Re: [Bonetools] mesolithic artefact

 

Dear Marina,

 

Is it possibly a fish bone? Attached are a couple of pages discussing the possible use of Sturgeon bones for eating shellfish and the bones look rather like yours.

Regards,

David Constantine

 

From: marinaevora at sapo.pt

Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2014 11:03 AM

To: Mailing list for archaeologists of the research group for the study of object and waste of bone, antler. ivory and horn. <mailto:bonetools at listserv.niif.hu> 

Subject: [Bonetools] mesolithic artefact

 

Dear all,

I'm sending you two pictures of an artefact recovered from a mesolithic shellmidden site in Portugal. I believe it is made from mammal bone. Do you have/ know of similar objects? I have been searching for parallels and I didn't find it.
Thank you.

Best,


Marina Évora

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Marina Évora

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