[Bonetools] Strange cattle bones with carved holes

[Pajx]

Hey Christian


That's great. I'm looking forward to reading your article. A question about your database - it gives a records number at the bottom (2493) but the number of records actually shown is significantly smaller (652)...?


best
Pam


Pamela J Cross
PhD researcher, Zoo/Bioarchaeology
Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford,  BD7 1DP  UK
p.j.cross (at) student.bradford.ac.uk  / pajx(at) aol.com
http://www.barc.brad.ac.uk/resstud_Cross.php
http://bradford.academia.edu/PamCross



-----Original Message-----
From: Christian Küchelmann <info at knochenarbeit.de>
To: Mailing list for archaeologists of the research group for the study of
 object and waste of bone, antler. ivory and horn. <bonetools at listserv.niif.hu>; Josje van Leeuwen <josje89 at gmail.com>
Sent: Fri, Nov 21, 2014 7:57 am
Subject: Re: [Bonetools] Strange cattle bones with carved holes


Dear Josje,


while I have no idea about the function of Johnny Karlssons finds, your question of the function of the hole at the proximal end of a skate can be solved. These type of bone skates is not rare and there are several ones found with a peg still inside the hole. Check the paper I wrote with Petar Zidarov for the WBRG-Tallinn volume and the bone skates database for related finds and references at http://www.knochenarbeit.de/eigene_arbeiten/skating_on_bones.pdf
http://www.knochenarbeit.de/index.php?page=bone_skates


Best


Christian

-- 
Knochenarbeit 

Hans Christian Küchelmann 

Konsul-Smidt-Straße 30, D-28217 Bremen, Germany 
tel: +49 - 421 - 61 99 177 
fax: +49 - 421 - 37 83 540 
mail: info at knochenarbeit.de 
web: http://www.knochenarbeit.de


Am 21.11.2014 um 16:07 schrieb Josje van Leeuwen:



Dear mr. Karlsson,
 
The bones you showed are new to me, but I have found something similar in Medemblik, the Netherlands (a medieval trading settlement). It was a metacarpal horse bone with a single hole in the proximal end. The distal end had two holes just under the joint, probably used to bind it to something. It was clearly used as an iceskate, but I couldn't see how they would attach it to a foot with a hole in the distal end... My interpretation is that it was probably used as skates for a sled (with two such bones placed one in front of the other with perhaps a stick in between). I have never seen anything like it, though, and perhaps it is similar in a way to your find. It dates to around 1100.
 
I look forward to other reactions!
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Josje van Leeuwen



2014-11-21 15:44 GMT+01:00 Johnny Karlsson <johnny.karlsson at ofl.su.se>:


Dear all, 
I hope you can help me with some odd bone objects from medieval Sigtuna in Sweden. 
During a research on medieval bone skates from the town, I and a colleague came across some bones that seem to have another function at least primary. It is only metacarpal bones from cattle and they have two holes at the proximal joint, see photo. The holes are uneven and look carved rather than drilled. Usually the holes reach the medullar cavity. In two cases it is evident that the bones secondary have been used as skates, in two other cases they exhibit transverse striations on the diaphysis (see photo). But the majority of them show no sign of use at all except these two proximal holes. We identified about twenty of them from one particular trench in layers dating to the 12th century, but they do appear in smaller numbers in other parts of town.
Has anyone of you seen something similar? Does anyone know their function?
Thank you in advance,
Johnny Karlsson


_______________________________________________
Bonetools mailing list
Bonetools at listserv.niif.hu
https://listserv.niif.hu/mailman/listinfo/bonetools




_______________________________________________
Bonetools mailing list
Bonetools at listserv.niif.hu
https://listserv.niif.hu/mailman/listinfo/bonetools





_______________________________________________
Bonetools mailing list
Bonetools at listserv.niif.hu
https://listserv.niif.hu/mailman/listinfo/bonetools

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://listserv.niif.hu/pipermail/bonetools/attachments/20141121/bb333e5e/attachment-0001.html>