[Bonetools] "Glissen", skates?

[Alice Choyke]

Dear Natalie,
    This is a way understudied subject in my opinion. Furthermore, it is my
imptession thst there are tools whose use creates macrowear which is VERY
similar to the polish wear created as skates glide over ice with small
particles on the surface.  While it is not necessary to have either double
skates or skates with binding holes (in Hungary there is recent
ethnographic reporting from .ca 50 years ago of single skates used on the
ice something like skate boards as well as sled runners, generally from
horse metapodials). On the other hand there are plenty of examples of long
bones with flat faceted surfaces which clearly have nothing to do with
skating. In Hunargy I can think of examples from our the middle to late
Bronze Age as well as much later Sarmation examples. Hungary is hardly
alone in thiss phenomenon - and in having archaeologist who persist in
calling any faceted mammalian long bone a skate!
Alice

On Fri, Sep 20, 2019, 11:49 nathalie pil <nathalie_pil at hotmail.com> wrote:

>
>
> Dear colleagues,
>
>
>
> In the early medieval archaeozoological collection of Domburg (coastal
> site in the Netherlands) are different types of skates (glissen).
>
> Skates are frequently made out of horse or cattle bone. But in Domburg,
> 90% of the skates are made out of sheep/goat radii or metacarpi. These
> bones sometimes belong to immature animals.
>
> The site knows a presence of 60% sheep, 31% cattle and 9% pig. The
> presence of sheep is probably caused by the landscape (they grazed on salt
> pastures) on one hand, and the wool/skin trade on the other hand.
>
>
>
> Usewear shows that the bone surface changed by friction (see document in
> attachment).
>
>
>
> Holes to fasten the skates to shoes are not present. Are these sheep/goat
> bones also skates? Can this wear be caused by an other activity?
>
>
>
> Kinds regards,
>
> Nathalie Pil
>
>
>
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>
>
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