[Bonetools] Ext: likelihood of beaver tooth found on the Thames foreshore having been used as a tool

[Margaris, Amy V.]

Dear Nat,
I can't vouch for what kind of tooth this might be, but into the historic
era indigenous Alutiiq people from Kodiak Archipelago of Alaska, U.S.
frequently made carving tools out of hafted rodent (marmot or beaver)
incisors.  For an example see p. 23-24 of this
<https://alutiiqmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ATI-CH8f.pdf>technology
inventory from the Alutiiq Museum.  Thi
<https://alutiiqmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ATI_CH8.pdf>s pdf
discusses Alutiiq carving techniques more broadly.
I hope this helps!

On Tue, Jun 10, 2025 at 12:58 PM Nathalie Buttimore <natbuttimore at gmail.com>
wrote:

> 
>
> Hi all,
>
> Not a bone object but a tooth, which I hope is ok.
>
> On Sunday I found what I’m pretty sure is a beaver tooth while mudlarking
> on the Thames foreshore at Putney, an area which can bring up prehistoric,
> Roman and Anglo-Saxon finds. The tooth, having been in the Thames mud for a
> few centuries at least, is completely darkened. The front side of the tooth
> is very shiny and solid looking, whilst the back looks much more fragile
> and has a crack. The root end looks like it might have been purposely cut
> though it might be possible that it’s just a very clean break. Obviously I
> would love for it to have been purposely worked and used as a tool or an
> amulet but having no other examples to compare it with I have no idea how
> likely that is.
>
> Another concern I have is preservation. The boar tusks that are found on
> the foreshore disintegrate rapidly after emerging from the mud and I would
> really not like for that to happen to this tooth. Teeth generally survive
> well but I don’t know of any other beaver teeth finds and it does have a
> crack.
>
> Is there any advice or information anyone could give me about preservation
> and finding out if it has any signs of having been used as a tool?
>
> Attached are photos of the tooth.
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Nat
>
>
> [image: IMG_0240.jpeg]
>
> [image: IMG_0246.jpeg]
>
> [image: IMG_0242.jpeg]
>
> [image: IMG_0241.jpeg]
> 
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-- 
Amy V. Margaris (she/her)
Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Anthropology
Chair, Program in Archaeological Studies
   Oberlin College, located on Native land
President, Firelands Archaeology (find us on Facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/groups/firelandsarchaeology/about>)

Fall 2025 Office Hours: TBA, King 302 or on Zoom by request.

Oberlin College Department of Anthropology
<http://new.oberlin.edu/arts-and-sciences/departments/anthropology/>
Oberlin College Program in Archaeological Studies
<https://www.oberlin.edu/arts-and-sciences/departments/archaeological-studies>
Learn more about my research on Academia.edu
<https://oberlin.academia.edu/AmyMargaris>
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