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Hi,<br>
<br>
Just to add to that Ian, I've encountered the use of localised
burning in antlerworking from British Mesolithic sites during the
course of my PhD. This can be seen at two sites from Wales - Splash
Point (Rhyll) and Goldcliff East (Gwent). The Splash Point antler
"mattock" has been directly AMS dated to 5636-5336 cal. BC. Again,
very localised burning can be observed in association with breakage
on both artefacts and <i>debitage</i>.<br>
<br>
Images of these finds can be found in Bell, M (2007) Prehistoric
Coastal Communities: The Mesolithic in Western Britain. Council for
British Archaeology Report 149: York - although the original authors
don't comment specifically on the use of fire in their production.<br>
<br>
Hope that is of some interest/relevance!<br>
<br>
Ben Elliott<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 14/09/2012 11:33,
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:trzaska@lineone.net">trzaska@lineone.net</a> wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote
cite="mid:25829909.592991347618836455.JavaMail.defaultUser@defaultHost"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Fire blackening of antler to assist in removing the tines has been suggested on a number occasions
in England, mainly for neolithic material. The illustrations here are not very good (my apologies
!) but they show an antler from a neolithic context, recovered from an important site at
Trumpington in Cambridgeshire, which has been fire blackened around the junction with the trez
tine, and also along the beam. The suggestion is that localised charring of antler, undertaken
probably with a wooden brand, was commonly used as a working technique at this time (Clutton-Brock
1984, 26; Serjeantson and Gardiner 1995, 420-1). It made the antler more brittle and easier to
separate. The same technique can also be seen on some Neolithic bone objects (Senepart 1985,
39).
These are old studies of course but they might be useful. Trumpington will be published in a few
years time.
Clutton-Brock, J., 1984 Neolithic Antler Picks from Grimes Graves, Norfolk and Durrington Walls,
Wiltshire: a Biometrical Analysis, London
Senepart, I., 1985 L’industrie osseuse cardiale de Provence, in H. Camps-Fabrer, L’industrie en Os
et Bois de Cervidés durant le Néolithique et l’Age des Métaux 3, Paris, 37-43
Serjeantson, D. and Gardiner, J., 1995 Antler Implements and Ox Scapulae Shovels and Animal Bone,
in R. M. J. Cleal, K. E. Walker and R. Montague, Stonehenge and its Landscape: Twentieth Century
Excavations, English Heritage Archaeological Report 10, London, 414-30 and 437-51
Ian Riddler
</pre>
<br>
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<br>
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</pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
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