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<div>Dear Johnny,</div>
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<div>I realize that similarly perforated metacarpals from the 3rd millennium BC in the southern Levant are unlikely to solve your problem, but you may be interested in a far-flung comparison nonetheless. The examples shown in the attached image are sheep/goat
metacarpals, not cattle, but the location of perforations in the proximal articulation are a perfect match to your medieval specimens. This image was scanned from the following:</div>
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<div>Kenyon KM. (1965) Excavations at Jericho. Volume Two: The Tombs excavated in 1955-8, London: British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem.</div>
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<div>These sorts of worked metacarpals have been interpreted as anthropomorphic figurines by K. Kenyon and flutes by G. Garstang. I summarize the history of research on Levantine ‘modified metapodia’ in the following paper:</div>
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<div>Allentuck A. (2013) Raw Material Availability and Technological Choice: Modified Metapodia from an Early Bronze Age Site in Central Israel. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 23: 379-394.</div>
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<div>Cheers,</div>
<div>Adam</div>
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<div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000000"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri">Adam Allentuck</font></font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000000"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri">SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow</font></font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000000"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri">Honorary Research Associate</font></font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000000"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri">Institute of Archaeology</font></font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000000"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri">University College London</font></font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000000"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri">31-34 Gordon Square</font></font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000000"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri">London WC1H 0PY</font></font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000000"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Calibri">United Kingdom</font></font></div>
<div><a href="http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/people/staff/honorary/allentuck">http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/people/staff/honorary/allentuck</a></div>
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<span style="font-weight:bold">From: </span>Johnny Karlsson <<a href="mailto:johnny.karlsson@ofl.su.se">johnny.karlsson@ofl.su.se</a>><br>
<span style="font-weight:bold">Reply-To: </span>"<a href="mailto:bonetools@listserv.niif.hu">bonetools@listserv.niif.hu</a>" <<a href="mailto:bonetools@listserv.niif.hu">bonetools@listserv.niif.hu</a>><br>
<span style="font-weight:bold">Date: </span>Friday, November 21, 2014 at 2:44 PM<br>
<span style="font-weight:bold">To: </span>"<a href="mailto:bonetools@listserv.niif.hu">bonetools@listserv.niif.hu</a>" <<a href="mailto:bonetools@listserv.niif.hu">bonetools@listserv.niif.hu</a>><br>
<span style="font-weight:bold">Subject: </span>[Bonetools] Strange cattle bones with carved holes<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><font face="Palatino Linotype">Dear all,<!--?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /-->
<o:p></o:p></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><font face="Palatino Linotype">I hope you can help me with some odd bone objects from medieval <span tabindex="-1" id="misspelled" s="0" t="0">Sigtuna</span></font><a></a><font face="Palatino Linotype">
in Sweden. <o:p></o:p></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><font face="Palatino Linotype">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 <span tabindex="-1" id="misspelled" s="1" t="0">diaphysis</span></font><a></a><font face="Palatino Linotype">
(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 12<sup>th</sup> century, but they do appear in smaller numbers in other
parts of town.<o:p></o:p></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><font face="Palatino Linotype">Has anyone of you seen something similar? Does anyone know their function?<o:p></o:p></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 7.5pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif;"><font face="Palatino Linotype">Thank you in advance,<br>
Johnny <span tabindex="-1" id="misspelled" s="2" t="0">Karlsson</span></font><a></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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