EXPERIMENTAL CUT MARK REPLICATION AS A MEANS FOR UNDERSTANDING LINEAR MARKS ON ARCHAEOLOGICAL BONES FROM THE MEDZHIBOZH LOWER PALAEOLITHIC SITES

Abstract

The paper presents the first results of experimental modelling of a series of cut marks on bones in different states of preservation. We used experimental (quartz, flint) and technogenic (granite) flakes with sharp and blunt unretouched working edges and trimmed edges produced by the bipolar on-anvil technique. V-, П-, and U-shaped cut marks and surface damage were obtained. The data gained are useful for the reconstruction of conditions of occurrence of cut marks on bones found in the uppermost culture-bearing horizons of the Lower Palaeolithic sites near Medzhibozh, located in the upper reaches of the Southern Bug River and dated to MIS 11. The data can also be used for differentiating between anthropogenic and natural damage and as a significant statistical point of reference.