Abstract
A stray find of red deer antler from Sweden with the braincase was collected due to an apparently pathological deformation, the strongly retarded right antler. Measurements of the complete left antler inspired the analysis of general antler conformation in order to place this archaeological specimen in a zoological context. This stray find and another prehistoric antler from Sweden as well as three complete prehistoric antlers from Hungary were metrically compared using measurements of over 17,000 trophies of extant red deer from Hungary. The results confirmed that the stray specimen from Sweden and prehistoric antlers from Hungary were similar in that they were stouter (smaller length measurements but greater circumferences) than their 20th century counterparts. Most of their measurements fell within the ±1 standard deviation interval of the means of extant trophies. The pathological lesion on the studied stray specimen directed attention to the role of human selection. Twentieth century record trophies show a significant increase in antler weight and “quality” as defined in the international trophy grading system. While these morphometric observations cannot be taken as a proxy for absolute dating or precise contextual identification for the stray find central to this study, its size and apparent lack of consistent human selection (pathological deformation, “archaic” antler proportions) point to possibly early origins, prior to major human influence.
Highlights
A distinctive feature of cervids is antler, whose complex physiology, anatomy, and taphonomy differ from that of skeletal bone, even if their chemical compositions are identical
Grown by males in red deer, antler maintains a special position in archaeology as well
This paper is proceeding from the analysis of a pathological-looking stray find of red deer (Cervus elaphus Linnaeus, 1758) antler from Stockholm University (Sweden) toward a general evaluation of prehistoric antler racks against the background of human-induced changes in the conformation of antler in extant red deer in Hungary
Summary
A distinctive feature of cervids is antler, whose complex physiology, anatomy, and taphonomy differ from that of skeletal bone, even if their chemical compositions are identical. Grown by males in red deer, antler maintains a special position in archaeology as well. According to mtDNA studies [1], the western lineage of red deer is believed to derive from a glacial refugium in Iberia, free of the glacial ice that covered the rest of Europe at the time. Western red deer are widely distributed in present-day Europe. A genetic signal congruent with these mtDNA results has recently been identified in the nuclear genome, haplogroup A being most widely distributed from Iberia throughout continental
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