Implications of bone modification in a neolithic faunal assemblage for the study of early hominid butchery and subsistence practices

Abstract

Bone modification patterns have been widely used to discuss early hominid diet and subsistence strategies. This paper presents the results of a study of bone modification at the Kenyan Postoral Neolithic site of Ngamuriak, and discusses its relevance to the interpretation of faunas from early hominid sites. Neolithic butchery of large bovids at Ngamuriak appears generally similar to that reported for large bovids from the FLK-Zinjanthropus site at Olduvai Gorge, specifically cut marks on limb shafts are common in both assemblages. This counters Shipman's contentions that early hominid butchery differs from the Neolithic pattern, and that a high frequency of cuts on limb shafts at early hominid sites can be used as an indication of early hominid scavenging activities. However, butchery patterns differ between large and small bovids at Ngamuriak and between small bovids at Ngamuriak and FLK-Zinjanthropus. Small bovids at FLK-Zinjanthropus are more intensively processed than at Ngmuriak. The difference between large and small bovid butchery at Ngamuriak gives some time depth to the findings of some recent ethnoarchaeological studies and emphasises the importance of considering different size categories separately in the interpretation of early hominid sites. Whilst there are some areas where Neolithic bone modification is patterned by recent technology, Neolithic faunal assemblages can provide a useful link between early hominid and contemporary faunal assemblages.