Interpreting the Schöningen 13II-4 butchery sequence using the Harris Matrix

Abstract

The Schöningen 13II-4 site is well known for the discovery of multiple wooden spears in association with a large assemblage of Middle Pleistocene fauna. Such extraordinary organic preservation also extends to a wide array of bone surface modifications that can be used to reconstruct Middle Pleistocene hominin butchery practices. On bones with few hominin-induced marks, the butchery sequence can be determined quite easily. However, the sequence becomes increasingly more difficult to decipher in bones that include a high number and diversity of biotic and abiotic modifications. To aid in this process, we developed a simple approach for determining the order of bone surface modifications using methods borrowed from the Harris Matrix. Usually employed to organize complicated stratigraphic profiles, the Harris Matrix is well-suited to arranging and subsequently interpreting the complex sequence of cut marks, scrape marks, impact notches, damage produced during lithic tool production, and carnivore tooth marks preserved on many of the Schöningen 13II-4 bones. Our aim is to introduce this new application of the Harris Matrix for zooarchaeological analysis and its use in evaluating Middle Pleistocene hominin butchery practices at the Schöningen 13II-4 site and thereby provide a tool that also can be applied to comparative analyses of other faunal assemblages from archaeological sites.