Butchery Marks Research Articles

Core stratigraphy constrains Bed IV archaeological record at HEB site, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

The Olduvai Gorge deposits contain a rich archaeological record documenting the evolution of hominin behavior over the last 2 million years. While archaeological assemblages in the lower sedimentary layers (Beds I-II) are well preserved in relatively secure chronostratigraphic contexts, the age of overlying beds is poorly constrained due to discontinuous exposures and lack of marker horizons, abundant erosional contacts and lack of unweathered, dateable material. As a result, Beds III-IV and the Masek Beds, have yet received little attention compared to the underlying beds. Recently, the Olduvai Gorge Coring Project (OGCP) acquired high resolution, stratigraphically continuous sedimentary cores of Palaeolake Olduvai through scientific drilling, in order to improve the geological and palaeoenvironmental contexts of the hominin record. While other studies reported in this volume have used palaeoenvironmental datasets from the cores to refine the Beds I-II records, this study combines outcrop and core stratigraphic methods to improve the chronology of Bed IV archaeological sites. Our recent excavation at HEB site demonstrates the importance of this approach to improve the stratigraphic positioning and relative age of Bed IV archaeological materials. Our results suggest that the HEB site is younger than previously thought because it was formed after depositional fill of an incised valley, which substantially removed much of lowermost Bed IV in the HEB area. The lithofacies at this site indicate lake expansion and development of Ngorongoro Highland sourced braided streams near the lakeshore at this time, which coincided with rich assemblages of artifacts, fossil fauna, and bones bearing butchery marks. This setting likely afforded a variety of resources to hominins including potable water, raw materials, refuge trees, and animal food, making HEB an important site for inferring the cultural and feeding behaviors of Homo erectus.

Disassembling cattle and enskilling subjectivities: Butchering techniques and the emergence of new colonial subjects in Santiago de Guatemala

When they introduced cattle into Guatemala in the 16th century, Europeans also brought a whole new industry involving ranches, slaughterhouses, and new forms of labor. On the one hand, cattle producers had to treat the animals as intact living organisms requiring care and nurture to maintain and increase the herds. Those animals were grown by the ranchers for specific purposes. In the first place, colonial Mesoamerican cattle were raised to produce hides and leather for intercontinental trade with Spain. The regularized disassembling of the bovine bodies created these new products, but it also had some unintended consequences, namely the generation of new subject positions among the indigenous workers of these facilities. New forms of butchering techniques aimed at extracting animal parts were unlike the indigenous practices of animal hunting and exploitation, which aimed at preserving the physical integrity of the animals’ bodies. The newly introduced techniques that involved the compartmentalization of animal bodies also involved an increased compartmentalization of labor, accompanied by new body techniques and gestures. As the butchers and the tanners became enskilled, their bodies changed and so did their hexis. To operationalize these ideas, technological approaches combined with zooarchaeological (butchery marks), ethnographic, and historical evidence are used to investigate how humans and cattle mutually grew each other’s matter and subjectivities.

Testing meat-eating by Middle Stone Age hominins at Loiyangalani open-air site in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

New results from detailed zooarchaeological and taphonomic analyses of faunal remains from Loiyangalani are presented. The assemblage is well preserved but highly fragmented mainly as a result of anthropogenic processing. Results show that hominins exploited high-quality nutritional resources from small and large-sized ungulates. Overall, the assemblage is dominated by large-sized ungulates, which suggest were preferentially targeted. The fact that the site was strategically positioned along a wildlife migration corridor made their encounters always high and predictable. Feeding traces of both hominins and carnivores are also recorded. The abundance of butchery marks on high-meat and marrow-bearing bones suggests systematic butchery of the carcasses. The proportions of specimens bearing cut marks and percussion marks on long limb bones and the axial skeleton denote primary access to fully fleshed carcasses. Results also suggest carnivore mostly scavenged defleshed and demarrowed bone fragments discarded at the site.

Animal management in the Medieval Banat: faunal remains from the settlement at the Pančevo – Livade site (Serbia)

This paper presents the results of the faunal remains analysis from the medieval settlement of the Pančevo – Livade site, discontinuously occupied between the 8th and the 13th centuries. The animal remains represent food leftovers as indicated by the butchering marks and mortality profiles. Apart from mammalian remains, which are the most numerous, bird, micromammal, and mollusc remains are also present. Animal husbandry was of great significance to the economy, although not highly developed – domestic animal breeds were small and primitive. During the earlier phase of the settlement (8– 9th centuries), domestic pig was the main source of meat, with cattle, sheep, goats, and horses herded as well. During the later phase of the settlement (10th– 11th centuries), cattle were the most important among the domestic species. Pig continued to be the main source of meat, while the secondary products of cattle, sheep, and goats gained greater significance. Hunting played a somewhat more significant role in the economy of the later phase, as indicated by a greater number of hunted wild species – boar, red deer, and mallard.

Bird bones from Trou de Chaleux and the human exploitation of birds during the late Magdalenian in Belgium

The Trou de Chaleux is a cave site located in Belgium. It delivered a rich late Magdalenian material culture constituted mainly of lithic artefacts but also including bone industries and figurative art. This paper presents the results of the analysis of the large collection of bird remains recovered by E. Dupont in 1865, which was yet unstudied from taphonomical and archaeozoological perspectives. In addition to the taxonomic identification, surface alterations were investigated based on a macro- and microscopic analysis, including an analysis of wear traces and elementary composition. Special attention is devoted to the presence of human modifications such as disarticulation or butchering marks, traces of heating, presence of colourants and traces of bone working. The taphonomic history of the bird assemblage is reconstructed and the use of birds by humans characterized, as well as their importance in past human activities. We also discuss evidence for seasonal exploitation and for reconstructing the local environment and integrate our results with evidence from other Magdalenian assemblages from north-western Europe. At Trou de Chaleux, birds were used for food, as raw material for bone working and for symbolic purposes. The exploitation of avian products was intense, and species have been used for several purposes such as the raven and snowy owl having been exploited both for food and for symbolic reasons. Large bird bones were used as raw material to produce artefacts, but the use-wear analysis did not evidence unambiguous traces related to the use of the objects produced. Despite several limiting factors, the bird material from Trou de Chaleux considerably increases the knowledge of past human exploitation of birds during the late Magdalenian in north-western Europe.

Analysis of the faunal remains: results

S. Costamagno As discussed in the first chapter, analyzing the butchery marks using the reference collection produced during the research project was only possible for a limited number of sites. Aside the open-air sites that did not contain bone remains, the stratigraphic issues involed in some sequences (Abri Olha) and the poor preservation of the bone surfaces in some assemblages (Mauran, Coudoulous 1, Les Fieux) rendered this type of approach impossible. Furthermore, some sites could not b...

Don't cry over spilled ink: Missing context prevents replication and creates the Rorschach effect in bone surface modification studies

The scientific replicability crisis has recently focused on bone surface modification (BSM) analysis, which underlies zooarchaeological and anthropological conclusions about the ecology and evolution of tool-assisted carcass consumption behavior. We review a recent blind test of inter-analyst correspondence in morphometric analysis of experimentally generated butchery marks that advocates algorithmic methods for diagnosing and measuring BSM in an effort to standardize methodology and minimize inter-analyst error (Domínguez-Rodrigo et al., 2017. Use and abuse of cut mark analyses: The Rorschach effect. Journal of Archaeological Science, 86, 14–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2017.08.001). This study overstates concern about the inaccuracy of BSM measurement and interpretation, concluding that BSM analysis is a subjective, non-scientific endeavor. Based on a minimally described sample of cut marks, it measures variables that involve inherent inaccuracy and subjectivity and overlooks how the contexts of experimental sample generation – particularly the difference between immanent and configurational processes – differentially affect cut mark morphometrics. We illustrate this discussion with experimental taphonomic examples focused on analytical context including sample construction and control over factors that affect cut mark cross-sectional size. Our analysis suggests the relationship between tool attributes and cut mark morphology is not generalizable to all experimental and archaeological butchery contexts. We show that our experimental samples capture metric variability observed in archaeological cut marks, but that intentionally incised marks and realistic defleshing marks differ in width and depth. Further, when controlling for factors that impact cut mark size including animal size class, tool type, butcher experience, and density across bone portions, overlapping cut mark widths and depths produced by phonolite and ignimbrite flakes lead to poor classification of marks according to causal flake material, which casts doubt on the ability to discriminate cut marks made by different materials. We build datasets that include diverse experimental contexts and suggest that meta-analysis can disentangle how multiple configurational factors contribute to cut mark morphometric attributes. Ultimately, progress in BSM analysis rests on inter-analyst replicability, which must be preceded by clear discussion of all parts of the inferential loop – from the design of experiments that generate actualistic analogues, to their use in supporting archaeological arguments. Otherwise, problematic expert knowledge traditions may mask arguments from authority in sophisticated methodological language and under-reported experimental context.

Culture and the environment on the floodplain of the river Cauca in southwestern Colombia: Reconstructing the evidence from the Late Pleistocene to the Late Holocene

This paper summarizes the results of on-going archaeological and palaeoecological research on the floodplain of the river Cauca and adjacent piedmont, with the aim of reconstructing an outline history of the human occupation of the region and its interaction with the environment, beginning in the Late Pleistocene. The difficulties of locating occupation sites in this landscape cannot be overestimated. Although valuable for its preservation of palaeosols, the accumulation of sediment deposited by the river Cauca and its tributaries during periods of flooding can be extremely rapid and the earlier archaeological sites (1000 B.C. to 500 A.D.) are generally buried beneath several metres of alluvium. Under these circumstances, traditional site survey has limited potential and the most promising strategy is the location of palaeosols with evidence of human activity based on soil analysis and palaeobotanical studies.Sedimentology from a dozen deep cores is providing invaluable information on the environments that early human populations in the area would have enjoyed or coped with. The cores testify to a highly dynamic river Cauca and its tributaries resulting in a series of rapid local environmental changes. Besides extensive periodic flooding, past populations were probably affected by tectonic events since numerous faults cross the region. Volcanic ash is a component of many of the soil cores but much was redeposited material from earlier falls, probably during the Pleistocene.Direct archaeological evidence of human activity during the Early and Middle Holocene is limited to a mastodon skeleton with butchering marks on its ribs, and to a surface find of a stone tool (azada) characteristic of this period. Of the numerous fertile palaeosols detected in cores, some have agricultural characteristics and there is evidence of fires, possibly for clearing fields, from the late seventh millennium B.C. while by the third millennium B.C. a site provides evidence of burning in combination with the cultivation of maize (Zea mays) and arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea).While a relatively large number of archaeological sites testify to human activity over much of southwestern Colombia during the Early and Middle Holocene, research has drawn attention to a period of archaeological silence between 2500 and 1000 B.C. when Formative societies were developing in other regions of South America. An important focus of this project is the search for traces of human activity during this period. The palaeosols have important potential for acquiring information on this question since stratigraphical evidence suggests that many lie within this time range. By the Late Holocene (c. 500 B.C.) the Ilama population was established in that region of the alluvial valley centred on Lake Sonso and the town of Palmira, followed by Yotoco and, further south, Malagana; in contrast, in the northern sector of the valley evidence for this sequence remains tentative. Here the only settlement site located so far with very late Formative characteristics produced an entirely new style of pottery. This site (first century B.C.) was in wooded marshland where houses must have been built on stilts, contrasting with Late Period sites (c. AD 500–1500), occupied by a sequence of different cultural groups of the Sonsoide tradition and located on slightly higher ground within the flood plain or in the piedmont.

Retention of old technologies following the end of the Neolithic: microscopic analysis of the butchering marks on animal bones from Çatalhöyük East

ABSTRACTMicroscopic analysis of butchering marks on bones from Neolithic to Hellenistic deposits at Çatalhöyük, Turkey, are employed as a proxy measure for identifying the rate and nature of adoption of metallurgy for quotidian activities. During the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods, only stone tools were being used for butchering. In the post-Neolithic strata, however, chipped stone tools continue to dominate the assemblage. This stands in contrast to the larger regional pattern where metal butchering marks dominate after the end of the Early Bronze Age. The authors propose that the continued use of stone tools for processing animal carcasses long after the advent of hard metal alloys is because of the nearby and abundant source of obsidian. Obsidian flake and blade tools remain the raw material of choice for animal-carcass processing over time. The analysis demonstrates that the replacement of stone and adoption of metal butchering tools was not a straightforward affair.

Rhinoceros (Stephanorhinus hemitoechus) exploitation in Level F at the Caune de l'Arago (Tautavel, Pyrénéés‐Orientales, France) during MIS 12

AbstractCaune de l'Arago is a Middle Pleistocene site in Southern France, where Acheulean artefacts and hominin fossils were excavated. Rhinoceros (Stephanorhinus hemitoechus) remains from Level F (MIS 12) were studied from a zooarchaeological and taphonomic perspective to investigate the potential human exploitation of this large taxon. The well‐represented butchering marks, as well as scarce carnivore marks, indicate primary access to rhinoceros carcasses by hominins. The juvenile‐dominated mortality profile further suggests aggressive scavenging or occasional opportunistic hunting. Furthermore, differential skeletal representation shows that humans selectively transported the nutrient‐rich body sections. In addition, thorough processing of the carcasses for consumption inside the cave is highlighted by the frequent cut marks, intensive fragmentation, and regular spatial distribution. The analyses of the Arago Level F rhinoceros confirm the rhinoceros exploitation by humans during the Lower Palaeolithic; however, the rhinoceros mortality profile differs from that of large mammals such as equids, argali, and all other game species of this archaeological layer. Caune de l'Arago is the earliest hominin site where the systematic exploitation of rhinoceros has been documented.

FwJj70 – A potential Early Stone Age single carcass butchery locality preserved in a fragmentary surface assemblage

The Okote Member (1.39–1.53 million-years-ago) of the Koobi Fora Formation preserves a rich and well-resolved lithic archaeological record, but comparatively little is known about the paleoecology of stone tool use during hominins' carnivorous foraging behavior. Archaeological butchery traces are typically found in fragmentary assemblages with well-preserved cortical surfaces that include multiple butchered individuals and carcass parts, but conclusions about butchery behavior, including skeletal element profiles and element and individual estimates may be impacted by specimen identifiability and differential preservation during palimpsest assemblage formation. Here we present an analysis of a fragmentary surface assemblage of fossil bone, designated FwJj70, that includes butchered and tooth-marked specimens and fragments of additional mammal carcasses to explore the archaeological visibility of carcass consumption at the lower boundaries of data quality – in particular, imprecise specimen identifiability and poor assemblage preservation. FwJj70 includes a similar composition of mammalian families and size classes in comparison with the fauna recorded along 400 m of the same stratigraphic horizon but possesses less weathered specimens with fewer post-fossilization and dry fractures, suggesting that bone specimens were rapidly buried. Excavation in search of an in situ origin of the surface assemblage recovered three specimens, but did not reveal a clear archaeological horizon. FwJj70 includes 40 identifiable specimens from at least 21 elements and six mammalian individuals. Eight specimens from a minimum of four elements and a single individual preserve evidence of hominin butchery and may come from a single size-three mammal carcass. However, poor specimen identifiability and ex situ context lead to a coarse estimate of the true number of butchered animals in the assemblage, blurring the distinction between a single carcass butchery episode and consumption of multiple animals, and masking the activity of carnivores. Despite this equifinality, the anatomical location of butchery marks at FwJj70 provides evidence of discrete aspects of hominins' tool-assisted carnivorous foraging niche, including early access to limb flesh packages, bone marrow consumption, and competition with other carnivorous consumers.

New insights about economic plants during the 6th–2nd centuries bc in Sardinia, Italy

A research project carried out in Santa Giusta lagoon, Sardinia, since 2005 has revealed the presence of Phoenician and Punic waterlogged archaeological contexts of exceptional importance. Several transport amphorae, together with Punic coarse pottery and materials typical of funerary and votive contexts have been recovered. Two principal deposition phases have been distinguished, the first one dated to the 6th–5th century bc and the second dated to the 3rd−2nd century bc. The waterlogged conditions favoured the preservation of plant remains such as Citrullus lanatus, Corylus avellana, Juglans regia, Juniperus oxycedrus, Lagenaria siceraria, Olea europaea, Pinus pinea, P. halepensis, Prunus dulcis, P. domestica, P. spinosa and Vitis vinifera. Many amphorae contained ovine/caprine bones with slaughter or butchering marks, associated with grapes and other juicy fruits that have been interpreted as possible ingredients used as meat preservatives. This study provides information on the management of plants of economic importance for the Phoenician and Punic communities in Sardinia.

“Horned cattle and pack horses”: zooarchaeological legacy collections from the unauthorized (and unscreened) Spanish Fort

ABSTRACTIn 1689, the governor of La Florida ordered the construction of a fort near the Muscogee (Creek) ancestral community of Apalachicola, supplying it with a caravan of “horned cattle and pack horses.” The fort, referred to as “Spanish Fort,” was abandoned a year later. Archaeological investigations of the fort were carried out in 1960 without sieving, and a large collection of faunal remains was minimally studied. Despite the limitations of the recovery methods, a recent analysis of these zooarchaeological legacy collections provides insight into the provisioning strategies of the Spanish military 150 years after initial colonialism began. Spanish Fort was better provisioned than its predecessors, such as Fort San Juan, but with a limited range of domesticated livestock—only cattle and horses. The presidio may have traded with the Apalachicola community in order to diversify their diet, but butchering marks indicate that the presidio’s soldiers processed their own meat at the fort. Having learned hard lessons from earlier colonial expeditions, Spanish military colonialists minimized the outpost’s vulnerability by not relying heavily on the local Native American population, while building a transactional relationship with Apalachicola to ensure the community’s cooperation. The zooarchaeological materials from Spanish Fort also indicate that the fort was intentionally destroyed by fire, providing a glimpse of Spanish adaptive strategies as the mission of securing the inland Southeast from rival colonialism abruptly ended.

Le site de Alp 2 (St Bernard-du-Touvet, Chartreuse, Isère) : un campement de chasse d’altitude du Premier Mésolithique

The Mesolithic “ station” of Alp 2 is a block-shelter of glacial origin located at 1 720 masl in the “ Haut de Chartreuse” national reserve. Threatened to be destroyed by marmot’s burrows, the site has been subject to archaeological attention and excavated between 1998 and 2000 under the direction of P. Bintz. The short stratigraphic sequence revealed several well-conserved Mesolithic levels which delivered plenty of faunal remains as well as lithic artefacts. Some 17,584 lithic artefacts have been identified, including 182 cores, 255 arrowheads and 653 blades and bladelets. Raw material identification indicates an equal share, in terms of quantity, of local and exogenous flint. Based on typotechnological analysis, most of these artefacts can be attributed to the First Mesolithic with a débitage of bladelets obtained by direct percussion with a soft stone precursor. Although more discreet, the remaining items belong to the Second Mesolithic, while few of them share some affinities with the Early Neolithic. Faunal remains are rich and generally well-preserved with a total of 1583 osseous fragments, among which 752 have been well identified. Among the twelve distinctive taxa identified, the chamois and the ibex are the most represented. Forest species, such as deer and wild boar are much rarer. This wildlife association is in complete adequacy with the geographical and the topographic situation of the site. With few bones showing anthropic traces, such as butchery marks and breaks on fresh bone, there is no doubt for the anthropological origin of this bone’s accumulation.

Differentiating between cutting actions on bone using 3D geometric morphometrics and Bayesian analyses with implications to human evolution

Studies of bone surface modifications (BSMs) such as cut marks are crucial to our understanding of human and earlier hominin subsistence behavior. Over the last several decades, however, BSM identification has remained contentious, particularly in terms of identifying the earliest instances of hominin butchery; there has been a lack of consensus over how to identify or differentiate marks made by human and non-human actors and varying effectors. Most investigations have relied on morphology to identify butchery marks and their patterning. This includes cut marks, one of the most significant human marks. Attempts to discriminate cut marks from other types of marks have employed a variety of techniques, ranging from subjectively characterizing cut mark morphology using the naked eye, to using high-powered microscopy such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) or micro-photogrammetry. More recent approaches use 3D datasets to obtain even more detailed information about mark attributes, and apply those to the fossil record. Although 3D datasets open promising new avenues for investigation, analyses of these datasets have not yet taken advantage of the full 3D surface morphology of BSM. Rather, selected cross-sectional slices of 3D scans have been used as proxies for overall shape. Here we demonstrate that 3D geometric morphometrics (GM), under the “Procrustes paradigm” and coupled with a Bayesian approach, probabilistically discriminates between marks caused by different butchery behaviors. At the same time, this approach provides a complete set of 3D morphological measurements and descriptions. Our results strengthen statistical confidence in cut mark identification and offer a novel approach that can be used to discriminate subtle differences between cut mark types in the fossil record. Furthermore, this study provides an incipient digital library with which to make future quantitative comparisons to archaeological examples, including contentious specimens that are key to understanding the earliest hominin butchery.

Eating Barrelled Meat in Upper Canada: Cultural and Archaeological Implications

Much of the meat consumed in nineteenth-century southern Ontario (Upper Canada) came in the form of preserved barreled products. The specific ways of obtaining, preparing and consuming these products resulted in unique regional foodways. Through analyses of historical and archaeological evidence, this paper investigates how barreled meat was packed, shipped and purchased in Upper Canada and discusses the various ways its consumption impacted the lives of its residents and contributed to the formation of local identities. An investigation of butchery marks and body portion distributions lead to a possible method for archaeologically distinguishing between barreled and non-barreled meat assemblages.

Three-Dimensional Geometric Morphometric Analysis of Fossil Canid Mandibles and Skulls

Much of the fossil record for dogs consists of mandibles. However, can fossil canid mandibles be reliably identified as dogs or wolves? 3D geometric morphometric analysis correctly classifies 99.5% of the modern dog and wolf mandibles. However, only 4 of 26 Ust’-Polui fossil mandibles, a Russian Arctic site occupied from 250BCE to 150CE, were identified as dogs and none of the 20 Ivolgin mandibles, an Iron Age site in southern Russia, were identified as dogs. Three of the Ust’-Polui mandibles and 8 of the Ivolgin mandibles were identified as wolves. In contrast, all 12 Ivolgin skulls and 5 Ust’-Polui skulls were clearly identified as dogs. Only the classification of the UP6571 skull as a dog (Dog Posterior Probability = 1.0) was not supported by the typical probability. Other evidence indicates these canids were domesticated: they were located within human dwellings, remains at both sites have butchery marks indicating that they were consumed, and isotope analysis of canid and human remains from Ust’-Polui demonstrate that both were consuming freshwater protein; indicating that the humans were feeding the canids. Our results demonstrate that the mandible may not evolve as rapidly as the cranium and the mandible is not reliable for identifying early dog fossils.

The carnivorous feeding behavior of early Homo at HWK EE, Bed II, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

The regular consumption of large mammal carcasses, as evidenced by butchery marks on fossils recovered from Early Stone Age archaeological sites, roughly coincides with the appearance of Homo habilis. However, the significance of this niche expansion cannot be appreciated without an understanding of hominin feeding behavior and their ecological interactions with mammalian carnivores. The Olduvai Geochronology and Archaeology Project (OGAP) has recovered a large and well-preserved fossil assemblage from the HWK EE site, which was deposited just prior to the first appearance of Acheulean technology at Olduvai Gorge and likely represents one of the last H. habilis sites at Olduvai. This taphonomic analysis of the larger mammal fossil assemblage excavated from HWK EE shows evidence of multiple occupations over a long period of time, suggesting the site offered resources that were attractive to hominins. There was a water source indicated by the presence of fish, crocodiles, and hippos, and there was possible tree cover in an otherwise open habitat. The site preserves several stratigraphic intervals with large fossil and artifact assemblages within two of these intervals. Feeding traces on bone surfaces suggest hominins at the site obtained substantial amounts of flesh and marrow, particularly from smaller size group 1–2 carcasses, and exploited a wide range of taxa, including megafauna. A strong carnivore signal suggests hominins scavenged much of their animal foods during the two main stratigraphic intervals. In the later interval, lower carnivore tooth mark and hammerstone percussion mark frequencies, in addition to high epiphyseal to shaft fragment ratios, suggest hominins and carnivores did not fully exploit bone marrow and grease, which may have been acquired from nutritionally-stressed animals that died during a dry period at Olduvai. The diversity of fauna that preserve evidence of butchery suggests that the HWK EE hominins were opportunistic in their acquisition of carcass foods.

The trajectory of bone surface modification studies in paleoanthropology and a new Bayesian solution to the identification controversy

A critical issue in human evolution is how to determine when hominins began incorporating significant amounts of meat into their diets. This fueled evolution of a larger brain and other adaptations widely considered unique to modern humans. Determination of the spatiotemporal context of this shift rests on accurate identification of fossil bone surface modifications (BSM), such as stone tool butchery marks. Multidecade-long debates over the agents responsible for individual BSM are indicative of systemic flaws in current approaches to identification. Here we review the current state of BSM studies and introduce a novel probabilistic approach to identifying agents of BSM. We use control assemblages of bones modified by modern agents to train a multivariate Bayesian probability model. The model then identifies BSM agents with associated uncertainties, serving as the basis for a predictive probabilistic algorithm. The multivariate Bayesian approach offers a novel, probabilistic, and analytical method for BSM research that overcomes much of the bias that has typified previous, more qualitative approaches.

Evidence of butchery marks and anthropic modifications on horse remains in a Late Bronze Age site of northern Italy: The case of Bovolone

The site of Bovolone (Verona, northern Italy) was discovered in 1996 and has been the subject of systematic excavations until 2005. The settlement has been dated to Late Bronze Age on the basis of pottery remains and bronze objects. Analysis of its faunal remains shows a predominance of domestic fauna in comparison with wild fauna. When compared to other contexts of the Bronze Age in northern Italy, the presence of horse is attested to a high number of remains. The low frequency of horse remains in the living contexts has always been considered a consequence of the value that this animal had during the Bronze Age. The site of Bovolone opens a new perspective because the remains analyzed have yielded evidence of anthropic traces attributable to various processes of the slaughter chain and the use of certain anatomical elements to manufacture artefacts.