Sliced meat
Animal processing and butchery technologies at Early Dynastic Abu Salabikh, Iraq
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24144102 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Tina L Greenfield (University of Winnipeg), Eleutério Abreu De Sousa (Macquarie University), Jane Gaastra (Independent researcher), Haskel J Greenfield (0000-0001-6703-932X, University of Manitoba) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 5 |
| Publication date | 2026-09-10 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2813-432X • E-ISSN: 2813-432X |
| Publisher | Frontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3389/fearc.2026.1812460 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 77 |
Technological change is often reconstructed from surviving tools, yet metal artefacts are particularly susceptible to curation, recycling and selective deposition. Microscopic marks on animal bone provide an independent record of the implements used in carcass processing. This study examines Early Dynastic III faunal remains from House 6H at Abu Salabikh, Iraq, including an affluent household, lane deposits and associated intramural burial contexts, to assess whether butchering was undertaken with metal or chipped-stone edges. Of 54 specimens recorded with butchering marks, 16 bearing well-preserved, non-overlapping slice marks were selected for light optical and scanning electron microscopy of silicone moulds. All 16 selected specimens displayed groove morphologies interpreted as consistent with chipped-stone use. 15 specimens were attributed to unretouched unifacially produced flake or blade edges and only one was potentially retouched. Diagnostic metal-knife marks were not identified within the analysed sample. These results indicate that the presence of metallurgy in Early Dynastic Mesopotamia did not lead to its uniform incorporation into quotidian household carcass processing. Instead, established lithic technologies persisted within a task-specific domain of human–animal interaction, reflecting selective technological adoption shaped by performance, supply networks and social value. As the first systematic microscopic investigation of Early Dynastic Mesopotamian butchering technology, Abu Salabikh provides an important baseline for testing when and in which social contexts metal butchering implements entered everyday practice.
Scanning Electron Microscopy in Archaeology
Tin, Arsenic, Lead
Excavations at Abu Salabikh, 1985-86
The Archaeological Evidence for Metallurgy and Related Technologies in Mesopotamia, c. 5500-2100 B.C.
The Animal Remains from Abu Salabikh
New Results from the Examination of Cut-Marks Using Three-Dimensional Imaging
The Domestication of Metals
Applications of Scanning Electron Microscopy to Taphonomic Problems
Cutmarks made by stone tools on bones from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania
Archaeofaunas and Butchery Studies
A new approach to raw material use in the exploitation of animal carcasses at BK (Upper Bed II , Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania)
The reference collection of cutmarks
Test Excavations at Rogem Be'erotayim in Western Negev
Butchering technology and metal adoption in the Bronze Age southern Levant
Constraint, complexity and consumption
Evaluating manufacture marks on ground stone objects as a new proxy for the spread of metal technology in the southern Levant
The Origins of Metallurgy in the Central Balkans based on the Analysis of Cut Marks on Animal Bones
El Soto de Medinilla
Practical and prestige technologies
From Stone to Metal
Burnt bones and teeth
On distinguishing natural from cultural damage on archaeological antler
Buying local or ancient outsourcing? Locating production of prismatic obsidian blades in Bronze-Age Northern Mesopotamia
The Origins of Metallurgy
The Quantification of Use-Wear Polish Using Image Analysis. First Results
Bronze Alloys from Canaan During the Middle Bronze Age
The Analysis of Cutmarks on Archaeofauna
The Fall of the House of Flint”
The Decline and Disappearance of Chipped-Stone Tools
Special Studies
Insufficient evidence for metal butchering marks at Tell el-Hesi during the Early Bronze Age
Cut marks and raw material exploitation in the lower pleistocene site of Bell's Korongo (BK, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania)
Filling the gap
Application of geometric morphometrics to the analysis of cut mark morphology on different bones of differently sized animals. Does size really matter
Sorting the butchered from the boiled
A new method for the quantitative analysis of cutmark micromorphology
Bone surface modifications in zooarchaeology
Slicing Cut Marks on Animal Bones
New virtual approach to the study of metallurgy through the analysis of slice marks from the Chalcolithic site of Zanjillas (Torrejón de Velasco, Madrid, Spain)
Flint and Quartzite
A replication technique for scanning electron microscopy
Flint and metal daggers in Scandinavia and other parts of Europe. A re-interpretation of their function in the Late Neolithic and Early Copper and Bronze Age
Using 3D Microscopy to Analyze Experimental Cut Marks on Animal Bones Produced with Different Stone Tools
Models of Metal Production in the Near East
Micro-photogrammetric and morphometric differentiation of cut marks on bones using metal knives, quartzite, and flint flakes
The Early Bronze Age Blade Workshop at Titriş Höyük
Retention of old technologies following the end of the Neolithic
Hoards of the early and middle Bronze ages in the Levant
Butchering and Stone Tool Function
An Experimental Study of the Morphological Characteristics of Tool Marks
Archaeology of the Body
Actualistic butchery studies in zooarchaeology
Entangled
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |