Experimental butchery study investigating the influence of timing of access and butcher expertise on cut mark variables

Bibliographic Data

ID7809846
AuthorsB Pobiner (0000-0001-5051-9175, Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History Smithsonian Institution Washington DC USA, corresponding author), Charles P Higson (Department of Anthropology Durham University Durham UK), Kris Kovarovic (0000-0002-6056-4591, Department of Anthropology Durham University Durham UK), Robert S Kaplan (0000-0001-7429-5583, Department of Education and Social Sciences Montgomery College Germantown MD USA), Jacklyn Rogers (Department of Archaeology Dickinson College Carlisle PA USA), William Schindler (The Eastern Shore Food Lab Washington College Chestertown MD USA)
Year2018
Volume28
Issue4
Pages377-387
Publication date2018-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Osteoarchaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1047-482X • E-ISSN: 1099-1212
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/oa.2661
OpenAlexW2800688275
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited48

Cut marks on fossils from Plio‐Pleistocene faunal assemblages can elucidate the timing and nature of hominin procurement of animal tissues. Although butchery experiments have great potential to enhance our ability to understand hominin butchery behaviours, studies that model variation in the timing of access to carcasses and butcher expertise have either yielded conflicting results or have not yet been undertaken. We conducted butchery experiments on 8 pig limbs with replicated Oldowan flake tools that varied the amount of flesh removed prior to butchery (simulating early or late carcass access) and butcher expertise. These experiments investigated the effects of these variables on resultant cut mark count, length, and number of tool strokes. The relationship between the number of tool strokes as a measure of butchery intensity and the number of cut marks produced was also explored. We also compared the length of experimental cut marks with those on 1.5‐million‐year‐old fossil bones from Koobi Fora, Kenya. Although the bones that were partially defleshed prior to butchery had a higher number and longer cut marks on average than fleshed bones, and the expert butcher created fewer and shorter cut marks than the novice butcher, none of these relationships were statistically significant. We found no relationship between the number of tool strokes and the amount of flesh removed prior to butchery or the number of cut marks produced during butchery, although the expert butcher used fewer tool strokes. Although not statistically significant, the length of cut marks created by the novice butcher is much more variable than those created by the expert butcher and the fossil cut marks, and fossil cut marks are much shorter than those created by both modern butchers. More work needs to be undertaken to identify cut mark attributes that may be influenced by behavioural or ecological variables that can be measured and manipulated during butchery experiments

Archaeology · Butcher · Geography · Paleoanthropology · Stone tool · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Primate Behavior and Ecology · Wildlife Ecology and Conservation

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