A Cut-marked and Fractured Mesolithic Human Bone from Kent's Cavern, Devon, UK

An isolated adult human ulna fragment recovered from the ‘black mould’ layer of Kent's Cavern by William Pengelly in 1866 exhibits a series of stone tool cut marks. The specimen has been directly AMS 14C‐dated to 7314–7075 cal bc (OxA‐20588: 8185 ± 38 bp) and may be from the same individual as...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of osteoarchaeology 2015-01, Vol.25 (1), p.31-44
Main Authors: Schulting, R. J., Bello, S. M., Chandler, B., Higham, T. F.G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anthropology
anthropophagy
Archaeology
Bones
cannibalism
Europe
Fractures
Gough's Cave
Palaeolithic
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:An isolated adult human ulna fragment recovered from the ‘black mould’ layer of Kent's Cavern by William Pengelly in 1866 exhibits a series of stone tool cut marks. The specimen has been directly AMS 14C‐dated to 7314–7075 cal bc (OxA‐20588: 8185 ± 38 bp) and may be from the same individual as a maxilla fragment dated to the same period. The cut marks are located on the olecranon process, in a position indicative of dismemberment, whereas the fracture characteristics of the bone furthermore suggest peri‐mortem breakage, typical of butchery for the extraction of marrow. We here present and discuss the specimen and consider both ritual mortuary treatment and anthropophagy as possible explanations. Although it is difficult to interpret a single element in isolation, the latter scenario seems to be better supported and is not without parallel in prehistoric Europe, as indicated by a review of the available literature. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ISSN:1047-482X
1099-1212
DOI:10.1002/oa.2261