Cut mark analysis

Abstract:

L’argomento di questa tesi nasce dall'esperienza congiunta di rievocazione storica ed archeologia sperimentale che ho maturato con gli anni. Appassionato di rievocazione dal 2007,
ho praticato (e continuo tuttora a praticare) la scherma ed il reenactment relativi a svariati periodi della storia della Sardegna: il periodo medioevale (giudicale), quello romano-imperiale e da ultimo quello nuragico. La necessità di avere maggiori informazioni, non disponibili tramite le fonti scritte, iconografiche e archeologiche legate sopratutto a quest’ultimo periodo, mi ha portato con gli anni a pormi ulteriori quesiti sull’argomento. Quella dei nuragici era una società pacifica? In caso contrario come combattevano i suoi guerrieri? Che tipo di struttura gerarchico-militare avevano? Le risposte a queste domande diventavano sempre più impellenti man mano che mi confrontavo con il pubblico (e spesso con i pregiudizi legati a questo lontano periodo). Desideroso di avere delle risposte, coadiuvato dall’esperienza di artigiano-archeotecnico del bronzo che porto avanti nei ritagli di tempo, ispirato da studi sulla cosiddetta “archeologia del combattimento” e dalle tecniche forensi applicate nell'archeologia, sono giunto a conclusione che solo studiando i resti umani di quegli
uomini vissuti 3000 e più anni fa, avrei potuto ricavare maggiori risposte alle mie domande.
Nel presente lavoro ho esaminato i casi più noti in letteratura di reperti scheletrici con visibili segni traumatici, ponendo particolare attenzione ai periodi preistorici. Come paragone
per lo studio dei reperti nuragici è stato utilizzato lo scheletro di un presunto soldato medioevale, il quale presentava diversi traumi da combattimento. I resti ossei nuragici consistono in tre crani appartenenti a tre diverse sepolture collettive localizzate in aree della Sardegna tra loro molto distanti. Per questi tre casi si è provveduto a determinare il tipo di trauma osservato, che tipo di arma ha provocato la ferita e lo scenario ipotetico dell’aggressione che ha interessato ciascun individuo. Lo studio di questi casi ha permesso una ricostruzione delle modalità di combattimento più verosimili per tale periodo; queste hanno
permesso di dedurre quali ferite e in quali aree del corpo si potrebbero riscontrare più frequentemente i traumi. La riproduzione dei traumi mediante prove d’archeologia sperimentale (test di taglio) hanno permesso di capire quali lesioni potrebbero essere prodotte da alcune specifiche armi dell’età del Bronzo. Come ultima analisi sono stati elencati i principali casi di trapanazioni craniche per poter determinare se tali pratiche siano da mettere in relazione a traumi conseguenti ad episodi violenti o a pratiche etnoiatriche.

The subject of this thesis was born from a joint of historical reenactment and experimental archeology that I have gained over the years. Fond of living history since 2007, I practiced (and still continuing to practice) the fencing and the reenactment related to various periods of the history of Sardinia: the medieval period (Judicial), the Roman Empire and finally the nuragic one (Age of Bronze). The need to have more information, not available through the written sources, iconographic and archaeological related especially in the latter period, led me through the years to ask me more questions on the subject.
Nuragics was that of a peaceful society? Otherwise how his warriors fought? What kind of hierarchical-military had? The answers to these questions became more compelling as I compared them with the public (and often with the prejudices related to this distant period). Eager to get answers, aided by the experience of bronze artisan-archaeotecnic that I carry in my spare time, inspired by studies on the so-called "archeology of combat" and forensic techniques applied in archaeology, I have come to the conclusion that only by studying the human remains of those men lived 3000 years and more ago, I could get more answers to my questions.
In this paper I have examined the best known cases in the literature of skeletal remains with visible signs of trauma, paying particular attention to prehistoric times. As a comparison for the study of the nuragic finds, was used the skeleton of a supposed medieval soldier, who presented several combat trauma. The skeletal nuragic remains consist of three skulls belonging to three different collective burials located in areas of Sardinia each other very distant. For these three cases, it was decided to determine the type of trauma observed, what kind of weapon caused the wound and the hypothetical scenario of the attack that affected each individual. The study of these cases has allowed a reconstruction of how to combat the most plausible for that period; These have enabled us to deduce which wounds and in which areas of the body could be encountered more frequently trauma. Reproduction of trauma by tests of experimental archeology (test cutting) has allowed us to understand what injuries could be produced by a number of specific Bronze Age weapons. As the final analysis were listed the main cases of cranial drilling to determine whether such practices are to be related to trauma resulting from violent incidents or etnoiatric practices.

The current study employs a white light confocal profiler (WLCP) to analyze cut marks on a prehistoric bone to determine if they were made with stone (i.e., ancient) or steel (i.e., modern) tools. The unknown in this case is a 5,300-year-old, 5 cm cranial fragment with cuts consistent with scalping but which came from a site, 12Sp7, damaged by a modern auger (Fig. 1). The cranial fragment cuts were compared to experimental cuts made on cow ribs with a ground-stone celt, bifacial chert knife, unworked chert flake, a bifacial steel knife, a serrated steak knife, and an unifacial trowel. Experimental cuts were made perpendicular to the long axis of the bone, holding the implement vertically; for this study, force was deliberately not standardized. Data collection commenced at 10X magnification; we generated three profiles for each cut using SolarMap® software. Steel tools created deep, narrow cuts ranging from ~10 to 100 microns in width and had starkly flat kerf floors. The exception was the trowel, which made wide scratches around 200 microns across; their floors were flat to uneven. The stone tools created shallow, wide cuts that measured to around 600 microns wide with rounded kerf floors. The cranial fragment cuts were wide and shallow, ~400-900 microns wide, and had distinctly rounded floors. Thus, they appear to be ancient. Although preliminary because quantification and standardization need to be developed, it is clear that a WLCP can ably assist with cut mark study.
Authors: Jack Schnellenberger, Christopher Schmidt

Due to the obvious constraints involved with working on human osseous material many advances in experimental aspects of biological anthropology have made use of research from the zooarchaeological analysis of faunal remains. Cut marks represent unequivocal evidence for human activity on animal bones, making the analysis of butchered remains an important part of zooarchaeological research. However, understanding the technical aspects of dismemberment is crucial to interpreting activity from assemblages where cannibalism has occurred. As faunal butchery has played an important part in developing an understanding of how humans may have used implements on other humans, it is equally important for those involved in human osteoarchaeology to also have an appreciation of how orientation, implement use and fundamental carcass dismemberment principles may affect how and why a particular process was carried out. This paper will highlight aspects of butchery and carcass dismemberment that may assist with interpretation and appraisal of cut marks on human remains, for example in distinguishing dismemberment for nutrition as opposed to cut marks made during ritual/sacrificial practices.

Several studies have attempted to identify diagnostic criteria for distinguishing between evidence of trampling and cut marks, two common modifications at archaeological sites. These studies have brought to light, with relative precision, the features that identify and differentiate the two types of modifications. However, few studies differentiate these modifications after they have been affected by other factors. Chemical alteration, related to lixiviated sediments, is documented in a relatively high number of archaeological sites. Following the criteria established by Domínguez-Rodrigo et al. (2009), the aim of this paper is to know if diagnostic criteria that would allow modifications resulting from trampling to be differentiated from cut mark modifications are preserved, after undergoing chemical alterations. The results have been applied to unidentified marks located on faunal skeletal remains from the La Mina site, at the Barranc de la Boella (Tarragona, Spain), the surfaces of which have been heavily modified by the lixiviation of the sediments. The data suggest that chemically altered marks lose the diagnostic criteria necessary for correct identification. The unidentified marks discovered on remains from la Boella could not be verified as cut or trampling marks and therefore cannot be considered in future zooarchaeological and taphonomical studies.

Site 12Sp7, the Kramer Mound site, is a late Middle Archaic mortuary that was accidentally damaged by recent oil exploration.  Skeletal remains representing a minimum of 41 individuals were collected from the surface by archeologists.  The remains were studied at the University of Indianapolis.  A single frontal fragment bore several subparallel striations.  The bone’s taphonomy indicated that the striations are perimortem.  Confirmation of this assessment was made using a white light confocal profiler to quantify kerf morphology.  A high resolution resin mold of the bone fragment was viewed at 10X magnification.  Profiles and surface topography data were compared to a cut mark database developed at UIndy.  The data indicate that the cuts were caused by a stone implement that is wider than a chert flake and similar in size to a bifacial chert knife or a ground stone tool (i.e., a celt or axe).  This study confirms an earlier determination that the striations are perimortem cut marks, making this specimen a candidate for oldest scalping victim yet documented in Indiana.