Osteophagia and dental wear in herbivores: actualistic data and archaeological evidence

White‐tailed Deer as a Taphonomic Agent: Photographic Evidence of White‐tailed Deer Gnawing on Human Bone

“…This observation of an ungulate scavenging the osseous material of a human is the first of its kind. The general consensus in archaeological science is that osteophagia, the desire to consume bone, is practiced by ungulates primarily to obtain phosphorus in addition to supplementing calcium, sodium, and other minerals that are absent from their vegetarian diet during periods of nutritional stress, particularly in the winter months or without seasonal preference . When this scavenging is caught on camera or through personal observation, researchers describe the ungulate as situating the bone in the mouth both parallel and perpendicular to the tooth rows .…”

“…The taphonomic modification of nonhuman animal bone by ungulates has been extensively documented in the taphonomic and zooarchaeological literature . While most forensic anthropologist and taphonomists are aware that carnivorous nonhuman animals chew on and consume human bones, the fact that ungulate species also gnaw on human bone is not as widely recognized.…”

Osteophagia in domestic ungulates in the Bronze Age settlements of the Trans-Urals (according to archaeozoological and ethnozoological materials)

“…Конец кости представляет собой вил-ку -по центру погрыза наблюдается существенная выемка. Данная стадия, или «вилочный эффект» (forked bone), описана в нескольких работах, посвященных остеофагии копытных [Sutcliffe, 1973;Juctus, 1990;Kierdorf, 1993Kierdorf, , 1994Caceres et al, 2011Caceres et al, , 2013Hutson et al, 2013]. Во-круг места погрыза поверхность кости зашлифована, могут отмечаться прямые или зигзагооб-разные бороздки и волнистость (рис.…”

“…Остеофагия, или поедание костей,-хорошо известное и описанное явление среди диких и домашних копытных всех размерных классов [Wyatt, 1971;Sutcliffe, 1973;Brothwell, 1976;Sekulig, 1977;Langman, 1978;Barrette, 1985;Keating, 1990;Juctus, 1990;Kierdorf, 1993Kierdorf, , 1994Bredin et al, 2008;Caceres et al, 2011Caceres et al, , 2013Hutson et al, 2013]. В российской литературе присутствуют описа-ния костей только со следами повреждений от зубов (погрыза) и воздействия желудочных фер-ментов крупного рогатого скота из укрепленного поселения Каменный Амбар [Рассадников, 2012;Rassadnikov et al, 2013].…”

Taphonomic Analysis of Rodentia and Lagomorpha Bone Gnawing Based Upon Incisor Size

“…Suids and large herbivorous species such as deer have also been known to modify bone. Suid modifications include long, broad, and flat tooth scores and furrows, and L‐shaped patterns of punctures and pits produced by their large incisors, premolars, and molars , while herbivore modifications include distinctive grooving, pitting, polishing, crushing, and a “forked” morphology on the ends of bone shafts produced by their cheek teeth .…”