11 Non-Articulated Bones

Extract

The Olsen-Chubbuck Bone Bed (Table 15) produced a total of 4264 non-articulated bones, of which 4007 were found in the eastern part of the site, where nearly every bone was recorded. The figure of 257 bones recorded for the central and western parts of the site is undoubtedly low, although it is indicative of the generally lesser concentration of individual bones as well as articulated units in that part of the arroyo.

It should not be imagined that all of the non-articulated bones represent complete butchering of those bones. No doubt, some of the individual bones became disarticulated through weathering between the butchering phase and final entombment in the bone deposit. This would certainly appear to be the case with such elements as vertebrae, sternal and costal elements, tarsal and carpal bones, phalanges, patellae, sesamoids, and isolated teeth. On the other hand, the butchering process, itself, probably resulted in the disarticulation of certain other kinds of skeletal parts. Removal and breakage of the mandible to get to the tongue, the consequent removal of the hyoid, breakage of the ribs, removal of the legs from the pelvis and the scapula, and removal of the lower leg, are examples of this kind of disarticulation. Even so, some of the leg components, such as femora and tibiae, humeri, radii, and ulnae, may have weathered apart. Some bones may also have been pulled apart by scavengers, but it should be noted in passing that remarkably little evidence was found that the bones had been gnawed by such animals. In any case, it would be difficult to assess completely the role played by weathering, washing, settling, and possible disturbance by scavengers, in the ultimate position of the bones. Even after covering, settling must have continued, and occasional animal burrows must have played a part in the final position of loose bones.