Working with Bone, Antler and Horn David Constantine © 2014 V1.4 April 2014 Contents List of Figures and Tables ..................................................................................................................................... i Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 1 What is Bone Working? ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Recommended reading and additional resources ............................................................................................... 1 Contact Details ................................................................................................................................................... 1 Raw Materials ....................................................................................................................................................... 2 Definitions and basic biology of skeletal materials ........................................................................................... 2 Historical Availability and Use .......................................................................................................................... 4 Period Toolkits .................................................................................................................................................... 10 Basic toolkit ..................................................................................................................................................... 10 Useful Additions .............................................................................................................................................. 14 Larger Equipment ............................................................................................................................................ 21 Dates of Described Tools ................................................................................................................................. 23 Techniques and methods of working ................................................................................................................ 25 Preparing and Roughing Out ........................................................................................................................... 25 Shaping and General Working ......................................................................................................................... 26 Smoothing and Finishing ................................................................................................................................. 27 Riveting and Gluing ......................................................................................................................................... 28 Hot Working Horn ........................................................................................................................................... 29 Decorating and Carving ................................................................................................................................... 30 Colouring ......................................................................................................................................................... 36 Lathe Turning .................................................................................................................................................. 36 Combs and Comb making.................................................................................................................................. 38 Significance ..................................................................................................................................................... 38 Typology .......................................................................................................................................................... 38 Construction ..................................................................................................................................................... 41 Decoration ........................................................................................................................................................ 44 Select Catalogue .............................................................................................................................................. 45 Craft or Industry? .............................................................................................................................................. 47 Overview.......................................................................................................................................................... 47 Evidence for industrial scale bone and antler working .................................................................................... 47 Evidence for industrial scale horn working ..................................................................................................... 48 Major industry or individual craft? .................................................................................................................. 48 Bone artefact rich archaeological sites .............................................................................................................. 50 York ................................................................................................................................................................. 50 Brough of Birsay .............................................................................................................................................. 55 Thetford ........................................................................................................................................................... 58 Finds from assorted sites .................................................................................................................................. 61 Appendix 1: Acquiring and Preparing Skeletal Material ............................................................................... 65 Appendix 2: Myths about bone working .......................................................................................................... 69 Appendix 3: Cow cannon bones: The essential bones for working ................................................................ 71 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................................ 73 Revision History .................................................................................................................................................. 78 List of Figures and Tables Fig 1 Differences between horn and antler ............................................................................................................. 3 Fig 2 Main bones used for working ........................................................................................................................ 4 Fig 3 Comparison of metadpodial size of commonly utilised animals ................................................................... 5 Fig 4 A whalebone line winder ............................................................................................................................... 6 Fig 5 Comparison of Roe, Red, Fallow and Reindeer antler morphology .............................................................. 7 Fig 6 The parts of an antler ..................................................................................................................................... 8 Fig 7 10th century horn from Västerby, Sweden .................................................................................................... 8 Fig 8 Mastermyr long saw .................................................................................................................................... 10 Fig 9 Mastermyr hammers .................................................................................................................................... 11 Fig 10 Hammers from Tattershall Thorpe and York ............................................................................................ 11 Fig 11 Mastermyr files ......................................................................................................................................... 12 Fig 12 Tongs from Flixborough and Tattershall Thorpe ...................................................................................... 12 Fig 13 A bow drill and a pump drill ..................................................................................................................... 13 Fig 14 Solid chisels from York and Nazeing, and a socketed chisel from Crayke ............................................... 14 Fig 15 Solid twin bladed saw for cutting decorative lines. ................................................................................... 15 Fig 16 Double saw based on the York find .......................................................................................................... 15 Fig 17 Axe from Mastermyr; unfolded. ................................................................................................................ 15 Fig 18 Draw knives from Thwing and Sandtun ...................................................................................................