We are open June 1 through August 22 from 8 am to 6 pm.
We are open June 1 through August 22 from 8 am to 6 pm.
Contact Information
Vore Buffalo Jump Foundation P.O. Box 369 Sundance, WY 82729 Telephone: (307) 266-9530Contact Information
Vore Buffalo Jump Foundation
P.O. Box 369
Sundance, WY 82729
Telephone: (307) 266-9530
Send us a message. Fill out the form and click on the submit button.
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This week, curation technician Dave Kolkema partnered with Katie Anderson to analyze some of the cut marks on bones excavated from the Vore site. Katie has been documenting cut marks using a Dino-Lite. After looking through her photographs, Dave has come up with a fun challenge, see if you can differentiate cut marks from other marks!
Cut marks on bone produced by stone and metal tools can be confused with other processes that leave marks on bone; rodent and carnivore gnawing, trample damage, root etching (marks from plant roots after the bone is subsumed with sediment), and differential weathering are the primary agents that convolute identifying cut marks. “Slicing cut marks produced by chipped stone tools have a very distinctive morphology that allows them to be easily identified and distinguished from gnawing, weathering, cuts by metal instruments, and other processes that produce grooves on bone. In general, stone tool cut marks are thin, relatively straight, and shallow. The internal morphology tends to be consistent: on one side, a groove will descend (or rise in a mold) steeply and smoothly; on the other side, the groove will descend (or rise) more gradually and will have one or more parallel striations (to the apex of the mark)….The number and shape of the striations are a function of the uneven surfaces of chipped stone tools.” (Greenfield 161, 2006)
Using this brief background and the provided photo examples of cut marks and non-cut marks, let us know if the marks on this rib bone from the Vore site in photo A are bona fide cut marks or marks caused by other agents. (Use the other photo examples B-E to help shape your opinion) Enjoy!!
Research of the Vore collection is funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and in part by donations from supporters to the Vore Buffalo Jump Foundation.
References
Greenfield, Haskel J. “Slicing Cut Marks on Animal Bones: Diagnostics for Identifying Stone Tool Type and Raw Material.” Journal of Field Archaeology, vol. 31, no. 2, 2006, pp. 147–63.
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The markings on the rib in Picture A in the post are from a 3 yr old child who was instructed to "play with this rock and bone and stay out from underfoot." Just an opinion.
Happy Mother's Day! Thought we'd share these images from Yellowstone Life. ... See MoreSee Less
What are these weird things? That was the question around the curation lab the other week when these eight bones were discovered in a box of astragali (also known as knucklebones). Any guesses? These are actually the proximal epiphyses of calcanei. Or, in other words, they are the unfused bone cap of bison heel bones. All long and irregular bones are composed of two parts, one diaphysis or main shaft of the bone and one or more epiphyses which are the caps of bones that fuse to the diaphysis once the bone has completed its determined growth. Epiphyses can be quite odd in appearance and difficult to identify without extensive knowledge of the skeleton. However, there are a few characteristics that can help an analyst identify a bone as an epiphysis. For instance, epiphyses will always be small and appear incomplete compared to other elements. They will also feature one concave and one convex side. The interior aspect (concave side) is the aspect of the epiphysis that fuses to the diaphysis; the bony surface of this part will feature bony peaks and is often referred to as “billowy.” Epiphyses can be found separated from diaphyses if a young animal died and was deposited before their bones could fully fuse. The fusion rate of epiphyses is one of the most common ways to estimate the age of an animal.
Research of the Vore collection is funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and in part by donations from supporters to the Vore Buffalo Jump Foundation.
... See MoreSee Less
Today, we will get a little “Meta” in our Facebook post. This past weekend, Molly Herron (and colleagues) presented a talk at the Wyoming Archaeological Society Conference in Sheridan, WY. This talk discussed the partnership between the VBJF and UWAR in cataloging the Vore collection and how Facebook posts are used as a form of public outreach during the curation of the collection. So, we wanted to do a brief recap of the Facebook posts so far! In 16 months of partnership, the VBJF and UWAR have made 57 posts (this post is number 58!). These posts have reached over 200,000 lovely Facebook users. Thanks to our viewers, our posts have also gotten over 11,000 post clicks and over 10,000 reactions, comments, and shares – we appreciate you all so much! On average, our posts reach over 3,000 people, have around 200 post clicks, and get over 100 reactions, comments, and shares. Our most popular posts so far have been those that featured lithics, and our least popular posts were one featuring an embedded link and one showing our database (don’t worry, we thought it was boring too!). We have learned a lot throughout this partnership, and we look forward to continuing to share (hopefully) interesting artifacts and posts about the curation process! And please let us know how we can improve!
Research of the Vore collection is funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and in part by donations from supporters to the Vore Buffalo Jump Foundation.
... See MoreSee Less
We enjoyed our visit from Kentucky.
Send us a message. Fill out the form and click on the submit button.
Check out our Facebook Feed! Like our page so you don't miss current updates.
This week, curation technician Dave Kolkema partnered with Katie Anderson to analyze some of the cut marks on bones excavated from the Vore site. Katie has been documenting cut marks using a Dino-Lite. After looking through her photographs, Dave has come up with a fun challenge, see if you can differentiate cut marks from other marks!
Cut marks on bone produced by stone and metal tools can be confused with other processes that leave marks on bone; rodent and carnivore gnawing, trample damage, root etching (marks from plant roots after the bone is subsumed with sediment), and differential weathering are the primary agents that convolute identifying cut marks. “Slicing cut marks produced by chipped stone tools have a very distinctive morphology that allows them to be easily identified and distinguished from gnawing, weathering, cuts by metal instruments, and other processes that produce grooves on bone. In general, stone tool cut marks are thin, relatively straight, and shallow. The internal morphology tends to be consistent: on one side, a groove will descend (or rise in a mold) steeply and smoothly; on the other side, the groove will descend (or rise) more gradually and will have one or more parallel striations (to the apex of the mark)….The number and shape of the striations are a function of the uneven surfaces of chipped stone tools.” (Greenfield 161, 2006)
Using this brief background and the provided photo examples of cut marks and non-cut marks, let us know if the marks on this rib bone from the Vore site in photo A are bona fide cut marks or marks caused by other agents. (Use the other photo examples B-E to help shape your opinion) Enjoy!!
Research of the Vore collection is funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and in part by donations from supporters to the Vore Buffalo Jump Foundation.
References
Greenfield, Haskel J. “Slicing Cut Marks on Animal Bones: Diagnostics for Identifying Stone Tool Type and Raw Material.” Journal of Field Archaeology, vol. 31, no. 2, 2006, pp. 147–63.
... See MoreSee Less
The markings on the rib in Picture A in the post are from a 3 yr old child who was instructed to "play with this rock and bone and stay out from underfoot." Just an opinion.
Happy Mother's Day! Thought we'd share these images from Yellowstone Life. ... See MoreSee Less
What are these weird things? That was the question around the curation lab the other week when these eight bones were discovered in a box of astragali (also known as knucklebones). Any guesses? These are actually the proximal epiphyses of calcanei. Or, in other words, they are the unfused bone cap of bison heel bones. All long and irregular bones are composed of two parts, one diaphysis or main shaft of the bone and one or more epiphyses which are the caps of bones that fuse to the diaphysis once the bone has completed its determined growth. Epiphyses can be quite odd in appearance and difficult to identify without extensive knowledge of the skeleton. However, there are a few characteristics that can help an analyst identify a bone as an epiphysis. For instance, epiphyses will always be small and appear incomplete compared to other elements. They will also feature one concave and one convex side. The interior aspect (concave side) is the aspect of the epiphysis that fuses to the diaphysis; the bony surface of this part will feature bony peaks and is often referred to as “billowy.” Epiphyses can be found separated from diaphyses if a young animal died and was deposited before their bones could fully fuse. The fusion rate of epiphyses is one of the most common ways to estimate the age of an animal.
Research of the Vore collection is funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and in part by donations from supporters to the Vore Buffalo Jump Foundation.
... See MoreSee Less
Today, we will get a little “Meta” in our Facebook post. This past weekend, Molly Herron (and colleagues) presented a talk at the Wyoming Archaeological Society Conference in Sheridan, WY. This talk discussed the partnership between the VBJF and UWAR in cataloging the Vore collection and how Facebook posts are used as a form of public outreach during the curation of the collection. So, we wanted to do a brief recap of the Facebook posts so far! In 16 months of partnership, the VBJF and UWAR have made 57 posts (this post is number 58!). These posts have reached over 200,000 lovely Facebook users. Thanks to our viewers, our posts have also gotten over 11,000 post clicks and over 10,000 reactions, comments, and shares – we appreciate you all so much! On average, our posts reach over 3,000 people, have around 200 post clicks, and get over 100 reactions, comments, and shares. Our most popular posts so far have been those that featured lithics, and our least popular posts were one featuring an embedded link and one showing our database (don’t worry, we thought it was boring too!). We have learned a lot throughout this partnership, and we look forward to continuing to share (hopefully) interesting artifacts and posts about the curation process! And please let us know how we can improve!
Research of the Vore collection is funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and in part by donations from supporters to the Vore Buffalo Jump Foundation.
... See MoreSee Less
We enjoyed our visit from Kentucky.