Antler

The  aim  of  this  study  was  to  use  for  the  first  time  molecular  techniques  (microsatellite
genotyping and paternity analyses), in combination with field ecology studies, to provide data
on  male  breeding  success  and  identify  the  main  determinants  of  variation  in  male  breeding
success  in  two  long-term  monitored  populations  of  European  roe  deer  Capreolus  capreolus
(Bogesund in Sweden and Trois Fontaines in France). The results show that males can sire up
to 6 fawns per year and 14 fawns during their entire lifetime. As expected from the low level
of  sexual  size  dimorphism  and  the  territorial  mating  system  of  roe  deer,  variance  in  male
lifetime  breeding  success,  and  so  opportunity  for  sexual  selection,  are  lower  than  in  highly
dimorphic species such as red deer Cervus elaphus, suggesting a low polygyny level in roe
deer. Males can successfully breed as young as 2 years of age, but breeding success of sub-
adults  is  lower  than  that  of  older  males.  Successful  breeding  among  sub-adults  may  be
restricted to those high quality males that are able to defend a territory. Breeding success also
tends  to  decline  after  8  years  of  age  (senescence),  probably  in  relation  to  the  loss  of
dominance.  Male  body  mass  and  antler  size  positively  affect  male  breeding  success.  It  is
known  that  antlers  are  used  by  males  as  a  weapon  in  combats  to  defend  their  territory.
However, my results also show that antler size is a honest signal of male phenotypic quality
and may be used as a cue for rival males and females to assess male fighting ability, sexual
vigor  and/or  phenotypic  quality.  In  addition,  male  access  to  females  and  male  breeding
success  are  positively  related  to  territory  size,  but  not  to  habitat  quality  within  a  male’s
territory.  Hence,  the  territorial  mating  system  of  roe  deer  differs  from  the  conventional
resource  defense  polygyny  system  and  seems  rather  to  conform  to  a  “low  risk  –  low  gain”
strategy. Finally, using paternity analyses, I also provide evidence that multiple paternity is
likely, but infrequent, in roe deer, suggesting that multiple mating among females may have
evolved as a means to enhance fertilisation success. This study provides new insights into the
evolution of mating systems and sexual selection in ungulates.

The one biblical mitzvah on Rosh Hashanah is the hearing of the shofar. The physical source of the shofar is discussed in various talmudic sources that were later codified. In their codifications, Rabbi Yosef Karo and Rabbi Moses Isserles each include a requirement not mentioned in the Mishnah, Talmud, or Yad Chazakah. Rabbi Yosef Karo invalidates shofarot made from antlers and Rabbi Moses Isserles excludes the use of horns of non-kosher animals. These two laws, in particular the latter, which is difficult both from a halakhic and a practical perspective, are discussed and analyzed and halakhic implications are suggested.

Abstract:
The Iron Gates area (Serbia and Romania) is well known for its extraordinary Mesolithic finds, first discovered almost fifty years ago, which initiated still ongoing debate on the relations between foragers and farmers and the very origin of Neolithic communities in this region. The questions regarding relative and absolute chronology and social relations have received the most attention, while some aspects of the material culture are still not analysed in detail, especially when it comes to the sites on the right (Serbian) bank of the Danube. Most sites are situated in the Upper and Lower Gorge, and the only site with an excavated Mesolithic sequence downstream from the Gorge is Kula near Mihajlovac. In this paper a small collection of about fifty bone and antler artefacts from Kula is analysed. This is the first analysis of the material from the right bank of Danube to be focused on the bone industry only. The analysis incorporates the questions of raw material choice, technique of manufacture and typological classification. Antler was the dominant raw material, but also large and medium-sized ungulate bones were used for making pointed tools, projectile tips, chisels, wedges, percussion tools, hafts and sleeves. They were made at the site and most were used for hunting and woodworking. Decorative or non-utilitarian objects were not discovered. The limited tool-type range, along with other archaeological evidence, suggests that Mesolithic settlement at Kula may have had a different character from those in the Upper Gorge.

""Abstract: "Raw material selection is an essential facet of technological decision
making. This analysis moves beyond more typical lithic studies, investigating links
between raw material selection and practical tool function by integrating data from
materials science and ethnohistory with an analysis of bone and antler tools. A case
study of skeletal technologies from the Alaskan subarctic offers a fresh perspective on
technological strategies, especially the selection of highly durable (fracture resistant)
skeletal materials to create reliable tools for use in high-risk foraging contexts."""

Antler is a specific osseous raw material – it is a renewable resource, which can be obtained through both hunting and gathering, resilient, strong, and may be available in relatively substantial quantities. Antlers were widely used since the Palaeolithic times and had an important role among the agricultural communities as well. They were used for everyday tools, weapons, jewellery and non-utilitarian items. Antler exploitation may be of particular importance in the studying of raw material managing and relations with the environment. In the Late Neolithic Vinča culture, red deer and occasionally roe deer antlers were used for a variety of purposes, mainly for everyday tools. In this paper will be presented the analysis of the role of antlers in the Vinča culture in Central Balkans, manufacturing techniques, typological repertoire, as well as their importance for studying craft production in general.

Summary 
The site Divostin is located in the vicinity of Kragujevac in central Serbia. It was excavated almost half a century ago and it yielded rich remains of architecture and portable finds, belonging to Starčevo and Vinča cultures.
In this paper a revision analysis of the bone tool assemblage belonging to Vinča culture is presented. Among raw materials, mainly medium-sized mammal long bones were represented, followed by red deer antlers and to smaller extent other skeletal elements were represented. Although cattle dominates in the faunal record, mainly ovicaprine bones were used. Generally shed antler were used shed, although few specimens from killed animals were present as well.
Typologically, pointed tools dominate, including medium, heavy and fine points (awls, points and needles). They were made of longitudinally split bones, further modified by cutting and burnishing. Among cutting tools, several chisels and wedges were represented, made of both bones and antlers, and also two large cutting tools, axes or adzes, of antlers. Burnishing tools include diverse spatulae, made of different raw materials, most of them fragmented and heavily used. Punching tools included punches of antler tines and large hammers, generally made of basal parts of shed antlers. Some of the hammers had socket for inserting another tool on the other end (hammer-axes).
Objects of special use included hafts made of long bones and cylindrical segments of hollowed antler, as well as sleeves, i. e., antler pieces with a socket for inserting  tool and  place for wooden handle, used as shock absorber. Used astragals with perforations were present as well. Decorative and other non-utilitarian items are almost completely absent; original publication mentioned some shell ornaments, however, their present whereabouts is unknown. Most of these tools were used for processing organic materials (leather, plants, wood).
Finally, large number of fragments of bones and antler with traces of manufacture were discovered. Some of them may represent broken parts of tools, but some are without any doubt manufacture debris. Especially noticeable are antler manufacture debris, including two large pieces of antler with traces of hacking when blanks were removed from them.
The presence of manufacture debris, as well as finally made numerous and diverse antler artefacts, demonstrate that workshop (or workshops) for antler working existed within the Vinča culture settlement. Other data suggest this was not the only workshop at the site, therefore a hypothesis could be made that  excavated portion of the site was a working area. Also, large number of antler tools suggests that collecting, processing and using antler tools (probably for wood working) was an important activity of the Divostin inhabitants.

Results of use-wear and experimental studies of Mesolithic materials from Eastern Europe indicate
various methods of blanks production depending on peculiarities of osseous raw material and type of the tool
produced. Employment of these methods and different ways of secondary treatment made possible to make all
tools needed for hunting, fishing and household activities. It can be traced clearly that preference was made
for use of specific bones of certain mammalian species. Bones and antler of elk – the main game animal in
the Volga-Oka interfluve during the Mesolithic were mostly used. Main traditions and methods of bone/antler
processing were formed in the region under study, like in the most part of Eastern Europe, already during the
Early Mesolithic. They were developed later, new raw materials and approaches to treatment of bone and
antler emerged, but the basic features of the bone industry were preserved. These features can be traced in full
not only when analyzing finished bone and antler tools, but of their preforms and processing methods as well.

Osseous raw materials were widely used in the economic life of different historical epochs in order to
make various tools, ornaments, household and military items. Experimental-traceological studies are of great
importance for the study of these materials. As a result of many years activity of specialized expeditions organized by the Leningrad Branch of Institute of Archaeology of the USSR Academy of Sciences / Institute
for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences it has been developed a methodology
for the integrated study of items from the antler, horn and bone, which included analysis of the features of the
preliminary treatment of osseous raw materials, the technology of processing and using various tools and other
products, the identification of signs of their utilization, and the characteristics of the main types of stone and
metal bone processing tools. The continuation of these studies, undertaken in connection with the accumulation of new sources, allows us to detail the features of the ancient osseous processing industry.

"The excavations at Star Carr by Grahame Clark (1949 – 1951) have received much attention not only due to the extent and preservational conditions of the site but also due to the recovery of 21 perforated red deer skulls. The interpretation of the so-called head-dresses as shamanistic garb (Clark 1954, 169-170) has had a lasting influence on our interpretation of the Mesolithic overall. Therefore, it is not surprising that comparable finds at other sites on the European continent, have been similarly interpreted.
Apart from Star Carr, a detailed review has highlighted similar artefacts from seven localities on the European continent spanning the time range of the Late Palaeolithic to Late Mesolithic. However, the precise use and function of these artefacts is still unclear. To further understand the use-life of these objects a methodology was developed that incorporated detailed microscopic analysis allied with experimental procedures. This functional analysis is currently being applied to two specimens from Bedburg-Königshoven, Germany (Street 1989). This is a novel approach that will test the head-dress hypothesis whilst providing a broader, and timely, understanding of the technical function of these items, which in turn can provide a better knowledge about the European Mesolithic itself.
"

This study is aimed at evaluating the relationship between endogenous testosterone levels and antler development in male sambar deer (Rusa unicolor unicolor) inhabiting the Horton Plains National Park, Sri Lanka. Seven antler growth stages of sambar were documented based on phenotypic observations for the first time in Sri Lanka as (a) cast, (b) growing 1-single spike, (c) growing 2-antler fork into a Y as the second tine appears, (d) growing 3-velvet begins to harden as the third tine appears, (e) growth completed-velvet shedding begins, (f) hard antler, and (g) casting. Fecal samples were collected every month for a period of eighteen months from male sambar deer in different stages of the antler growth cycle, feeding in the wet patana grasslands of the park, and the fecal testosterone level was estimated by radioimmunoassay. Ten animals were randomly selected from each antler stage for the experiment. The results disclose that the highest concentrations of testosterone were recorded in the hard antler stage. Velvet shedding was preceded by an increase in the testosterone level, and it is the sudden drop in the testosterone concentration which triggers the antler casting. The casting stage corresponded with the lowest mean testosterone concentration. Although the study was able to conclude a clear relationship between the fecal testosterone levels of the male sambar deer in the Horton Plains National Park and their antler stages, there is no clear seasonality for the antler cycle.

ABSTRACT The article describes morphology and chronological distribution of late Middle e Late Pleistocene fossil remains of giant deer Megaloceros giganteus from the area adjoining the northern and eastern foothills of the Sudeten and Carpathian Mountains and some other regions of Eastern Europe. At list two forms of giant deer are reported from the Late Pleistocene of Eastern Europe. The morphological study of the comparatively small sized M. giganteus from Bisnik Cave (Poland) revealed some archaic cranial and dental characters. Another Late Pleistocene form of giant deer from Eastern Europe is characterized by larger size, moderately short limbs, and relatively long premolar series. The described forms of giant deer differ from a larger long-limbed type of giant deer with short premolar series from Sapozhok (Russia) and some other sites of Eastern Europe. Possible taphonomic biases in morphological study of giant deer from Eastern Europe are also discussed.

There are five species of deer (family Cervidae) living in Indonesia today. Male deer possesses antlers, a unique character of male deer. Antlers have economic values for quite a long time. Antler’s growth is influenced by several factors, therefore each species of deer have its own unique antlers’ shape and size. Antler’s identification usually relies on size measurement and overall shape of complete antlers which still attach to the skull. It is difficult to identify shed, broken or individual antler. The purpose of the research is to understand antlers’ morphological characters on each species to become diagnostic characters. Specimens analysed were collections of LIPI and were analysed with Principal Component Analysis (PCA) using PAST3 software. The results showed each species of deer having their own unique antlers’ character, and so it can be used to determine the species of Indonesian deer. The important structures for identification are relief, pedicle, brow, bez, and main ...

Рог спада у једну од основних сировина за израду употребних и декоративних предмета не само у пре-металним друштвима, већ задржава битну улогу и у каснијим периодима. У овом раду биће анализирана технологија обраде рога у познонеолитском и раноенеолитском периоду, тачније у винчанској култури.
Мада би се могло претпоставити да се ради о лако доступној сировини, заступљеност рогова варира од локалитета до локалитета, што указује на разлике у прикупљању и располагању сировинама, али и економске разлике, и могуће показује одређени  ниво регионалне специјализације. Тако је, на пример, уочена богата индустрија рога на Дивостину, док су на оближњим локалитетима, као што су Гривац или Кусовац, предмети од рога ретки.
Сама техника обраде указује на веште мајсторе, и за реконструкцију оперативног следа посебно је важно откриће радионице за прераду рогова на Јаково-Кормадину.
Од рогова су углавном прављене масивне алатке за сечење и разни перкутери (секире, длета, чекићи, комбиноване секире-чекићи, итд.), што показује добро познавање механичких својстава ове сировине. Понегде се налазе и појединачни предмети необичне форме и веште израде,  у чију су израду посебно уложени време и труд. Уопште, винчанска индустрија рога била је добро развијена, показује висок технолошки ниво и добро познавање сировина, и могуће указује на одређени степен специјализације.

This article presents a study of the mobility of Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic hunter-gatherer groups which settled in the area of the upper Otava, the Bohemian Paradise and the Central Bohemia region. The exploitation models are derived on the basis of a determination of the stone raw material composition of selected lithic industry assemblages together with a derivation of the transport distance of the individual rocks and minerals. The exploitation models are, in other words, structures in stone raw material reflecting the action radius of the human communities and providing a tool to understand the spatial behaviour and its changes over time.

Since manipulative traces on the bone surfaces were not only evident but very abundant as well, an essential portion of the faunal analysis derived into a comprehensive experimental programme to check, among others, wheter such traces had been made exclusively by metallic instruments or if, as postulated, lithic instruments were also involved. The experimental programme eventually developed into a full specific methodology involving both macroscopical and microscopical analysis which constitute an independent section of this contribution. Among its results, one should mention the diagnostic features which appear after any activity which needs of a prolongued time to be carried out versus the difficulties of inferring the nature of the instruments involved in some activities. Flint turns out to be extremely fragile material in the case of activities involving either pressure or percussion whereas such restriction has never been the case for metallic instruments (bronze, copper with As, iron). In fact even ternary alloys of bronze stand prolongued activities of pressure and percussion without further problems.

Although archaeologists have long discussed the evolution of the social stratification and complex group interactions of the hunter-gatherer-fishers of the Northwest Coast (e.g. Matson and Coupland 1994; Ames 1994), few have examined the implied interactions between material culture and the development of complexity in the Gulf of Georgia postulated to have occurred approximately 2600 years ago. When viewed from a Darwinian perspective, specifically Boyd and Richerson's (1985) dual inheritance theory, the development of social stratification and systems of deference may influence the contexts of social learning. I hypothesize that prestige bias (Henrich and Henrich 2007) emerged as a factor in the social learning of technologies tied to systems of resource procurement and prestige-based status, as complexity developed. Barbed bone and antler points are examined in this analysis as a technology tied to these resource systems and prestige-based status. A total of 593 artifacts wer...

Ivanovskoje 7 is a multilayer peat bog site in central Russia. About 500 square meters were excavated during 1974 to 1997. three Mesolithic and two neolithic cultural layers had been recovered, separated by sterile streaks, 14c dated confirmed by pollen analysis indications. the Mesolithic layers yielded abundant faunal remains and lithic assemblages together with bone and antler artefacts. the latter included various projectile points, spear-heads and daggers, fishing hooks, knives, piercers, scrapers and planes, as well as axes, adzes and gouges, pendants and figurines. Given to this overwhelming bone and antler production this article is devoted to the technology of bone-working during the Mesolithic inhabitation of Ivanovskoje 7. the good preservation state of both stone and bone assemblages allowed the technological and use-wear analyses, applied by means of stereo and metallographic microscopes, making it possible the reconstruction of the technological sequence for bone tools different productions. A set of stone tools used for bone working was singled out in each cultural layer. this set included scrapers, burins, whittling knives, saws, chopping tools and abrasive slabs. A very interesting plane fixed on a shaft was found in the upper Mesolithic layer. Use-wear traces observed on these tools are described and illustrated in the article. the technology applied to manufacture these artefacts demonstrates high achievements in bone-working in order to obtain blanks to be finally modified into tools and decoration objects. Such well developed set of stone tools for bone and antler processing made it possible the manufacture of the very fine and skilled bone and antler industry at this site.

The aim of commercial pig breeding programs is to maximize the number of pigs produced per sow per year. Given that sows exhibit an estrus during lactation is a potential means of increasing productivity of a pig breeding herd without reducing in lactation length, conventionally, weaning of piglets at a relatively young age is often related to post-weaning piglet performance which compromises piglet welfare. Therefore, intermittent suckling (IS) is a management technique in which lactating sows are separated from their piglets for a fixed period of the days and allowing sows to continue nursing piglets while exhibiting estrus and being breed during lactation, thereby promoting both piglet well-being and sow reproductive performance [1]. For this study, primiparous sows (PP) were exposed to 28 day (D28) lactation with intermittent suckling (IS) during the final week prior to weaning. The sows detected to be in estrus during lactation were either bred at this first estrus (FE) during ...

Roman Naissus (modern Niš, Serbia)  was one of the most important cities in Late Antiquity in the province of Dacia mediterranea. Well developed economy (based on agriculture, mining and metallurgy, crafts and trade), as well as the fact that this was the birth city of emperor Constatine I (306-337), were the main reasons for the city’s prosperity in this period, today visible in rich and diverse archaeological remains, that include villas, baths, palaces, churches and other secular and sacral buildings, necropolises and individual mausolea, rich portable archaeological material.
In 1987-88 at the area of the fortification from Late Antiquity one building was explored, for which it was assumed that it was used as palatium for high officials. This was a monumental building, oriented west-east, rectangular in base, and five rooms with floor and wall heating system, atrium and porches were discovered.
The building itself was errected in early IV century AD, and used probably until the end of VI century, although it may have been damaged during invasions of Western Goths 378-380 AD or, more probably, Huns in 441 or 447 AD.
In the western part central position was occupiedd by one square room decorated with mosaic floor with geometrical motives, fresco-painted walls and rich architectonical decorations in marble and other stones. Immediately above the mosaic floor, in the layer of ashes and debris was discovered a group find of fragments made from red deer antler.
The find includes zoomorphic and geometrical shapes, decorateed with incisions and carving, all made from red deer antler. Zoomorphic decorations inlude representations of fish and water birds, and geometric elongated stripes, circles and lozenges, all decorated in the same manner.
They were made from antler cortex segments, all carefully chosen and carefully made – they have approximately same thickness, and most of geometric ornaments are identical in shape and size, suggesting they weere made according to standards (perhaps some sort of mould was used), suggesting a skilful craftsperson, that had good knowledge in antler carving.
Although fragmented and damaged by burning, it may be assumed that this find represents remains of some sort of panel decoration, probably on (wooden) furniture, that was inlayed into the wood the similar manner as mosaic tiles were arranged to form a composition (in opus sectile technique).
This is a unique find in the central Balkan area, and after stylistical  traits may be dated into mid- or second half of IV century.

Shamanic belief systems represent the first form of religious practice visible within the global archaeological record. Here we report on the earliest known evidence of shamanic costume: modified red deer crania headdresses from the Early Holocene site of Star Carr (c. 11 kya). More than 90% of the examples from prehistoric Europe come from this one site, establishing it as a place of outstanding shamanistic/cosmological significance. Our work, involving a programme of experimental replication, analysis of macroscopic traces, organic residue analysis and 3D image acquisition, metrology and visualisation, represents the first attempt to understand the manufacturing processes used to create these artefacts. The results produced were unexpected-rather than being carefully crafted objects, elements of their production can only be described as expedient.

This paper presents new AMS dating of organic finds from the Shigir (Shigirsky) peat bog, located in the Sverdlovsk Province, Kirovgrad District of the Urals. The bog is located immediately south of the river Severnaya Shuraly, with the Urals to the west. Intermittent survey and excavation has been undertaken at this location since 1879, resulting in the recovery of in excess of 3000 cultural artefacts, including oars, sculptures of birds, snake figurines, wooden skis, arrowheads, and fish hooks. The dates presented here indicate that not only is there a long duration of human use of the wetlands at Shigir, but that the artefact forms also appear to have a significant duration of use throughout the earlier prehistoric periods considered here.

In red deer, yearling antler length is a largely nutrition-mediated phenotypic character, and is therefore sometimes used as an indirect estimate of range quality and population condition. However, the parameters affecting yearling antler length have been little studied. We analyse the contributions of density, weather and maternal effects on yearling antler length of 581 individual stags born 1970-1996 on the Isle of Rum (Scotland). We show that antler length is a good measure of yearling condition: the probability of overwinter survival in yearlings that developed antlers was 3 times higher than for yearlings that did not develop antlers, and yearling antler length was correlated with the number of antler points the following year. Between years, variation in yearling antler length was best explained by variation in red deer density and June temperature at 12 months of age. Both of these variables were negatively correlated with antler length, and most likely this effect is due to changes in nutrient availability. Population density affects biomass availability for the individual, while low temperatures in early summer prolong the availability of high forage quality. At the individual level, antler length increased with birth weight and decreased with birth date, reflecting the persistent and pervasive influence of conditions in early life.

ABSTRACT The appearance of portable artistic objects during the Upper Palaeolithic is characterised by a combination of a wide choice of techniques, use of different materials and a diversity of iconographic expression, with many objects made of bone and antler decorated with animal representations. Taphonomic and experimental approaches have been systematically applied in an effort to understand the technical and artistic procedures followed. In this study, we applied a new combination of 3-dimensional microscopy (focus variation optical microscope) and micro-CT scanning to the analysis of two Magdalenian engraved specimens: a reindeer antler from the site of Neschers (France), engraved with the partial image of a horse in left profile, and a horse metatarsal from Courbet Cave, Penne (France), engraved with a horse head also in left profile. Results of the analysis suggest that both the Neschers and Courbet Cave engravings had been prepared before being carved. The overall contours of the horse body/head were incised first, while anatomical features were added afterwards. In the Neschers case, the incision resulted from the repeated scratching of a previously made incision in order to enlarge the engraving, possibly reflecting the engraver’s aesthetic sense. The combination of the techniques used in this study is applicable to fragile or unique archaeological specimens. Micro-CT scanning, in particular, provides non-invasive means for identifying engravings that are obscured by encrusted sediment. The application of these techniques can potentially open new avenues for the authentication, technical and gestural recognition and interpretation of incised forms and artistic creativity.

Four decorated antler mounts from Bu Sands, Burray, Orkney, found in 1990, are described. Relevant parallels are studied, from which a Roman or early Anglo-Saxon date is proposed, with manufacture in southern Britain. Consideration of the evidence for Orcadian contacts at this time suggests a late Roman date is most likely, and the mounts probably ornamented a box which arrived