Alba Regia. Annales Musei Stephani Regis. – Alba Regia. Az István Király Múzeum Évkönyve. 17. 1976 – Szent István Király Múzeum közleményei: C sorozat (1978)
Tanulmányok – Abhandlungen - Choyke, A. M.: A Classification of the Bone and Antler Tools from the Bronze Age Hill-fortress of Pákozdvár. p. 9–21.
Method David Hurst Thomas (1976, 6) states that „archaeology's basic unit of classification is termed a 'type'". In this case, the formation of a functional classification of a group of artifacts, the specific attributes will refer to the physical qualities of the artifact, as there are no data on contextual attributes. It is obvious that the field of possible attributes is infinite and not all can, or should, be used. In attempting to state boundaries for artifact types it must be kept in mind (especially for faunal material) that there variation within the type: „. . . every archaeological artifact has two aspects — one aspect expresses the set of functional constraints necessary for the artifact's usage — The other reciprocal aspect expresses the possible range of unrestrained variety or attribute states within that set. . ." (CLARK 1968, 142). Method of analysis The analysis of the artifacts was carried out at the King Stephen museum of Székesfehérvár in Hungary. Scale drawings were made of all artifacts. The general outline, greatest length, width, and thickness were recorded. Note was made of the thickness and shape of the working edge where appropriate, as well as evidence of grinding or polishing (either intentional or from use), cuts, breaks, bruning, and the direction and the direction and intensity of striations easily visible at 5 X magnification. Where possible, the tools were identified as to species and body part. The present study aims toward an understanding of the role of faunal material in the technoecomomics of a society already possessing metal. The attributes In prehistoric times, when a particular bone tool was required there were at least three intuitively obvious and critical attributes affecting the selection of raw material by the craftsperson. 1. Tensile strength/Hardness As Clark points out (1968, 135) „It must be remembered that a behavioral attribute can be imposed as much by the careful selection of a natural raw material as by direct hominid alteration." As with other raw materials, there is a variety of hardness and texture to be found in the various parts of the animal skeleton. Antler in general is a softer, more malleable material than bone. However, the antler rose is heavier, stronger and harder than the material of the tines. Bone taken from the diaphysis of long and flat bones is hard and somewhat brittle. Bird long bones are especially durable material. Finally, the teeth are the hardest and most resistant of all body parts (SEMENOV 1968, 16). 2. Form There is a wide variety in antler and bone forms. Antler roses are broad and thick. This characteristic lends itself to the making of tools appropriate for heavy duty work. The tines, on the other hand, lend themselves to tools requiring a point or a number of points for work on softer material. Long bone fragments and long bones easily provide preforms for tools appropriate for use on concomitantly harder material. Flat bones such as ribs, scapulae, or mandibles provide flat broad surfaces good for smoothing or scraping. Although too truncated to be useful as tools, teeth, especially canines, have a neat pointed shape which lends itself to various forms of ornamentation. Natural variability in shape occurs between animal species in different antler, bone, and tooth types. These changes in form imply ranges in the usefulness of one particular bone part for a particular activity. These natural preforms were then either further modified to conform to shape and size requirements, or used as is. 3. Size The animal species crucial to this study are all vertebrate fauna and, as such, have highly similiar skeletal parts. It is therefore more useful to divide them by size; Large ungulates: Cattle (Bos primigeniuss and Bos taurus), Red deer (Cervus elaphus), Wild pig (Sus ser of a ferus), Horse (Equus caballus). Small animals: Sheep/Goat (Ovis/Capra), Domestic pig (Sus Ser of a domesticus) , Dog (Canis familiáris), Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), and Birds (Avis). However, because of the small sample size, tool classes could not be further sub-divided using mean size as a seperate criteria. * Finally, there is one last attribute necessary to consider in this classification. Striation, unlike the three attributes discussed above, is not an inate quality of the raw material but rather the effect of the way the tool was used. Striations allow the archaeologist to reasonably infer use patterns and possibly function. Following Semenov, directionality of striations on the working end(s) taken with attributes of form and size allow for some Functional interpretations to be made by analogy with parallel modern tool forms. 11
