Achaeometrical Research in Hungary II., 1988

ANCIENT TECHNOLOGY - László BARTOSIEWICZ: A quantitative assesment of red deer antler as raw material

vary with each individual... all conform to a cultural 'ideal' or mental template and that proportions, space separating significant features and other features can be measured to discover this mental template" (KROEBER and RICHARDSON 1940: 133). At present, internationally used CIC scores (determined by the Conseil International de la Chasse) are used to determine the trophy potential of red deer antlers, calculated by weighing eight absolute antler measurements and seven qualitative traits (SZIDNAI 1986: 84). The resulting composite value, however, does not directly express either proportions or the ontogeny of their formation, which are briefly summarized in this paper. On the other hand, a 25 year time series of CIC scores for world record red deer antler trophies shows a clearly increasing tendency, illustrating how our culturally determined mental template of the ideal antler has been approached in a relatively short time (Figure 3). By the standards of natural selection, "beautifully" complex antler racks with too many tines may actually pose a disatvantage for competing stags. CIC scores plotted in Figure 3, however, provide evidence that such forms are increasingly promoted by selective hunting. Figure 3: Diachronie increase in the CIC scores of record red deer trophies within a 25 year interval On the one hand, this phenomenon is a plausible example of the osteological manifestation of a special animal/human relationship. However, it also serves as a warning that the application of modern antlers for the reconstruction of archaeological antler finds may be biased by recent human activity. A case study The coefficients calculated for the purposes of beam length reconstructions can be used in size estimations on antler artifacts whose manufacturer has retained any of the natural dimesions. Such features may especially include various circumferences on antler "axes" and "hoes". 223