Achaeometrical Research in Hungary II., 1988

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

The surviving decorative part of the Iron Age fibula recovered in the last century at the site of Vaĉe (Slovenia) consists of an arched bronze wire on which various antler segments of truncated cone shapes were strung. The shape of the object is thus most reminiscent to a croissant, and in fact its size is close to that popular delicacy as well (Figure 4). The chord, that is the straight line measured between the two end points of this arched object measures 198.3 mm. The object weighs 235 g. Figure 4: Sketch showing the basic dimensions of the fibula from Vaĉe in Slovenia (Inventory number: P 188 Narodni Muzej, Ljubljana) From a zoological point of view, it is the largest, centrally located cylindrical piece of antler (greatest artifact length: 88.5 mm) that can be used in the estimation of original antler size. At its most slender transversal section, its diameters are 38.6 and 35.8 mm respectively. The relatively small difference between these two diameters is indicative of a moderately elliptical shape which is characteristic of the upper beam segment (SUTER 1981: 20, Abb. 19). The circumference of the ellipse calculated from these two diameters is 11.7 cm which is somewhat smaller than the 13.5 cm mean value obtained for the modern sample. Thus the fibula decoration must have originated from an approximately 87.6 cm long antler. Conclusions The procurement and quantity of raw material are of fundamental importance in studying manufacturing technologies. Due to its sheer size, the large set of contemporary red deer trophies can be used in estimating antler proportions from worked and fragmented archaeological specimens. Attention must be paid, however, to potential bias resulting from evolutionary changes in antler shape and the non-linear relationships between the relative growths of antler parts. This latter phenomenon does not strongly effect antler dimensions close to average size. Future research should concentrate on the detailed zoological interpretation of results. Interspecific allometric investigations have shown that the relationship between antler length and shoulder height in mature stags fell close to isometry not only in Cervus, but also in the Axis, Dama, Hippocamelus, Elaphurus and Rangifer genera (CLUTTONBROCK et. al. 1980). Thus, beyond the purely technological interpretation of results 224