Szakács Sándor szerk.: A Magyar Mezőgazdasági Múzeum Közleményei 1990-1991 (Budapest, 1991)

TAKÁCS ISTVÁN: The history of pig (Sus scrofa dorn L.) butchering and the evidence for singeing on subfossil teeth

Fig.2: Singeing off hair After the weekly "Vasárnapi Újság", 1868. /Archive for the history of implements of the Hungarian Museum of Agriculture/ are effected by a significant amount of heat which causes irreversible changes on them. The elasticity of teeth under increasing heat is small. They do not resist sudden and large oscillations in temperature, so that the enamel cracks easily. When hair is singed off, the fire first effects the tips of the teeth to such an extent that in many cases marks of actual burning are left behind. At this time, capillary cracks occur on the enamel which may open even wider. A sudden decrease in temperature occurs when the carcass is washed with cold water, and the cracked, loosened up enamel surfaces split off. This, the tip of the tooth becomes brownish, cracked, and irregularly chipped. The evidence of modern skulls, which came from individuals slaughtered and processed under nonindustrial, typical household conditions may be summarized as follows: The first skull (Hungarian Agricultural Museum, Inventory number: 76.1.1-2) belonged to an eight months old castrated white hybrid. Its teeth were affected by hair singeing in the following manner (Fig. 4): in the upper toothrow the decidious