Butchering Patterns and Technology in a Chalcolithic Settlement: Analysis of the Butchered Fauna from Shiqmim, Israel

This paper presents the analysis of the butchered animal bones recovered from the Chalcolithic site of Shiqmim, excavated by Thomas E. Levy in [1993]. Despite the fact that the bones are fragmented, it is possible to document the types of tools used in the process as well as the stages of butchering. The butchered taxa are primarily domestic taxa and exhibit a wide range of butchering related activities (skinning to toolmaking). The results of light optical and scanning electron microscope (SEM) readings indicate that all butchering slice marks were made by unretouched chipped stone tool implements (flakes/blades). It is possible to deduce that the occupants of Shiqmim relied on both young and old livestock for consumption and had not integrated metal technology into such quotidian activities as animal carcass processing. This is the first time that Chalcolithic butchering processes have been systematically investigated. The results lay the foundation for comparison to later periods, when metal technologies were introduced.