The Effect of Canid Chewing on Variously Aged White-Tailed Deer Mandibles

by Michael Strezewski

B.S.

A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Masters Degree

Department of Anthropology in the Graduate School

Southern Illinois University at Carbondale February, 1995

AN THE THESIS OF

Michael Stre in 1 , at

TITLE: The Ef of Canid on Various y White-Tailed Deer Mandibles

MAJOR : Dr. Brenda Benef t

In cases, the number of j le whi led

deer individuals recovered storic archaeol

sites in eastern North America has been lower than

, in l of known ion for the

ies. In the numerous researchers have examined

documented Native American ices in an

to explain s inte ive these

forts, a sati resolution has not been

juveni white-tai ed deer remains. their are

less than adult individuals, juveniles were

to be dest to a . In order to examine

these related di ferences in the o bone

dest ' a was conducted in which

a r domest various te-tailed

deer mandibles.

resul s of showed that

uveni er

than the adults, none of the bones were

consumed. These

have had an

s that domestic

iable effect on white-tailed deer

not

file. However, may want to take the

of involved into consideration, as this

be an element in the amount bone chewed an

i

s

I would ike to thank all of my committee

all of their ions and

of ect. In

to iation

at White-tails Deer

the

I would also like

to me

Illinois without this

in

could not

Final I would especial like to

Lee Newsom al their more than will

ic in this

deer bones in their

house).

and for

(and occasional

e,

been done.

s to

sme

in the

and

.. v

.vi

INTRODUCT ..................... 1

WORK •.••••••.•••...••.•..••••.••..••.••••••.•••

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN ..•••••••••.•..••...•...•••..••..•.. 28

4 ANALYSIS DI ION, CONCLUSIONS ••.•.•••.•..• 40

REFERENCES CITED ••••.••••••...•.•.••.••..•••.••.•••.•..•.

VITA ••..••••.•••••••.••••••••••.•••.••.•••.•••••.•••••••• 61

F GURES

1. Discrepancies between archaeol cal white-

tailed and ion

•.•.•...•.....•.•.••.•...•..•.•••••.• 2

F 2. Native Americans

hunt deer . . ........... 8

Figure 3. Native Americans

use of a

deer an

enc 1 osure. . ..................................... 8

4. survival of mandibles

ected to • • •••••••••••.•••••. 2 6

5. Sal 's I where was observed ........ 34

6. Sal in process of the

mandible of a year-old deer .......... 34

F 7. Mandible of the white-tailed deer .............. 35

8. Photo of a 2 d mandible

Sal . . ....... 41

9. age-identifiable bone

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •••••••••••••••••••••••• 4 6

TABLES

Table . AGING WHITE~TAILED DEER TOOTH ERUPT

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Table REMAI NG BONE

Table TEETH (SALLY) ......................... 45

Table 4. AGE IDENTIFIABLE BONE TUX) .................... 9

The relative

r 1

Introduction

of white-tailed deer

( ) remains in eastern North American

cal assembl attests to the fact that

utilization of this natural resource was an

the diet and subsistence of prehistoric Native Americans

(Waselkov 19 8:15). As a result archaeologists have been

interested in how white-tailed deer were obtained

and utilized human

An often noted aspect of archaeological white-tailed

deer as

classes

age were

have

is the distribution of the various age­

within a particular site. However, if we

the simple notation of how many deer of each

actions

the

at a site, we can to address the

icance of such information. What do

te-tailed deer remains at

, and on a l

of Native Americans

observed between sites?

the deer storic Native

2

subsistence strategies. Additionally, any perceived

changes in the age-class structure of white-tailed deer

that occur through time will help elucidate how ht~an

hunting and adaptation may have changed in response to

environmental and other factors.

35

30

25

20 Percent ot

Total ltss:e•blage

15

10

5

0

FltlJN 1 . 5 2.5

~Emerson (1900} --11-- Tick C:r·eek Cave

Late Archaic (Parmalee 1965)

--6--Stlodgrass

3.5

Mi.:.sissippi&n (Smith 1975:28)

4 5

Age (In Years) 5--12

Figure 1. Discrepancies between archaeological white-tailed

deer assemblages and population parameters.

In trying to address these subsistence questions,

researchers have noted an interesting pattern in many

white-tailed deer assemblages of eastern North America

(e.g. Cleland 1965, Waselkov 1978, Emerson 1980, Munson

1991). Specifically, in view of documented modern

population parameters of white-tailed deer (e.g. Emerson

1980), juveniles routinely appear to be vastly

underrepresented in archaeological faunal assemblages,

i

these archaeo i

of

s

be seen from

Smi

Parmalee 1 6 , the number of individuals under the

the

is a than that which d be

1 of the at ion

of white-tailed deer Emerson 1

n this ion, numerous

over the last thi have used various means to

to the possible reasons the

archaeo

these e

di

s have been

hi orical

( . g.

on uveniles.

on the examinat on f

Native American hunt

of

i

these,

} to

ke resul

f newborn

( 6 f

on most has

. (

seems

s

th in

were

)

4

shown that

the most

whatever deer

ethnohi i observat

is of documented

Amer can

avai le

are

ive Amer can

tends to idea that these

hunt white-tailed deer, without an

for 1 , notes that barr those

spec f cally aimed at male white-

the relative rutt season, it

11 other documented Native American hunt

ices were non-se ective or at most,

sel ive 199 : 44 Thus, the

ion indicates that the of

ed dentif d be

juveniles, reflect the natural on

l of these s, is seems that the

of uveniles cannot be the

f Amer

s

on deer ages.

ial

to

dense than r

i

f dif ial destruction

o the

of uveni led deer

etion

are

Bert

in dens

the matur

, the less dense

ible to

the cal

record than those older individual .

of deletion

from archaeol

In thi

then be

a ro led

undertaken to determine the

to

imental

to whi

derived

was

dest

bones ed deer of different . The

ex per

and

destruct

determine

lves the

domest

were observed

of deer mandibles f known

The and method of

bone was to

and

basi

tv hi

6

of

si

A number

Emerson 1

the disc

white-tai

those

for the most

American

deer

i

studies, outl in Waselkov 1 78

Munson (1 1 , have to

between the ies of

in

natural

ices to

cal assembl

ions. These

on dif

and

Native

i

of uveni deer remains in archaeo

the relative

cal sites.

the ion descr

various methods Native Americans used to hunt white-

tailed deer have been

Swanton 1 6:312-3 1,

in a number (e.g.

19 :10- Anell 969,

Waselkov 1 8: 5- 8, Munson 19 :1 4). AI there

are a var

i

, and

Historical

thout a deer

the irst

ands, , these deer

was ished ei or

1. behind the

8

Figure 2. Contemporary engraving of Native Americans

hunting deer through use of a decoy. (from The New World,

Stefan J. Lorant, ed.)

Figure 3. Native Americans driving deer into an enclosure

(from The Deer of North America, W.P. Taylor, ed.)

9

it. It seems that the c literature on deer

more f ly describes the Native Arner cans' use

of a than without. In a cal account of

stalki describes this , in association

th his (f .2):

The Indians have a way of hunt deer which we never saw before. manage to on the skins of the l which have been taken, in such a manner, with the heads on their own heads, so that they can see out through the eyes as

a Thus accoutered can close to the deer wi frightening

(in Swanton 1946:313).

Although the frequency of the mention of decoy hunt in

the descr ions of European travelers may be related to

its extensive use, Munson (1991:143) may be correct in

asserti that it is also possi e that its sheer novelty

may be the chief reason for its inclusion in the

descriptions of New World deer hunting.

Stalking without a decoy is another method cited in

the ethnohistoric literature, but with less

frequency, poss due to its more mundane nature, rather

than its less ce. 18

ribed the Semino e method fo

when abl to discover of the

nearing him per

say that certain movements on

the head is about to be thus

ll

0

of

an

may have been areas

Amer

i

for white-tailed

the dr surround. With this method, hunters

utilized no se or fire to drive the deer into a constructed

enclosure or area where were lled easi , such as a

narrow int of land (f ain, in the

o Lake Ontario in 1 1 , noted that the local

about e paces which strike this noise, flee before enclosure into which the

ini

enter. Then the latter r towards the stea al the said isades until reach the extremi , whither the pursue them hot with bow and arrow in hand, to shoot (in B 1929:

methods mentioned various texts include

rivers re been

a

known as

The deer are transfixed the and

, as the in

the

Al thi

0 at

11

aces

s

storical iterature to

known

of specifi

the use

methods Woodlands, is reason to

be otherwi

An examinat of these accounts however, br an

point.

these diverse hunt

is to consider fact that

methods were coordinated

with the ctable year movement and of

white-tailed deer, and in this

methods

white-tai deer behavior.

ethnohistoric narratives are use

, some or all of

a certain

ional

descr ions actual methods of white-tailed deer

, it also must be remembered that these sources

a brief

Native Ameri

abor

pri

the 1

cal and environmental

Therefore,

exes

arrival of the

hi a

s 1 that

remains. The f to

a solution to the

structure archaeol deer

Elder Cleland 19

, these authors two

i (1965 369 was

modern white-tailed

and 1 4 to the at three

storic and stor Native Ameri

He concluded the low f

stor uvenile mandibles (8 ), modern

of fawn about ) was a result a vo

and ef ive ion measure

uveniles to

However, Elder's

ive Amer cans in

to

better hides

1 6: 12).

the

tional

invokes an undue amount

into and

ion s not

literature Swanton

i seems that E 's

fores on the of Native

There to its perceived

s been

a

. e.

t

Ameri

of

eland

ocal deer

ons

which the lowest

in

number

and

individuals

s

normal

of indivi

lasses,

78:19). This contrast with

ions of lass structure in whi

ions or other

matter I in which the

with decreas

increases (Emerson 1 to

juveniles that he had and

o deer

woul

the

led

s as

a in the

d have

the

those deer hunt that have

selective, rather than non~selective. There

Cleland to search answer to the

f em of deer

of

been

be

hunt , an error in one of

bas as

the

, Emerson

f e. . Waselkov

researchers

that the

Archaic to Hi

demonstrate a

selective

var

) .

of

distr ions

14

sites from the

in eastern North

from stal (

ica

a more

communal drives (a non-se ective

is assumed to be related to a

increas of

horticulture dur the Woodland iod, inc

ion densities, and the of the

deerskin trade dur the Historic period.

However, upon examination of the data (19 8:29-30),

claim for a diachronic seems rather weak. n

addition, Munson s out if those sites th small

e sizes are removed from Waselkov's

the Archaic

1

the Historic periods,

disappears (1991:143). Finally,

Waselkov s lack of statistical tests demonstrat the non-

randomness of change in

time makes his conclusions uncertain.

Direct relat to the deer

are some diffi t es in Waselkov's

sel

He

have been

inherent on seems

dual

structure

em however,

ions

favored

be that

5

take the most heal individual. This

it res however, that while deer,

the hunter would

i s, al

come upon a number of

him to choose the best

Al such a scenario is not sible,

1.

f

s related to a number f

ion deer, area

inc

eastern

the seasonal

Amer ca in

which the hunter is

stalked ( 991:3).

and the sex of the deer

e not demonstrable

Waselkov's notion that

selective component seems I

cites His tor accounts in

Vi inia were not selective hunt

but rather, were kill whatever

inc does and

an

However, he himself

the of

to

were available,

(Hamor 6 5:20).

Moreover, it seems that the deer most

ible to sta would be the ienced

the very old and mature males dur

about

archaeol

ld. One

season.

ive

a

the relat

the

be

that

short

16

which

males be

show a

taken.

ional 1 number f adult

Aside from stal , which may have an selective

, other possible ways Native Americans may

hunted deer such as dr , and t

to be, to a 1 stic. With these

methods, the hunter does not have of choosing

what

barr

or sex to 1 it

Waselkov's case a st

selective hunt bias

has not been suf ient

storic Native American

demonstrated.

Bruce Smith has used a dif

the deer from the

In a series of ications on Mississ white-tailed

deer exploitation (1974 1975 1980), Smith views the role

white-tail hunt as to that the

wolf. In this scenario, Native American

middle , whereas wolves hunted most

old which i

et

st

food sources.

American hunters led i a

normal hunt

69 •

deer

ited

the

the

17

t for sources

s

what thi hunt

the idea that the wolf

eastern North America

lion relat

Africa. In this

wildebeest are hunted by

whereas the middle

( ler 197

stal

hunters would serve to

be similar

the

ive relat

us

are hunted

19 2b

the

ement

humans and

the

i Plain

cours

lions us

be, Smith

in

eastern

and old

stalking

Thus, Smith is

Native American

hunt

difficul

cours

with this

wolf

lies in the

ions. The

that

selective toward middle

s in the case of lions hunt wildebeest (i.e. a

herd animal it is unclear whether stal would be as

st se ective the

tends be a more soli

: 1

on white-tailed deer

the

te-tailed deer which

ies. In addition as

studies

18

reconc Amer can deer hunt ices the

1 ses Munson 1 )

that attenti should be directed the

that a role

the disc em. , he examines

whether or not the actions be the

factor.

It is have a of

storic human ion of North ica from the

Domestic ials have been well

from as far as the Archaic at

sites in the eastern United States e.g.

Webb and DeJarnette 1 2 1 8, 1950, 974, Lewis

Lewis 1961, McMillan 1 sen 19 0, Hill 19

Streuver and ton 19 9

ials in

and Wiant 1 2 . The

America however, have ol

been

known

at the Koster site in the I linois River val

in which the remains of three domestic have been

Archaic

stence of

domest

use as

These been to the

ca. b .. , document the

f evidence

source. t

d tend to

possible then~

r use

their

1

retr

leistocene

or s

19

as a hunt

fication

faunal 1

Fol

and the

ion in the ear e have

been especial the in.

seems to have In

been of medium s

storic domest

th a certain of var at in

size and Estimates from fox terrier-s zed (

0 em at the shoulder) McMillan 197 :124 ) for

ial in an context in Benton ssouri

small col ie and terrier-sized for a r of ed

(

in Basketmaker context in northwestern Ar zona

and Kidder 192

The mandible s the most element to examine

consider the 1 S role in low relat f

juvenile white-tailed

fact that the mandible is

The for this ies in

the element used in

the structure of archaeol

deer as that

9),

numerous

2

1 0, Hamblin 9 19 8 ' ters 1

Marean , Hudson r to the best of

there are three shed studies are

cable to the ial

ive re di ferential destruct on

cani on the mandibles of white-tai deer. Al

three

combinations

to

as a

ruction to the

and

the

the re ive

have used

ies

of

(Munson 1991:14

made these ear ier

fferent

all

ies exist in each, in terms of the

ication conditions limit

their icabili to ion.

, the success and t value

from s project was cont on the

both the methodol and the applicabil

these ear ier studies. A br overview the

imental invest

conducted

ethnoarchaeo

ions

canid

and Bertram

as

act

Thi

ar

were

969-

Foll

how

was

ite

and Bert

animals

a

var

a "

of bones f

at the the

bones were recovered from

of

to

numbers, any

in the manner an archaeol cal excavation.

site

1

survival of the mandibles was examined, and Binford and

Bertram noted (19

deleti

animal,

1 . 5

not

rather

of the

recovered in an

that the

in ion the

mandibular

the

related to

old mandibles were

e state whereas 84.6

1 adult mandibles survived in a

of

condition

to allow

Al

had

identification (197 :

this of ive

a natural st c real

di ies s

on a

ial of

the element

ematic. For

no deaths

mandibl rom this

22

o individuals kill

icular winter i also

, a the s

less than 3 months of , seven

were recovered in the

excavations. As these seven mandibles would have

been to have been the most

this revelation casts doubt on the

s' s.

ete dest

of the

Also, it seems that six other mandibles from the 8 to

month were recovered the fact

none of these individuals were mentioned and

Bertram's s. t is not known what other

errors have existed in the reported numbers of

individuals. A final concern lies in the fact that Binford

and Bertram do not whether the o fami

were f size to those known to have occurred

storical However, Navajo

similar to stor

Pennefather-0' , pers .),

A

twe

are medium size,

El zabeth

t ons,

ar

23

Several r the no shmved

the bones, were lected and

the li species i ificat , as

have occurred had the bones been in an

archaeo context

adult to juvenile es was 2:1

is revealed that al four

halves had been

adult halves

dest

if e.

initial rat

the juvenile

, whereas all e

ar

Munson (1 1: 46) out several

to archaeo

ems with

the applicabil

assembl

used, al

smaller/ and

amount of

addition, the

0 . (55-6

as

of this

First of all the and

similar to white-tailed deer, are much

l

i

, may have

for this

a

deer mandibles. In

were between 25 and

than most Native American

in size from modern terrier

Munson's use of may

the mandibles,

on

food were

e be are uncerta

Also, were ined

:146 notes that may have of

This have had the ef

f ruct the a st

inal small twelve mandibular

halves) quantitative s or conclus

the relative ruction o the

Al this that

ic res, more control the

imental a 1 size were

di ficulties which this from more

than a ust so conclusion.

A third that invest canid and

destruction of white-tailed deer bone was

Kl et al. 19 (1 and lJ!unson 9 1).

In this controlled

killed deer were

, the carcasses of nine whole road

lves

to a

The

carcas reduct

d used

llected for

the four

three ive

ive to characterize

icul , and

les

25

mandibles

s

retained identifiable ions.

dramatical demonstrates that less dense

uvenile bones are to destruction than

their t s. Nevertheless it use in

ication of bone ruction s imited a

number of reasons. First, the f wolves used were much

than

bones. Second al

American

lict more

white-tai

Olsen 1 85:

to the

in

this carcasses were to the

than f as would most 1

case in any assembl in an archaeo

whole,

the

context.

amount of

wolves had an

s factor have lowered the

bone chewed, due to the

abundance

ial

so be noted

the f

wolves (18 halves),

destruction

the

size, difficult the

characteristic to a

Al

Bertram

as best date,

of

s

mandible destruction to

factor, the of which was

assembl

a

of

deer to eat be

Final it

to

relat 1

i

class.

f i

Munson

destruct

ies

ut 1 zed

a correction

the

dest

e

on

26

data, Munson (1991:147) estimated the percentage of

individuals destroyed for each age class (fig. 4). For

example, mandibles from individuals .5 years old were

expected to survive only about 6 percent of the time,

whereas 1.5 year old deer mandibles were expected to

survive about 50 percent of the time. The percentage of

individuals surviving dog chewing increased steadily with

age until about 3.5 years, where it apparently levels off

at about 87 percent, dramatically demonstrating the effect

of the greater bone density characteristic of adult

mandibles on the remaining number of age-identifiable

elements.

90 +m• .88 8tr-

80

70-

60

50 50

Percent

40

30

20

10 6

0

0.5 1.5 2.5 3.5 4.5 5+

Age (in ~ars)

Figure 4. Expected survival of sheep mandibles subjected to

dog scavenging (Adapted from Munson's (1991) extrapolation

of Binford and Bertram's data).

2

Munson (1991) to

bone destruction by ' it s

much room on the exist

i the amount

that there is

data.

reas the size and the control over the

imental conditions, it may be possible to cl i the

related dif ial destruction of white-tailed deer

mandibles. In the next chapter the such an

iment are 1 rated.

In this , white-tailed deer mandibles of

various were to two The manner, t

of bone de ruction, as wel as

details were

, in order to

As ment

this

i

in the ous

of domestic

than

and

s,

a number

ruction more

conditions to be met. First of all, it was

ive that the bones

led deer, as

ected

to some other

order to be more consistent with assumed

conditions. In es, the use

be those

in

storic

estimate et of uvenile deer was an obvious

was al essent al that be used

been studies.

var

experiment are lable

llinois the and bow seasons

to

f

in

deer, usual near the end f November and the

process

Thi pr

makes

season, thi was

Jackson

as the best

materials. A local deer

llino was contacted.

establ butchers hunters' kills and

, steaks and smoked were

made to

arrived. A 1

deer heads twice a week as

can was left at the process

ili

were

the

sed.

it deer heads as the deer

Whenever a white-tai ed deer is taken hunt

season, a

affixed

process

th each t, is

the head or antler of the animal to demonstrate

of the kill. As the individuals at the deer

firm wanted to ensure that the t ion o

1 numbers of deer heads conformed to all state laws

the

up, and all

the

ler obtained for each deer head eked

ations obtained from the Jackson

of Conservation were followed. Due to

each deer' ler

take the

was needed

ant, it

the

mount. do

the mandible is made

rom

head

i taken

able.

1

the

At

, and the

s point, the and

and

was sexed because the marked

Adult male te-tailed deer

rom

Whitaker

bs.

between 1

:6

to

to 2

This

f each

Each

f

had ications to the results of

, since the differences in robust

male and female mandibles have some

amount of

the heads were aced in

s

feet on

and to the vivarium at Southern inois Universi

at Carbondale where

the white-tail season,

were incinerated.

mandibles

sexes were obtained, a total of e

halves.

the end of

ious and

mandibular

As noted above, the of the mandibles were

the of

the

deer

r

used te-

es

31

which involves partial destruction of the specimen.

Moreover, for the deer used in the experiment, the dates of

birth and death are already roughly known. Most fawns in

Illinois are born in late May to early June, although in

southern Illinois this period is spread over a somewhat

longer time period since the more temperate environment

allows late fawns to survive through the winter (Calhoun

and Loomis 1974:15).

TABLE 1

AGING WHITE-TAILED DEER BY TOOTH ERUPTION SEQUENCE*

Birth to One Week

One Week to Four Weeks

Four Weeks to Ten Weeks

*(This table is a simplified version of Severinghaus'

(1949) criteria.)

The date of death for each deer is known to within a

couple of weeks, since all were obtained during the

bow/shotgun season in 1993. With these data, the white­

tailed deer mandibles could be grouped into .5, 1.5, 2.5

year-old, and adult age classes without a considerable

amount of difficulty. As a deer approaches adulthood

(around 2.5 years), and tooth wear alone is used to

determine f Seve becomes ess

because t ons diet

can feet the amount of tooth wear for a

and t 7 e,

Sever and Cheatham 9 ) that the tooth wear

rate deer and areas was double

that deer from areas of New York.

ess ors such as should not pose a

amount of difficul to the

Binford and Bertram's

ef s of on

c data on the

bone showed that the amount

of destruction leveled

reached maximum dens

f as 's

at maturi Li se, it was

antic that in this the relative amount of

ruction to mandibles should level f once a

white-tailed deer It s at s

that bone and densi is achieved.

Aside from the need for white-tail mandibles in this

iment, bas

the

exper

).., Because

aamaae, it seemed

idered. n

factor that

studies was

effect the

f

that this

s ze

)

amount of

in

the used the

size and

accustomed

iment must not

bones. d

0

, but a so be

so be

outdoors as

indoors .

to be

considerable amounts

a sma

time

The used for the main on o the

was Sally a 3 lb, four

45cm. at the shoulder,

old, mixed breed. She stands

thin the various estimates

for size those

contexts lan

19 it seems

has a similar amount of destructive

as that of storic North American

a

ional

the

Sal 1 S owner i

out ide, either in a

f . 5 which measures

her owner is home in the vicini

Al she fed commercia

ronment, Sal

teria of size,

in

X

sen

to assume that

ial to bone

she

, or, when

of the house.

, when in

home and

and

34

Figure 5. Sally's pen, where chewing was observed.

Figure 6. Sally in the process of chewing the mandible of a

2~ year-old female deer.

CORONOID PROCESS ,, • i-

MANDIBULAR CONDYLE 1 ,; 1 'f!ll

ASCENDING RAMUS ··-

Figure 7. Mandible of the white-tailed deer (Adapted from

Gilbert (1990).

w (,J1

ften res

f esh

luded

ime

ior the bone,

Fol s

in sun for about

had been def

to pen be

was not al there and the (

inc sors to the or end of the

he from the ventral the

dorsal end of the coronoid of

measured see f ) . 1 this

f

at the same ime

Sal

, the bone was

to nsure

was ined

mandibles she

rom the t of the

and

al to the

the mandible were

, the bone

was to the In every tri , Sal

and dest the bone. In order to

for any ions she was not

allowed to br

inside

the bone out of the pen, but was free to

had she wanted to continue

Dur the , Sal

whole jaw at

connected and

the area

time with two

the

the

as

was chewed irst,

small

ramus

t took

the e.g. rami, anterior

ini

was

ions

the bones one

halves still

f esh

chew each

ial

ions o

' a

on

on

, and when she

37

such as the other ne s de the

, were also recorded.

After Sal to be finished

were made

f, not

Foll

the

espec

this init al

ions of each mandibular

areas had been dest

any eces of

bone were le in the pen so that Sal could continue to

chew them if she wished. At the time of the next visit

( cal 4-5 the ions of bone from

the last visit were collected, reexamined and to

the that had been made in order to determine if

had back to the bones after the initial

episode. It seemed however, that in the ori of

within the first trials, Sal had done all of the

half hour (i.e. while she was being observed). In

three the fi mandibular halves to Sal was any

additional

recovery,

were ater

any

rst

noted dur the next visit. After

portions of bone were refrozen, and

for a od of time in orde remove

, insects, and of flesh.

five mandibles

t

it decided examine how a f

deer mandibles. Another was found

i

shoulder, 1

a ori

bones the

his

most of

move over a l

38

iment. Tux stands at the

smal

of the

Tux

outside and has chewed on

s has not been a ar ice

is primari commercial food. He

the on a tether which allows him

sy area, he is sometimes

as

to

allowed to roam in ne when his owner

s home.

When the deer mandibles were given to Tux, were

defrosted and in an identical manner to those fed

to Sal However, after two mandibles had been fed to

Tux it became apparent that he treated the bones in

a dif

carried

ions

manner from Sal Instead of immedi

to chew the bone after be

around with him, and periodical

Tux licked it,

ate off

the flesh. As was to be discovered

later, the majori of Tux's activi did not

usual occur

at

as Sal had been

a iod had el

that a noticeabl amount of

seen.

ike Sal

after it

It

it

weeks.

39

with him and over a number of

n order to more control over the

on then, i was ided that it would

ive to examine how much

imental

more

Tux was

to do over a iod of time, since he may have

or

continued to chew the indefinite A iod of

three seemed to be an amount time for Tux

to have access to the bone. Because the fact that he

had access to each mandible

seemed a ion that periods

for each mandible bear out any densi

dif in the amount of or

the

three

related

destruction. A total of seven mandibles were fed to Tux,

in five of these trials was he allowed

three to chew the bone.

mandibles in a

she would initial

down the

4

the bone, Sal chewed the

ic and manner. In

attack the coronoid and

ramus. Sometimes she would chew

on and

but more

t out the mandibular 1 of 50 cases ,

than not, these were also dest t

seemed that if Sal was cal able to chew

the entire ramus and mandibular e were chewed

down to the or end of the toothrow. In cases

a ion of the ramus ( was dest below the

Sal 1 S

the

f

successful and

numerous observations, it seemed

here.

for

ins

away the ramus was

1

the

cal , she d chew

a

ior end of

41

continue destroying the bone all the way up the tooth row.

It appeared that if Sally was not able to significantly

chew the ramus, she then proceeded to the anterior portion

of the mandible.

Figure 8. Photo of 2~ year-old mandible immediately

following chewing by Sally.

Sally would typically begin the destruction of the

anterior portion of the mandible by chewing off any flesh

that remained on the bone. This included portions of the

lip and some skin. After this was consumed, she would

proGeed to chew off the anterior teeth, the bone

surrounding them, and the tissue which held the two halves

of the mandible together. After the two halves were apart,

Sally would sometimes continue the destruction up the

anterior portion of the bone until she reached the

premolars, occasionally consuming them in the process. In

the final step of the general destruction of the bone, she

pulled any remaining membranes and flesh off the rami. As

mentioned above, 0 ar

s was

last time were chewed. e s

can be seen in s both halves

ld e were to the

ior end toothrow. n addi on, the incisors

both halves was chewed off and eaten. I a so be

seen in the

Al

to that of

cannot be

that

Tux's

's

with

one the lies

to be imilar

examination f the end results,

idence the order

was ical. However, since the of Tux's

each mandible act ies were observed can

be said that the small amount that was observed

to the outlined above. is

of those chewed Tux showed that the anterior and

those bones chewed However, this was usual not

those chewed Sal

hal that dest

created. These

the

mandi

were made

ferent

ates

care

43

collections at SIUC and from the author's personal

collections. The mandibular tracings were then enlarged

and reduced using a photocopying machine in order to create

a template whose measurements most closely matched those

made for each mandible used in the experiment. A

transparent lmm grid was then placed over the appropriate

template for each mandibular half, and the total area for

each of the tracings was determined (in mm 2).

TABLE 2

REMAINING BONE (SALLY)

RAMI Splinters Condyle RAMI Splinte1s Condyle

AGE SEX DATE ~of ~of (%of TOTAL (%of (%of ~of TOTAL FED totaj) totaj) totaJ) (lH1) tot* tot* tot* (RIGH1)

.5 F 12/4/93 18.83 -- .. 18.83 9.49 -- -- 9.49

.5 F 4/11/94 29.45 -- -- 29.45 19.78 -- -- 19.78

.5 F 5/24/94 30.57 -- -- 30.57 22.13 -- -- 22.13

.5 M 5/27/94 0 -- -- 0 0 -- -- 0

.5 M 6nt94 4.87 -- -- 4.87 8.48 -- -- 8.48

.5 F 6/13/94 25.03 2.67 -- 27.70 8.02 2.54 -- 10.55

.5 M 7/31/94 16.62 10.07 -- 26.69 15.70 -- -- 15.70 1.5 M 12n193 47.53 -- -- 47.53 50.45 -- -- 50.45 1.5 M 3/31/94 40.63 3.27 -- 43.90 44.38 5.37 13.99 63.74 1.5 M 4/24/94 88.35 .. -- 88.35 88.26 -- -- 88.26 1.5 F 5/2/94 39.07 1.62 -- 40.69 40.50 -- -- 40.50 1.5 M 5/12/94 31.82 -- -- 31.82 48.38 -- 11.96 60.34 1.5 F 5/16/94 48.06 -- 17.51 65.56 37.83 17.26 12.88 67.97 1.5 F 5/31/94 28.20 3.42 5.56 37.18 17.79 1.97 4.83 24.59 1.5 F 6/21/94 87.59 -- -- 87.59 75.74 -- -- 75.74 1.5 F 8n/94 44.00 2.14 7.53 53._68 36.14 10.67 11.10 57.92 -----------2.5 M 4/15/94 32.32 -- -- 32.32 32.92 2.85 7.36 43.13 2.5 M 6/21/94 70.17 -- -- 70.17 63.98 -- -- 63.98 2.5 F 7/17/94 44.36 1.32 10.00 55.67 42.94 -- 6.50 49.44 2.5 F 7/26/94 80.00 -- -- 80.00 81.39 -- -- 81.39 ·-

ADULT M 4/18/94 70.14 3.01 6.43 79.58 48.30 -- -- 48.30 ADULT F 8/13/94 40.03 3.12 9.81 52.97 42.81 2.96 8.99 54.76 ADULT F 5/22/94 44.64 -- 5.77 50.41 61.77 7.38 -- 69.15 ADULT F 7/28/94 39.40 6.85 -- 46.25 69.54 -- -- 69.54 ADULT F 8/<1/94 62.66 -- 8.51 71.18 61.90 -- 4.52 66.43

44

the area each of the ates was

in determined, amount of bone

mandibl was measured. The ions

0 mandibular half were aced on

id

then

ion

out ined. The

that the total area

d be estimated.

ed were

mm of each

number to the area of the iate

this

ate, the amount

of bone dest

was then

table

1

ion

this

each case was estimated. s number

a of the total bone (see

used method (cf. Marean

, since t

a three dimensional trans

dimens

mandible

it seems to be an

res the

ect into two

measure of the

is, in

bone. The total area

above included

thi s

f

mandible

, a flat two-dimensional

each of the ates mentioned

ions f the mandible and

the teeth.

deer

be the resul

e used

0

for

the

a

the

45

Although teeth were not utilized in the measurement of

amount of destruction, the number of teeth consumed in each

experimental trial are summarized in table 3.

A more accurate way of determining the amount of bone

destruction might seem to be through water displacement or

weight, however, studies have generally found that the

measurement of bone volume and weight are unreliable, due

to the fact that bones can dry out, become more porous and,

by various processes, lose organic materials.

TABLE 3

TEETH CONSUMED (SALLY)*

AGE

5 .5 .5 .5 .5 .5

TEEUI SEX DATE ORIGINALLY PRESENT

FED LEFT AND RIGfiT'

F 12/4/93 11.12.13.14.D1.D2.D3.M1 F 4/11194 11.12,13.14.01,D2.D3,M1 F 5124194 11,12,13,14,01,D2.D3,M1 M 5127194 11,12.13.14.D1.D2,D3,M1 M 6/7194 11,12,13,14,01 ,02,03,1\111 F 6/13194 11.12,13,14 ,01 .02 .03,1\111

J....---:.'o::---+.......:,.::M~l~7l) 1194 _ 11 1~.£LL1J2LR2 ... J?;LML __ _ 1 M 1217193 11.12,13,14,01,D2.D.3,M1,M2.(M3) 1.5 M 3131194 11 ,12.13,14,01 ,02,D3.M1 ,M2,M3 1.5 M 4124194 11.12.13.14,01,02.03,M1 ,M2,M3 1.5 F 512194 11.12,13,14,01,D2,03,M1 ,M2,(M3) 1.5 M 5/12194 11 ,12,13.14.01,02.D3.M1 .M2.M3 1.5 F 5/16194 11.12,13,14,D1 ,D2,03,M1 ,M2,M3 1.5 F 5131194 11 ,12 ,13 ,14 ,D1 ,D2 .D3 ,M1 J>/12 ,(1\113) 1.5 F 6121194 11 ,12,13,14 ,01 ,D2.03,M1 .M2,(M3)

LEFT

TEEUI CONSUMED

RIGHT 11 .12 ,13 ,14 11 .12 ,13 ,14 ,01 ,02 11 ,12,13,14,01,02. M1 11.12.13,14 11 ,12,L3,14 11,12,13,14.01 ,02 11 ,12 ,13 ,14 .D1 11 ,12 ,13 .14 ,01 ,02 ,03 11 .12 ,13 ,14 .01 ,02 11 ,12 ,13 ,14 ,01 ,02 11 .12 ,13 ,14 11,12,13,14 11 ,12 JJ;I J1 .. __ ifl]g)1.11.-.f-l-'1 ~~C'-'---- -~--·1

l3,14 11 ,12 ,13 ,14 11.12,13,14

11 ,12 .13 ,14 11 ,12 ,13 ,14

13,14 11,12,13.14 11,12,13.14 11,12.13,14,01 11,12,13,14

~·c:.:::._-+-c~·-+~~-t_ . .!LI2 ,1;U-t,t~1 ,02J13Jt!11.1\J1l,@f!Lpc.c.~J.:::c:,.c:, _____ :::::_p.: ... :.!:J.::::.,:.:J _ _x:=:.::::..1 4115194 11 ,12,13,14,P1 ,P2,P3,M1 ,M2,M3

2.5 2.5

ADULT ADULT ADULT ADULT

6121194 11 ,12,13,14,P1 ,P2,P3,M1 ,M2,M3 7/17194 11 ,I2,13,14,P1 ,P2,P3,M1 ,M2,M3

8/13/94 5fl2/94 7(28194 8/4194

11 ,12,13,14.P1.P2.P:J,M1 ,M2,M3 11.12,13,14.P1.P2 ,P3,M1 ,M:l,M3 11 ,12 ,13 ,14 ,P1 ,P2 .P3 ,1\111 ,M2 ,M3 11,12 1314 P1.P2,P3 M1 M2 M3

11,12,13.14 11J),13,!4 11,12.13.14 11 12 13 14

11 ,12,13,14 11,12,13,14 11 r2 11 11 ,12,!3,14 It .12.13,14 11,12,13,14 11 121314

* parentheses denotes teeth that are erupted but which not

have yet reached their full height. "D" denotes deciduous

premolars.

46

Analysis of the Results

It does not seem surprising that there should be a

strong correlation between the age of each animal and the

percentage of bone destroyed by the dogs. Analysis of the

experimental results does indeed support such an assumption

(fig 9). A test of the correlation between the age of each

white-tailed deer mandible chewed, against the total

percentage of bone remaining (this includes all bone

splinters, etc.) has provided an indication of the strong

relationship between these two variables. A correlation of

r=.62 was obtained, which is significant to < .01 (df=48).

70

60

5 0

1 0

%of bono

30

2 0

10

0

0.5 l. S 2.5 Adul t

Age ( i n years)

Figure 9. Average percentage of age-identifiable bone

remaining.

While conducting this experiment however, it was

noticed

determined

cons

direct

robust

size of

animal in

'

the

di

a ted to the sex

that the ibil

bone dest

4

deer o identi

and wear

sheer s

the

exist

be related

t

(as

showed

the

the

0 the ' rather than its se.

is that

e s st

ion, consi

in individuals, the

related to the

differences in the size of

thin each lass made the ion of the

role

the 1

robustic an interest one. For

ld class, out of nine i

two-dimensional area of the ar

in

s, the

varied from

47.3 em to 63.51 em overl th

a cent

area in em

classes. A correlation the size (i.e.

cal

s

note

a mandibular f and the

of bone remaini

on

ficant to

a

zooarchaeol

the

t

was This

r=.6 , which is also

t s lso interest

methods the

than

bone

to

ed deer mandibles

48

ions the of total bone

, it seemed that in order to make the measurement

more reflective condi ions,

bone which were if able i.e. those

ons which included teeth) should be

calculation correlations to determine

in the

related

mandibular survivabil Correlations were then

in this manner. Looking at the relat

of identifiable

between the

of bone and the

of the individual a value of r=.58 was obtained

s ficant to .01 (df 8).

As before, the relat between the

and the sheer size of the mandible was

but this time us only the age-ident iable ion of

is

bone. a correlation s ficant to .01

was , in which r was equal to .64. It

noted that the relati between identifiable

ions and the size of the mandible is s

the lat obtained

i iable the

the e

ical test ,

seen those

ruction

fed

be

49

table 2 however, which summarizes Sally's chewing

activities, all of the recovered condyles and splinters are

excluded from the Tux's total columns, and only age-

identifiable bone is represented. This is because Tux had

a much larger area to move around while chewing the bone.

Consequently, it could not determined with confidence that

all portions of the bone had been recovered.

TABLE 4

AGE IDENTIFIABLE BONE (TUX)

AGE SEX DATE FED

*These two mandibles were given to Tux for an extended

period of time. All others were given to him for only three

days each.

What is most interesting about the results of this

experiment however, is that none of the the mandibles were

destroyed to such a degree that no age determination could

be made. Table 2 shows that many of the .5 year-old

mandibles chewed by Sally retained only minimal portions of

bone, and in fact, two of the mandibular halves were

1 However, even these two imens

that in

determinat on

due to miss

te the

was made

eaten teeth~ none

0 mandibles were in such a condition that a

not be ass Technical then, the of these

mandibles could be ident ied.

For reason were of the juvenile mandibles

not dest when thi seemed to be the

f of studies? t seems that there may be

a number to explain the found in this

rst the s used in this iment were

smaller than those used in Munson's (1991) and 's

(19 ) studies. As discussed in

resulted in decreased ability of the

2, this

to destroy the

bones. A second

used, rather than

was that white-tailed deer bone was

, as was the case in Binford and

Bertram' 1 ) and Munson's 1991) studies. The use of a

ies most 1 ke the bones more di cult

devour. These factors uni

the

remains;

51

therefore indicate that the effect of abor

minimal.

te these f a factor

s ficant

used in this

decreased the amount

iment was the

used. Both Sal and Tux were

ch

was

to the bones

in the

ar

bones was not a part of their e diet, but rather was

a supplement to a regular diet commercial In

support of thi idea Patrick Munson (pers comm. noted

that dur his experiments, when the were kept

ier they dest the bones to a much

than if

this

had been fed recent If the used in

iment had been the al

increased rates of destruction for juvenile mandibles would

have been extended further, so that were

devoured. This is a consideration worth not and may

account for the unexpected results obtained in this

experiment

One the ectives of thi

poss 1 revis t>'!unson' s

more

ex per

possibil of ferent 1 dest

or subadult bones were

was

ion

examine the

could be

the

of

5

Munson 9 :1 On the other hand, i s also

possible that thi may serve to demonstrate that

correction However, as stated

above, the ssue of be an one to

consider, and would be unwise at thi time

discount the destructive role

This has rated the dramati

dif in the amount of bone between

uvenile and older white-tailed deer mandibles (f 9 .

That bone from s fer

ruction from carnivore is not a novel , as

have shown this to be the case. However

is novel in that there has been an to

i related ruction o white-tailed deer

from notions of identifiable or

ifiable.

There are

invest

number

should cons

factors that future

before similar ects are

undertaken. F rst, researchers should the

a number of The di ferences between Sal

s extreme,

the behavior o one cannot ized across the

entire on.

5

consideration is of the used in the

As discussed above, this may be the factor

mere

destruction. Those wi

of a bone and its

to s

ef

In

in its

archaeol

which will

archaeo

in a manner,

have on the

, knowl of

Much more work

sts hope to create a he

and us in the

1 bone

of

examine

ruction.

is st ll

is needed if

on

Re

Ane ' 9 North ca.

I H.P. 192

Binford, L.R. 1 1

L.R and J.B. Attritional Processes. in

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~· L.R.

Blumenschine, Robert J. and 1993 A Carnivore's

Hudson Invest

Brain, C.K 1969 The

19

' 4

Cleland, 96

Arkansas.

s to an

in Northwest -6 .

55

1966

Cleland, C.E. and J. 1 7a The Vertebrate Fauna of

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Crader, Diana

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VITA

Graduate School Southern llinois

Michae Strezewski Date Birth: 1 '

5 South S. . 46, Bl 4 401

la Univers of Bachelor of Science

s Title

The Ef s Canid on Various Tailed Deer Mandibles

or : Dr. Brenda it