Archaeologists Baffled By A 2,000-Year-Old Skeleton Found In Scotland With Its Brain Scooped Out And Its Bones Turned Into Tools
This is a recognizable form of bone tool production.
Worked bone tools — needles, awls, points, spatulas — are found in archaeological contexts from the Palaeolithic period onward, and the techniques for producing them are well documented in the experimental archaeology and use-wear literature.
The specific form of working described at Loch Borralie — exposing and shaping the cancellous bone of long bones to produce pointed implements — is consistent with the production of tools that could be used for piercing, engraving, or other fine-work activities.
The critical observation is that these modified bones were not simply discarded after their modification.