The 24,000-Year-Old Bones Found In A Yukon Cave — And The Cut Marks That Pushed Humans In North America Farther Back In Time
Additional specimens showed probable human modifications.
The lower number than might initially be expected reflects the rigor of the analysis — the researchers excluded specimens where any reasonable doubt existed about the cause of the marks.
The 15 confidently identified specimens showed marks consistent with specific butchery activities: skinning marks on the extremities of limbs, where a person processing a carcass would have run a stone tool along the bone while removing the skin; defleshing marks on the shafts of major limb bones, where a stone tool would have been used to strip muscle from bone; tendon removal marks at specific anatomical locations where major tendons attach; and dismemberment marks at joint surfaces, where the carcass would have been divided into transportable portions.
The specific anatomical locations of the marks, and the specific activities they implied, told a story.