Carnivore Marks
Cut Marks vs. Tool Marks
There are many different types of marks a carnivore can leave on a bone. Archaeologists try to distinguish between these types in order to determine what type of carnivores affected their artifact. In addition, archaeologists must be able to distinguish between carnivore marks and cut marks left by human tools. Here are some examples of the types of marks archaeologists investigate.
Carnivore teeth leave U-shaped incisions on bone when viewed in cross-section. These are often easy to distinguish from cut marks, which mostly leave V-shaped incisions.
