Domestic Cattle (Bos taurus) Late Neolithic Burial at Krzczonowice, the Greater Trochanter of Femur Lesion

A domestic cattle skeleton was found in a pit at the archeological site Krzczonowice 63 (Sandomierz Upland, Poland) and was interpreted as sacrificial in nature on the basis of the archeological context. It was dated to the Late Neolithic period (Globular Amphora Culture). The right femur displays pathological lesions in the form of loss of the apical part of the greater trochanter. These were subjected to macroscopic examination, computed tomography imaging, histological analysis, and differential diagnosis. The computed tomography revealed the presence of a well‐defined irregular area of hyperdensity within the medullary cavity of the femoral neck. Histological analysis of the bone tissue surrounding the lesion showed a well‐mineralized extracellular matrix with changes in the lamellae of the compact bone and cortical bone thinning, and also showed there to be a lack of organized structure of the osteons. The structure of the bone was more comparable to the woven‐like bone tissue matrix. Our conclusion is that the lesion seems to be the result of a lytic process of the bone tissue, most likely a cattle bone lesion caused by an infection. The location, possible pathogenesis, anatomy, and CT image make traumatic lesions, osteomyelitis, osteitis, and bone neoplasma all less plausible.