Differentiating between bone fragments from horses and cattle: a histological identification method for archaeology

Bone fragments are often difficult to determine in archaeozoology. A new approach has been adopted to explore the extent to which qualitative histology allows horses and cattle to be distinguished. Since bone structure can differ even within a single bone, restrictions in terms of species, bone category and bone part were deemed necessary for the development of a practicable identification method for archaeological bone. To broaden our understanding of variations in the diaphyseal bone structure within and between the two species, a reference series has been compiled, comprising long bones from several individual horse and cattle specimens. While no difference in bone structure types or combinations of types could be observed in the reference series, the composition of the fibro-lamellar bone structure did reveal a distinction between horses and cattle. In some regions of the thin sections both species showed components of equal thickness. However, this was always found in combination with a clear dominance of either the lamellar or fibrous component. The fibrous component predominated in cattle, and, with one exception, the lamellar component was predominant in horses. The study was concluded with two blind tests on archaeological bone fragments to test the applicability of the method.