FEATURE
dle—this based on a survey of more than 500 examples
84
held in museums and a private collection. They
are always carved to include symbolic motifs, and as
part of this process, the joint ends of the bones are
removed. Unfortunately, these joints hold the most
anatomically diagnostic features that would help us
determine species. Remaining clues are of minor value
but include the following considerations:
• From the narrow middle to both ends, the bone
increases in circumference while maintaining the diamond
like shape in cross section.
• One end of the bone is a bit wider than the other
end.
Taking these characteristics into account, we are
looking for uncarved bones ranging from 12–17 cm
in length, with a mid-length cross section of some
2–2.5 cm. With these meager hints in mind, the most
obvious candidate bones are the middle metacarpal
bones of the human hand and foot, the digits in the
clawed foot of the cassowary, and several bones of
the pig.
Modern means are, of course, available to determine
species, and DNA sequence analysis comes
immediately to mind (S. Pääbo 2014). The differences
between the species in question here is great
enough that a relatively short though well-chosen
part of the genome will suffi ce to determine the
source of the bone. Recently, a new technique was
developed employing mass spectrometry known as
Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry, or ZooMS
(Buckley et al. 2008). Here, the remains of residual
proteins, such as collagen in the bone, are analyzed.
A protein is built up as a linear sequence
consisting of twenty possible amino acid building
blocks. In the mass spectrometer, the protein chain
FIG. 3: The painful process
of enlarging the nose
piercing of a youngster.
The cultural group to which
these people belong is not
recorded, but it is not Asmat.
FIG. 4: Man caring for an
inland pig. Note the slender
body compared to our
domestically bred pigs.
From Jac Hoogerbrugge, Asmat: Arts,
Crafts, and People, 2011.
FIG. 5 (below): Asmat nose
ornaments are derived from
pig femurs. Image shows
progression from pig skeleton
to femur to nose ornament.
At right, the nose ornament
is superimposed over the
femur, showing the perfect
correlation.