ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a comparative review of research on Lower and Middle Pleistocene bone modification patterns, as well as a range of actualistic frames of reference. It examines hominin patterns of bone modification across various regions of the Pleistocene Old World. The chapter attempts to turn the tables on the research questions most often asked of these data, which originated within the hunting-and-scavenging debate and took on their current form in the 1980s. It presents a comparative analysis including both ethnoarchaeological and archaeological samples. The comparative analysis illustrates some of the difficulties and ambiguities associated with the use of cut mark data to make inferences concerning hominin faunal exploitation activities. There are also some important differences between Hadza near-kill accumulations and FLK 22, many of which have manifested them in the analysis. The chapter discusses the case of Qesem Cave, which might benefit now from some further consideration.
