Butchered Cow Femur

This butchered cow femur was found in 2009 by CAP archaeologists while conducting excavations at Saints' Rest, the first dormitory at MSU. Saints' Rest burned down in the winter of 1876, giving us a tight date range for artifacts coming from this area. Evidence of butchering on this bone can be seen on the smooth cut surface of the bone (see annotiation). The roughened part of the cut area indicates that the bone was not cut all the way through during the butchering process, but cut most of the way then broke off the last portion. Faunal remains such as these allow us to see how people during the earliest history of campus ate. Excavations all throughout campus have revealed numerous faunal remains including several species of fish and pork bones.