The placement and frequency of anthropogenic bone surface modifications (BSMs) on proboscidean bones are variables that could indicate how Paleolithic people utilized carcasses, thus providing evidence about the economic value of proboscideans. A single study published decades ago (Crader 1983) provides data about anthropogenic BSMs on bones of elephants butchered by Bisa people in Zambia, but no other studies with such details are available. By necessity, interpretations of BSMs on fossil proboscidean bones may be partly based on models derived from the skinning, meat-stripping (a.k.a. filleting), and dismemberment of nonproboscidean carcasses. Here we report BSMs on a sample of the largest limb bones and ribs from African elephant carcasses which were skinned, stripped of meat, and partly dismembered by expert butchers, and we also report BSMs unintentionally created by less skilled butchers. Based on observations and experiments, we predict how and why certain BSMs vary in placement and frequency due to butcher expertise and to different objectives of butchering, such as maximizing recovery of carcass resources for extensive or long term needs versus recovery of fewer resources sufficient for current needs. BSMs differ when soft tissue is removed from fresh versus partly decomposed or dried elephant carcasses. We compare our general observations with a sample of BSMs which have been interpreted as traces of meat-stripping or dismemberment in assemblages of extinct proboscideans Mammuthus spp. and Mammut americanum. The information about BSMs reported here may increase the interpretive potential of proboscidean assemblages.

人为骨表面修饰（BSM）在长喙骨上的位置和频率是可以指示旧石器时代人们如何利用how体的变量，从而提供了长喙骨的经济价值的证据。几十年前发表的一项研究（Crader 1983）提供了关于在赞比亚的比萨人屠杀的大象的骨骼上人为性BSM的数据，但尚无其他有关此类细节的研究。必要时，对化石长生动物骨骼上的BSM的解释可能部分基于衍生自非长生动物尸体的剥皮，切肉（也称为去骨切片）和肢解的模型。在这里，我们报告了来自非洲象car体的最大的四肢骨骼和肋骨样本的BSM，这些大象的尸体被剥皮，剥去肉，部分被专业屠夫肢解，并且我们还报告了技术水平较低的屠夫无意间创建的BSM。根据观察和实验，我们预测由于屠夫的专业知识和屠宰目标的不同，某些BSM的放置方式和频率如何以及为何发生变化，例如最大限度地回收满足长期或长期需求的cas体资源，而针对当前需求而回收较少的资源需求。当从新鲜的或部分分解的或干燥的大象尸体上去除软组织时，BSM有所不同。我们将我们的一般观察结果与BSM样本进行了比较，该样本已被解释为在灭绝的长喙类动物的集合中出现了肉剥落或肢解的痕迹 我们预测由于屠夫的专业知识和屠宰目标的不同，某些BSM的放置方式和频率如何以及为什么会发生变化，例如最大限度地回收满足长期或长期需求的cas体资源，而回收满足当前需求的较少资源。当从新鲜的或部分分解的或干燥的大象尸体上去除软组织时，BSM有所不同。我们将我们的一般观察结果与BSM样本进行了比较，这些BSM样本被解释为在灭绝的长喙类动物的集合中出现了肉剥落或肢解的痕迹。我们预测由于屠夫的专业知识和屠宰目标的不同，某些BSM的放置方式和频率如何以及为什么会发生变化，例如最大限度地回收满足长期或长期需求的cas体资源，而回收满足当前需求的较少资源。当从新鲜的或部分分解的或干燥的大象尸体上去除软组织时，BSM有所不同。我们将我们的一般观察结果与BSM样本进行了比较，这些BSM样本被解释为在灭绝的长喙类动物的集合中出现了肉剥落或肢解的痕迹。猛mm属 和美洲羚羊。此处报告的有关BSM的信息可能会增加前鞭毛虫组合的解释潜力。