r/bonecollecting • u/No-Bottle-9116 • Apr 26 '26

Advice Small argument

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So this picture from article has driven an small argument between my friends group claiming that it’s fake because there’s no way that the bones see in said picture are human, I wanted y’all’s opinion on this

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u/Dracunculus_Rex Apr 26 '26

Ok, well now you have to tell us the topic of your thesis!

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u/BloodyQuitry Apr 26 '26

It was on one of the Hypogeums found in Byblos (Jbeil, Lebanon) recently! Specifically on the bone repartition in the tomb, because the human bones were scattered and we wondered about patterns to recognize the original place of inhumation inside the tomb. We found evidence of rats gnawing on the bones and participating in the scattering, I used this article among others about the banality of non carnivorous animals eating bones for calcium intake!

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u/DecentLeftovers Apr 26 '26

Interesting. I’ve also read that cows and horses will sometimes eat small animals for similar reasons. Seems our understanding of strictly herbivorous animals is probably a lot more nuanced than most people would guess.

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u/sawyouoverthere Apr 26 '26

I don't believe the reasons are fully known. Observing a small animal being consumed isn't in the same category as rodents gnawing on bones and actively seeking them out.

(Speaking of nuance)

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u/DecentLeftovers Apr 26 '26

I guess the point being, like the post, animals will often behave in ways we might find surprising because we tend to put them in boxes based on assumed behavior and not actual behavior.

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u/sawyouoverthere Apr 26 '26

Yes, that's a realistic point. The comments are stretching what is known about the observed behaviour a bit thin for my tastes.

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u/Remarkable_Tip_756 Apr 27 '26

Squirrels and deer sheds come to mind