Hi Teagan,

I would recommend looking at DAACS (www.daacs.org) for data on bone button production at domestic sites of slavery. Buildings t and l, from Monticello's Mulberry Row, both contain cow scapulae that have button blanks cut from them.  There are also bone buttons from these sites that match exactly the holes cut into the scapulae. There are also multiple button blanks from the Joinery (building c) and the north dependencies at Monticello.  These sites are currently not online (slated to go live this fall) but I can send you the data if you'd like.

You can find information on button blanks and bone buttons in DAACS two different artifact queries.  Artifact Query 5, select "all other artifacts", select "all sites", select "all attributes" and then select "Button Blank" as the form. 

Artifact Query 5, selecting "buttons", will return all button data.  Download the data set into excel and then sort by material type and you'll be able to see all attributes and measurements for all bone buttons online (0ver 150 bone buttons or button molds from sites in the Chesapeake and Jamaica.).

Just let me know if you have questions or would like help using the database.

Best,

Jillian

Jillian E. Galle
Project Manager, 
Digital Archaeological Archive of Comparative Slavery
Monticello
Box 316
Charlottesville, VA 22902
434.984.9873
www.daacs.org






-----Original Message-----
From: Teagan Schweitzer [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2011 9:44 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: bone button production sites

Hi all,

I am a zooarchaeologist working with an assemblage from the early 19th
century in Philadelphia in which there is evidence of bone button production
- i.e. cow longbones with button blanks cut out of them. I am on the hunt
for other assemblages of a similar time period with evidence for button
production or other research you are aware of that addresses techniques for
button production around this time. Any help you can offer would be greatly
appreciated.

Thanks!

~ Teagan

-- 
Dr. Teagan Schweitzer
Department of Anthropology
University of Pennsylvania