Ancient use of the knuckle-bone for rituals and gaming piece

In ancient times the knuckle-bone had probably both a ritual function linked to the practice of divination and a profane use as game piece for infants and adults. This bone can derive from different animal species and when found in large numbers is invariably associated with cultic, funerary or public spheres. A fair amount of worked and unmodified knuckle-bones has recently come to light in Italy from the cemeteries of Le Grotte near Populonia (4th-3th BC) and of Poggio Picenze in Abruzzo (3rd-2nd BC). Zooarchaeological analysis of these knuckle-bone groups contributes to our understanding of several aspects of the ancient use of this particular bone, such as the choice of the animal the different types of modifications and the effects and significance of the different types of deposition