Figure 1: An animal carcass, a skeleton or old bones are useful resources in a survival situation and should not be passed by.

Figure 2: Thoracic vertebrae of large animals are ready-made battle axes.

Figure 3: Large leg bones make good war clubs.

Figure 4: Large flat bones (such as rib or scapula) are ideal for fashioning blades and arrow or spear points. Even small broken pieces of bone such as the partial pelvis shown can be used for this purpose.

Figure 5: Rib bones can be spliced together to make a bow. Two buffalo ribs would make an effective recurve bow.

In the fourth article of his series on survival techniques, Cleve Cheney looks at the usefulness of various types of bone.

In survival everything has a use – you have just, as someone put it, to “think out of the box”. Let your imagination run riot. You will be surprised what a bit of lateral thinking will do and objects that you normally would have had no use for suddenly become valuable items.

In primitive times, implements and tools had to be made and improvised from what was available. There was no hardware or trade store down the road where you could get whatever you needed. You looked around at what was available in the wilds.

Old bones and animal skeletons are pretty common in the African bush (see Figure 1). Either animals have died a natural death through old age, have succumbed to disease, been caught in a snare, or have fallen prey to some predator. The carcasses are cleaned by vultures, scavengers like hyena and jackal, and insects, leaving just bones, which are eventually scattered. Some animals like giraffe and porcupine chew bone when they are in need of trace elements such as phosphorous and calcium. Others carry bones away to eat off meat still adhering to it, to crack long bones to get to marrow, or sometimes use it as an object of play.

Bone has historically been used for many purposes as it is a material that is readily worked or ground into useful shapes and sizes. In this article we are going to have a look at some useful applications of bone. Bone is a highly specialised form of connective tissue consisting of living cells in a mineralised matrix. It is hard and tough.

Bone as a weapon
Some bones can be used as weapons without any modification whatsoever. The long vertical processes of thoracic vertebra serve as a functional handle which end in an axe-like shape on the body of the vertebra. This may serve as a very effective battle axe with a sharp protuberance on one end and a rounded club shape on the other – see Figure 2. To make the handle more comfortable to hold, it can be covered with some cloth taped in place with electrical tape.

A large leg bone from a bigger animal makes a hefty war club (see Figure 3) which is sure to lay out cold any potential attacker with a blow to the old “noggin”.

Bone can also be shaped to a sharp point and a reasonably sharp edge and can be used – as was done by primitive and not-so-primitive man – to fashion spear and arrow points and crude knives for cutting or stabbing. See Figure 4. The rib bones of large animals (such as elephant) have been used to make hunting bows and the rib bones of smaller animals have been spliced or glued together for the same purpose. See Figure 5. The elastic properties of ribs would lend them well to this purpose. Bones can be bent and shaped to a certain extent (as can horn) by heating them in very hot water. The horns of antelope such as gemsbuck can also be joined to produce a very serviceable bow.

Bone tools
Bone can be used without any modification as tools. The heavy femur once again makes a useful hammer which has many applications. See Figure 6.

Thin slivers of sharp bone can be fashioned into needles or awls which are useful when you have to sew materials together or punch holes through tough material such as leather.

The flat scapula of a large animal makes a useful shovel (see Figure 7). That of a smaller animal can be used as a hide scraper when cleaning skins of flesh and fat. Lower leg bones can be fashioned into very useful handles for tools or weapons. The horns of herbivores, which are part of the skeleton, can be removed from underlying bone and used as containers. In the old days hunters made containers for gunpowder (black powder) from horn. These containers were referred to as powder horns (see Figure 8). Bone can also be shaped into gorge hooks for catching fish.

Ornaments and utensils
Bone can be used for carving ornaments or fashioning buttons or other useful items. Hollowed-out cranial (skull) bones have been used by primitive man as crude bowls. The hooves of ungulates, once they have come loose from underlying bones, also make useful containers and ashtrays. Once again we see that with a little bit of thought items and materials which we considered to have little or no use can turn out to be very useful indeed.

Working bone
Bone is not very forgiving material to work with and so patience is required. Old, dry bone can be very brittle whereas fresh bone is more elastic and tougher. Techniques for working with bone include smashing, scoring, sawing, abrading, wedge splitting and drilling.

References
The Traditional Bowyers Bible Volumes I, II and III. Lyonns Press. 1993. Mears, R. (1990). The Survival Handbook. Oxford Illustrated Press.

	Figure 7: (Right) Flat shoulder bone (scapula) makes a good shovel (or hoe if attached to a handle) or can be used as a hide scraper.
Figure 6: Large leg bones make good hammers.
Figure 8: Horns also have uses such as this powder horn made from the horn of a cow.

Updated: Monday, February 15, 2010 1:55 PM