A Middle Pleistocene Butchery Site at Great Yeldham, Essex, UK: Identifying Butchery Strategies and Implications for Mammalian Faunal History

Introduction: Lessons from the Scientific Butchery

1.1 Tao and the Art of Knife Maintenance Good chefs know the importance of maintaining sharp knives in the kitchen. What ’ s their secret? A well-worn Taoist allegory offers some advice. The king asks about his butcher ’ s impressive knife-work. “ Ordinary butchers, ” he replies “ hack their way through the animal. Thus their knife always needs sharpening. My father taught me the Taoist way. I ...

Microbiological investigation of halal butchery products and butchers' premises.

Halal butchers' premises were investigated as they had not been represented in a recent study of butchery products and butchers' premises conducted by the Local Authorities Coordinating Body on Food and Trading Standards and the PHLS. This study examined 183 raw prepared meats and 212 environmental samples from 105 halal butcher premises. Only raw meats were prepared on 97 of the premises visit...

Evidence of early butchery of giant lemurs in Madagascar.

We report here definitive evidence of butchery, most probably associated with hunting, of giant extinct lemurs by early human settlers in Madagascar. Specimens of Palaeopropithecus ingens and Pachylemur insignis from two sites in southwestern Madagascar, Taolambiby and Tsirave, show classic signs of butchering. We compared these to the bones (also from Taolambiby) of butchered Propithecus verre...

Microbiological Quality of Meat at the Abattoir and Butchery Levels in Kampala City, Uganda

Contaminated meat has been implicated in many cases of foodborne illnesses. The study assessed microbiological quality of meat at abattoir and butchery levels. Forty eight meat samples were collected and microbiologically examined in the laboratory. Samples were 100%, 97.9%, 93.8%, 83.3% and 4.2% positive for APCs, S. aureus, coliforms, E. coli and Salmonella respectively. Mean APCs were 1.64x1...

Early and Middle Pleistocene Faunal and Hominins Dispersals through Southwestern Asia