As previously mentioned, preservation of the jackrabbit remains at Antelope Cave was so great that fur, skin, and connective tissue was still frequently attached to the bones. Because of this, many bones were still attached to one another. This was useful for identifying exactly how jackrabbits were butchered--parts that are still articulated together were clearly not cut apart.

Using statistics, I was able to show that some body parts were found articulated together more often than others. The feet were frequently found whole, and the end of the lower limbs were often attached to the feet. This likely resulted from the removal of the feet with the fur during the initial butchering of the jackrabbit.

I also found that the bones of the knee and elbow joint were attached, as well as many of the vertebrae of the backbone. In fact, the lumbar section (lower back) was frequently found as a complete unit.

On the other hand, the bones of the hip and shoulder joints were rarely found still articulated with one another, indicating that the occupants of Antelope Cave removed the limbs from the body at these locations.

In the figure below, you can see examples of articulated bones and their placement on a rabbit skeleton. Looking closely, you can see that the lowest portion of the lower back, the part that is closest to the hip, has a bit of burning. I will return to this next.