Horse Cranium (Maxilla), Right

3D Model

Context: LMC.I.13.A.3.15272, Feature 1 (Horse Burial), Cranium-Maxilla, Right (attaches to 15284, shown in a different model)

This is the right half of the cranium of the horse excavated in 1994 by the students of Washington and Lee University’s summer archaeological field school at the Longdale Mining Community in Longdale Furnace, Virginia, U.S.A. Another segment of the cranium features in a separate model, and the two are digitally joined together in a third model (but this section of the skull had to be digitally rescaled to fit the other half in that model, so please be aware of those scale issues).

Of note is the sharp and bulging ridge of the facial crest of the zygomatic bone, which is larger on the right side than on the left of the skull. We hypothesize that the horse may have had an infection on this side of its face (see the internal sinus architecture). If you have thoughts on this let us know in comments!