Abstract
Fifteen artefacts made from cattle (Bos taurus) bones, namely shoulder blades, have been excavated during the mission of the Czech Institute of Egyptology in the Abusir necropolis. This type of bone industry was found in different archaeological contexts, although the majority of the finds related to burial shafts and was dated to the Old Kingdom Period.
During these times, when bronze tools were rather small and rare, the cattle shoulder blades, commonly accessible in the area, could be used as shovels for digging in the sand - by constructors or perhaps also by robbers. Such activity gradually shaped the edges of the bones and polished their surface.