Animals were not only butchered for their meat. In fact, the marks observed on bones show evidence of the removal of the skin and tendons, and therefore the probable use of these organic materials which cannot be preserved unless specially treated. Butchering an animal involves the removal of the hide which provides skin for tanning, but signs of this activity, tools and equipment, are very rare during the Iron Age. There is much more evidence of the removal of hides from animals with thick fur. At Acy-Romance, several species, dogs, wolves, foxes, otters and martens meet this criterion, but definitive marks showing skin incisions have only been found on two of them: dogs and martens. However, the other species may have been hunted for other reasons than just their fur, protecting livestock or fish resources, for example; these motives are not exclusive. But whatever the case, it seems clear that fur dressing, while there is definite evidence for it, was probably not a well-established craft activity.
