Raw materials and urban comb manufacturing in medieval Scandinavia

Large quantities of waste reveal where the workshops of comb makers were located in medieval towns. Fragments of bone and antler tell us from what species the raw materials came and how the supply was organized. In the 11^th and 12^th centuries, antler was the dominant raw material for combs, usually from local populations of elk or red deer. However, There is at least one example where reindeer antler, transported from afar, was clearly preferred over local resources. During the 13^th century there was a general change in the nature of the raw material to more bones from domestic animals, especially cattle and horses.