In Images: Cut Marks from Samurai Swords and Machetes

Bone curves

Micro curvature, katana

(Image credit: Penny McCardle)

Here, another image of the so-called micro-curvature left by the katana cuts.

Katana

SS1

(Image credit: Penny McCardle)

Another image of a samurai sword called a katana.

Striation cuts

Machete striations

(Image credit: Penny McCardle)

The machete left behind distinct striations on the pig bones.

Managing editor, Scientific American

Jeanna Bryner is managing editor of Scientific American. Previously she was editor in chief of Live Science and, prior to that, an editor at Scholastic's Science World magazine. Bryner has an English degree from Salisbury University, a master's degree in biogeochemistry and environmental sciences from the University of Maryland and a graduate science journalism degree from New York University. She has worked as a biologist in Florida, where she monitored wetlands and did field surveys for endangered species, including the gorgeous Florida Scrub Jay. She also received an ocean sciences journalism fellowship from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She is a firm believer that science is for everyone and that just about everything can be viewed through the lens of science.