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Osteological evidence for the draught exploitation of cattle: First applications of a new methodology
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Although the aetiology of bone pathologies in cattle is poorly documented, various deformations in the skeleton have been attributed to draught exploitation in the archaeozoological literature. This paper summarizes the results of an osteological study that was undertaken on the feet of modern draught oxen. This led to the definition of a series of draught-related anomalies. In an attempt to describe the pathologies in a more consistent and quantitative way, a scoring scale for each individual bone pathology was established. The developed method is applied to cattle remains from four Roman and one late medieval site. The distribution of the observed pathological indices (PIs) on the first phalanges is interpreted in terms of the age structure of the cattle populations, and the possible modes of cattle exploitation and meat consumption in various settlement types.
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The Chaîne de Gobnangou , SE Burkina Faso : archaeological, archaeobotanical, archaeozoological and geomorphological studies
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The Tree Shelter, a Holocene Site in the Red Sea Mountains
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Excavations at Hierakonpolis
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Fish otoliths and their relevance to archaeology: an analysis of medieval, post-medieval and recent material of plaice, cod and haddock from the North Sea
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The growth increments were investigated of late medieval, post-medieval and modern otoliths of plaice, cod and haddock from the North Sea. Thin-sectioned otoliths were used to age all the analysed individuals and to reconstruct their growth patterns. In addition, fish lengths of the archaeological specimens were calculated after the relation between otolith width and fish length was established using modern material. The age and fish length distribution, and the growth patterns obtained on the archaeological material allow inferences about fish trade, market strategies and consumption behaviour on producer sites (coastal sites) and consumer sites. Differences in growth patterns were observed between the archaeological and recent populations of the three demersal species analysed which may be related to a change in fishing pressure through time. However, diachronic changes in species distribution, temperature, food availability and selection of catch in function of market strategies may have played a role as well. Age and body size data allow some inferences about the exploited fishing grounds, but the growth patterns are of limited use in this respect.
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Archaeozoological evidence for the former presence of spotted-necked otter ( Lutra maculicollis ) in Egypt
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A description is given of the skeletal remains of otter discovered at the Late Palaeolithic fishing sites Makhadma 2 and 4. This is the second archaeozoological find of otter in Egypt and the first one that allows an identification at species level. The possible reasons for the rarity of otter remains in sites along the Egyptian Nile are discussed as well as the possible causes for the present-day local extinction of the species. The consequences of these bone finds for the interpretation of animal depictions and statuettes in ancient Egyptian art are briefly mentioned.
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Stratigraphie et faune d’un puits d’extraction néolithique à Petit-Spiennes
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L'étude de la stratigraphie combinée à celle de la faune d'un puits d'extraction de silex, fouillé entre 1997 et 1999 à Petit-Spiennes, tente de retracer l'histoire détaillée du comblement d'un puits afin d'y rechercher des indices relatifs au travail minier. Elle montre que le comblement ne doit pas être conçu comme un événement synchrone mais doit se mesurer, au minimum, en terme de mois dans un environnement qui, lui, reste stable. La faune - et parmi celle-ci, surtout, les petits vertébrés intrusifs recueillis sur toute la hauteur du puits d'accès ainsi que les gastéropodes, - indiquent un milieu semi-forestier marqué par la présence de la Trouille. La découverte d'éléments fcetaux d'animaux domestiques suggère la pratique de lélevage dans un périmètre relativement proche de la mine e! par là même, celle d'un habitat aux alentours de 4500 8.P., époque du comblement de la structure. La stratigraphie offre, enfin, une illustration de phénomènes de tassement, décrits précédemment dans la littérature, ainsi que dévénements post-dépositionnels particuliers qui posent le problème du déplacement de certains restes dans un espace en théorie colmaté.
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Social status as reflected in the food refuse from late medieval sites in Namur (Belgium)
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An identification key for dermal denticles of Rajidae from the North Sea
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As a result of more systematic fine sieving on archaeological sites, dermal denticles and isolated teeth of rays are now more frequently recovered than before. A detailed description of the teeth is available in the literature, but no comparative study of the morphology of the dermal denticles exists that allows the identification of such elements issued from archaeological sites. A key and illustrations are provided for the identification of the dermal denticles of 10 ray species from the North Sea. In addition, the ray denticles have been analysed from seven medieval and postmedieval sites showing their potential for the interpretation of ichthyo-archaeological assemblages.
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Beyond affluence : the zooarchaeology of luxury
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The statement, by the eighteenth-century economist Adam Smith, that luxuries are all things that are not necessities is too simplistic an approach to be useful within the context of zooarchaeology. To start with, all animal products could be regarded as unnecessary within the human diet. Therefore, a four-part subdivision is proposed, distinguishing between foodstuffs that fulfill basic physiological needs, those that fulfill imagined needs, those that render a diet affluent and, finally, luxury foods. Optimal foraging theory further develops this subdivision by also taking into account the costs involved in obtaining the ingredients. The distinction between the affluent and the luxurious diet in particular allows us to define criteria through which luxury foods can be recognized within a zooarchaeological assemblage. At the same time, however, the constraints of such an exercise become apparent. This theoretical approach is illustrated by case studies from Roman to post-medieval Europe.
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