Bovids (Zooarchaeology)

The Shungura Formation in southwestern Ethiopia preserves a long and relatively continuous record of eastern African mammalian and hominin evolution. This study reconstructs habitat preferences of the Shungura Formation bovids from ca. 3.4–1.9 Ma (million years ago), based on the ecomorphology of fossil bovid astragali. Habitat predictions are made using a Discriminant Function Analysis informed by functional analysis of the astragalus that controls for body size and phylogenetic signal. The high abundance of astragali in the Shungura record allows for habitat reconstructions on sub-unit timescales, rather than aggregating samples at the level of geological member.

During much of the time period examined, the lower Omo Valley was dominated by relatively mesic habitats in close proximity to the ancestral Omo River. Previous research has suggested that environmental change at ∼2.85 Ma caused significant habitat change at Shungura, but the astragalar data do not support major habitat change at this time. However, there are significant fluctuations in inferred habitats, with more open habitats indicated in sub-units C-08 and C-09 (∼2.56 Ma), and in unit F-01 (just after 2.36 Ma). The cause of sub-unit fluctuations in habitat signal is difficult to determine, but local factors, including spatial habitat heterogeneity around the river channel and in its floodplain, may play a contributing role. In the light of faunal evidence from elsewhere in the greater Omo-Turkana Basin, hominins in the area likely had access to a variety of heterogeneous habitats.

In the last few decades, some progress has been made towards a synthesis of the data on the presence of early hominins in Europe and their dispersals across the continent in the Early and Middle Pleistocene. The sites that have been documented present various datasets, including hominin fossils, large and small mammal remains, and archeological artifacts. In this paper, the main focus is on sites where clear evidence exists of the processing of large mammals by hominins, in the form of cut marks, percussion marks, and others. In this regard, the taxonomic diversity of the mammals is considered alongside the type of hominin activity. All these sites serve as background for the recent discovery of the earliest (MIS 11 or 9), and indeed the only Polish, example of Middle Pleistocene human butchering activity (at the Bełchat ow site). The study revealed that the filleting of meat, as found in Bełchat ow, was also the means of meat processing employed on the oldest site of those with evidence of butchery, which is located in fact in the transition zone of Europe and Asia. This means that processing, even in its simplest forms, could have been a strong influence on adoption of meat eating among members of the Homo genus, as has been discussed recently. This emphasizes the significance of human choice, and seems to have occurred regardless of the geographical setting of human activity. This paper also presents a paleogeographic synthesis of butchering for the European Early and Middle Pleistocene and summarizes our current understanding of food processing by hominins, by scrutinizing the data on large mammals affected by such processes.

This study explores and demonstrates processes of cultural change in the first half of the 6th millennium cal BC, among the Körös and Starčevo groups of the northern marginal zones of the Balkans. Within this period and zone, which forms the southern part of the Carpathian basin, clay was the fundamental and most abundant building block of material culture, architecture, everyday life and cult practices. Clay walls, furniture, ten thousands of vessels, hundreds of clay figurines and other cult objects accumulated as huge piles of clay debris in every settlement. Traditional system of subsistence patterns ceased to fully function when these first farmers occupied cool and wet hilly forested landscapes: the environmental and cognitive challenges gradually led to the decline of this clay-centred orbit. At the same time, these changes gave birth to a no-less stunning world constructed more of timber and stones, with transformations in subsistence, material culture and rituals. This transition is inextricably bound up with the formation of the first farmers’ communities of Central Europe, the Bandkeramik (LBK). The need for new elements of subsistence involved the increasing significance of cattle over caprinae: this shift infiltrated into ritual activities. The newly identified large horned cattle figurine type, acting as the cornerstone of this study, is an embodiment of the last instance among the South-East european communities of the clay world, while changes in the depictions already reflect the transformation of lifestyles. The role of cattle and their monumental depictions, found in domestic contexts, define methods for unfolding this phenomenon. In this fascinating new study, Eszter Bánffy takes a holistic approach to the definition of monumental early Neolithic clay figurines, analogies over South-east Europe, and the reconstruction of rituals involved in the making and using figurines. She reviews a broad scope of environmental and (social) zooarchaeological analyses to examine the concomitant development and significance of early dairying. The target is to present one possible narrative on the fading of the South-east European ’clayscapes‘, towards the birth of the LBK and the Central European Neolithic.

This dissertation presents taphonomic analyses of human- and carnivore-modified bone assemblages in order to elucidate the timing of hominin access to carcass resources in the African Early Pleistocene. One of the defining adaptations of the genus Homo is the routine incorporation of animal tissue into the diet with the aid of tools. As a nutritionally dense food source, the addition of meat to the diet is often associated with important changes in the morphology and behavior of early hominins. Yet the ecological and behavioral implications of meat consumption for hominins are not well understood. This study tests competing hypotheses of hominin carcass acquisition and hominin-carnivore competition through a comparative study of carnivore- and hominin-induced modifications in the zooarchaeological assemblages from Kanjera South, Kenya (ca. 2 Ma) and FLK I Level 22 (FLK Zinj), Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania (ca. 1.84 Ma). Patterns of bone preservation and the distribution of bone surface modifications from these two sites are analyzed within a comparative framework of new and existing taphonomic models. The new taphonomic models presented here include the largest modern bone assemblages documenting large felid and canid bone damage to date. A GIS image analysis method is used to analyze patterns of bone damage in experimental and archaeological assemblages. The GIS method originally described by Marean et al. (2001) is expanded here to incorporate ArcGIS Spatial Analyst tools, and this method is applied for the first time to analyze patterns of hominin and carnivore damage. Results of these analyses suggest hominins at both Kanjera South and FLK Zinj had early access to carcasses. At both sites, small and medium bovid carcasses may have been obtained through hunting, while remains of larger carcasses may have been obtained through active scavenging. Despite the evidence for early carcass access at both sites, overall frequencies of both hominin and carnivore modifications are lower at Kanjera South compared to FLK Zinj, suggesting differing competitive regimes at the two sites and potentially signaling differing behavioral strategies.

A three-stage taphonomic analysis was performed on the small, small-medium and large bovid bone assemblages from Dunefield Midden, an open-air Later Stone Age site on South Africa's west coast. The results of the first stage of the analysis, which focuses on surface and subsurface bone modifications, are presented here. A forthcoming paper will detail the subsequent two stages, in which skeletal element abundance, longbone breakage patterns and overall taphonomic variability are investigated. The Dunefield Midden bovid bone assemblages are amenable to such an indepth study since they were subjected to a comprehensive refitting operation, with particular emphasis on longbone reconstruction. This enabled the systematic incorporation into the analysis of shaft fragments, a crucial yet frequently ignored component of mammalian zooarchaeological assemblages. Including shafts not only improves estimates of skeletal element abundance and thus our understanding of how prehistoric foragers acquired, transported and distributed animal carcasses, but also yields better assessments of the techniques employed for carcass butchery and bone processing. This paper explores the latter two aspects of subsistence at Dunefield Midden by integrating quantitative and configurational data on bovid bone modifications. It shows that the assemblage was principally shaped from within-bone nutrient acquisition by humans. Variation in bone modification patterning is suggested to stem largely from size-related differences in butchery effort and utility-related differences in skeletal element treatment.

The Blydefontein Rock Shelter is a Later Stone Age archaeological site in the eastern Karoo of South Africa. No remains of domesticated animals have been reported although a dung layer, interpreted as deriving from sheep, dates to approximately one thousand years ago. The published morphological analyses of the site’s fauna include many wild taxa, but also report that the majority of the bones in the assemblage were too fragmentary to identify. A recent re-examination of the assemblage identified ten specimens as examples of sheep or goats. In this paper we report on ancient DNA research on the eight specimens we were sent to study, six of which have preserved DNA. Of these, five are examples of wild animals, all of which had been previously identified as present at the site. One specimen was confirmed as a sheep, and it likely comes from a layer that dates to a period well after the initial introduction of domesticates. Direct dating of the specimen is not possible as the entire sample was consumed by the genetic testing. This study highlights the importance of ancient DNA as confirmation of taxon identification when the results of morphological identification challenge the broader culture history.

Large and Strong? Withers height and stature of Byzantine work animals

Based on published metrical data of Early and (to a smaller degree) Middle Byzantine animal bones, the withers heights of Byzantine cattle, horses and asses are calculated to gain an estimation of the average size of these working animals. Furthermore, an attempt is made to estimate the slenderness ratio of the animals and their potential load and traction capacities. As the state of the art is feeble yet, especially as to the equids, most of the respective estimations for these three points can only be given under reservations. Byzantine cattle thus achieved an average withers height of 123.9 cm. In comparison to other contemporary cattle they were average to large. Punctually, e. g. in Naples and sites of Asia minor, conspicuously large animals can be spotted, there are however also very small individuals. Some faint signs hint to a size reduction towards Middle Byzantine Times. The horses are with a calculated average withers height of 136.9 cm in the lower size range of their contemporary conspecifics from adjacent cultures, but the state of the art does not yet provide a representative sample. Here and there larger horses and small individuals appear, too, but the often unclear taxonomic determination of the bone finds hampers the assessment of the lower end of the horses' size range. The asses grew up to a withers heights of average 111.3 cm.

"In this first detailed analysis of gaur Bos gaurus life-history traits, data were collected from a 20-month field study in South India and from captive gaur populations. Mean age of females at first parturition was 3 years; females remained fertile beyond the
age of 15 years. Adult females were three times more abundant than adult males in the wild; survival of females was greater than males beyond three years of age. Life span of both sexes has not exceeded 24 years in captivity. Gaur life-history traits are similar to those of other similar-sized Bovini species."

In this first detailed analysis of gaur Bos gaurus life-history traits, data were collected from a 20-month field study in South India and from captive gaur populations. Mean age of females at first parturition was 3 years; females remained fertile beyond the age of 15 years. Adult females were three times more abundant than adult males in the wild; survival of females was greater than males beyond three years of age. Life span of both sexes has not exceeded 24 years in captivity. Gaur life-history traits are similar to those of ...

This paper introduces some of the invaluable aspects of, and new perspectives arising in, the field of zooarchaeology. Studying archaeological animal remains provides clear evidence of past human diet, but the contributions zooarchaeology can make to archaeological research have a much broader scope. Zooarchaeological research provides an interesting insight into the study of past environments, animal domestication, biostratigraphy, the social side of food, animal remains as clothing or even as building materials and art manifestations, amongst others. Zooarchaeology is subdivided here into environmental or physical zooarchaeology, which mainly deals with climate, seasonality and dating of a site, and social zooarchaeology, which deals with hunting techniques, animal management, social hierarchy and symbolism. This array of possibilities is illustrated through examples drawn from diverse periods and places. Some of the issues concerning zooarchaeology are analysed in more depth through the site of Cueva Negra del Estrecho del Río Quípar (Murcia, Spain). This case study provides a practical application of zooarchaeological perspectives in the study of human evolution.

The field of zooarchaeology is therefore not limited to the study of past dietary habits. Rather the study of animal remains allows a deeper understanding of complex human-animal interactions and a greater comprehension of archaeological societies and cultures.

In this paper, we present the results of a preliminary analysis of the fossil bovids present at X Cave on Bolt's Farm in the Cradle of Humankind in South Africa. The X Cave faunal sample derives from ex situ deposits and includes a relatively large component of postcranial specimens. From the bovid taxa represented the deposit seems to be younger than 2.5 Ma, although the taxa identified do not represent a confined time period. The sample represents a palaeoenvironment consisting of grassland and woodland, as well as stable water sources and rocky elements. The bovid specimens were most likely collected by carnivores, although it may be possible that other agents also contributed.

L'étude archéozoologique d'un squelette de bovin découvert en connexion au fond d'un silo médiéval à Combas (Gard) a permis de replacer cet individu dans la population bovine contemporaine (XIe-XIIe siècle). La détermination sexuelle et la détermination du morphotype ont été effectuées sur les comparaisons ostéométriques des métapodes. Les données du bovin des Clapisses ont été confrontées aux donnés ostéométriques enregistrées en France et en Europe occidentale afin de faire apparaître les caractéristiques de cet individu (corpulence et anomalie de croissance).

Early Pleistocene remains of bison from Moldova belong to two different forms: a some-what smaller and more archaic form with short metapodials similar to Bison (Eobison) sp. from Apollonia (Greece), and a larger bison from Cişmichioi similar to Bison menneri from Unternassfels (Germany). It is noteworthy that large-sized ruminants from Cişmichioi (cervids and bovids) show a certain affi nity to largesized ruminant species from the post-Villafranchian fauna of Untermassfeld. Some isolated fi ndings of metacarpal bones from Slobozia Mare and Minjir described by David and Rusu (2006) as Bison tamanensis, actually belong to Late Pleistocene Bison priscus. Bison schoetensacki lagenocornis with “bottle-shaped” horn-cores described by Flerov and David (1971) from Tiraspolian gravel along B. schoetensacki schoetensacki, actually represents an individual variant of male horn-core shape. The fact that female horn-cores are unknown supports this point of view. Recent attempt of David and Rusu (2006) to defi ne the systematical position of Tiraspolian fossil bison is quite unsuccessful since the proposed new subspecies name Bison priscus tiraspolensis (= Bison priscus tirapolensis lapsus calami David et Rusu 2006) is not accompanied by a type specimen designation, type specimen fi gure or reference to such a figure, the species defi nition and description. According to the International Zoological Code, Bison priscus tiraspolensis is a nomen nudum. The belonging of Tiraspolian bison to Bison priscus as it was assumed by David and Rusu (2006) is not doubtless. The bison from Tiraspolian gravel is the largest among B. schoetensacki samples from various sites of Western Europe. Apparently, its quite massive limb bones might be correlated with body mass and represent a graviportal adaptation. Proportions of long limb bones computed from the mean values of male long limb boles lengths are fairly similar to those of Bison menneri. Like B. menneri, Tiraspolian bison is characterized by relatively long metapodials, especially metacarpal bones, although metapodials of the Tiraspolian form are rather robust. According to the pattern of limb proportions, Middle and late Pleistocene fossil Bison species could be divided into two ecomorphological groups: the large but lightly build forms with small head and long limbs that represent an open-landscape running ecomorphological type (B. menneri and B. cf. schoetensacki from Tiraspol), and the large heavily build forms with large heavy head, shortened metapodials, and evolved graviportal adaptations. The second ecomorphological type includes the largest species of the genus B. priscus and its modern diminished descents B. bison and B. bonasus. The revealed affinity in postcranial proportions of forest species B. bonasus with open landscape B. priscus and B. bison suggest that the adaptation of the former species to forest has a secondary character.
Late Pleistocene B. priscus from Moldova is rather small-sized reminding fossil bison from Western Europe, however its larger relative size of lower premolars distinguishes the Moldavian Paleolithic bison from Western European forms and approaches to larger Late Pleistocene bisons of Russia. However, the small size of Late Pleistocene bison from Moldova could be a result of selective hunting of Late Paleolithic people. Apparently, Flerov’s (1979) placement of all smaller Late Pleistocene bison forms of Europe and Western Siberia in one subspecies B. priscus mediator is a simplified systematical solution.

This paper presents the second and third stages of a multivariate taphonomic analysis of the bovid bone assemblage from Dunefield Midden (DFM), a Later Stone Age site on South Africa’s west coast. The second stage investigates bovid skeletal element abundance and longbone fragmentation patterns at the site. The third stage integrates these data with bone modification data (see Stewart 2010) to explore overall taphonomic variability between three different bovid size subgroups – small, small-medium and large. The results suggest that humans were the prime agents of assemblage formation, though carnivores are also implicated as contributors to density mediated attrition. The predominant taphonomic signatures of all bovid size classes are consistent with within-bone nutrient acquisition by the site’s occupants. However, major differences are apparent between the subgroups in element representation, longbone portion abundance and fragmentation patterning. These differences are shown to reflect variation in processing/food-preparation behaviours related to carcass size. It is suggested that whereas intensive fragmentation of large bovid bones resulted from efforts to render bone grease, the small bovid bone assemblage was structured by marrow extraction. Further, small bovid elements with high marrow utility may have been preferentially targeted and treated in more standardised fashion. The small-medium bovids, most of which are domesticates (sheep), exhibit intermediate patterning between the other two, but this may be a sampling issue related to their relative scarcity at DFM.

"On a hill of the Bradanic Trough, 1 km north of Spinazzola and in the vicinity of the Murge area, few bovid fossil tracks were found. The tracks were observed on two blocks of hardened reddish sand (ca 40x30x2 cm), coming from a nearby outcrop, about 4 m in height. The outcrop is referred to the upper part (continental) of the Bradanic Trough cycle (sensu Pieri et al., 1996) and are Pleistocene in age.
The tracks consist of 3 artiodactyls footprints, about 10 cm in diameter, fairly well preserved and could be tentatively attributed to Bos sp. Their morphology was investigated by means of 3D laser scanner.
They are the first bovid tracks so far described for the region. There are skeletal records of Bos primigenius Bojanus, 1827 from the Pleistocene of Apulia and Basilicata (Caloi & Palombo, 1979; Crezzini, 2007; Pandolfi et al, 2011). An almost complete skeleton of this extinct bovid was also found on a fluvial terrace, probably belonging to the Riss-Wurm interglacial stage (Caldara, 1991), some tens of km away from the Spinazzola outcrop. Based on these records, Bos primigenius could be tentatively assumed as the tracemaker of the Spinazzola footprints.

Bibliography

Caldara M. (1991). Segnalazione di Bos primigenius Bojanus nei depositi terrazzati di Lamalunga (Bassa Valle dell'Ofanto). Il Quaternario, 4(1b): 249-254.
Caloi L. & Palombo M.R. (1979). La fauna quaternaria di Venosa: Bovidi. Bollettino del Servizio Geologico d’Italia, 100: 101-140.
Crezzini J. (2007). Studio sulla distribuzione delle tracce antropiche sui resti di ungulati del Gravettiano antico di Grotta Paglicci (Rignano Garganico, FG): il trattamento delle frazioni distali degli arti di Bos primigenius. Annali dell’Università degli Studi di Ferrara. Museologia Scientifica e Naturalistica, vol. spec. 2007: 11 pp.
Pandolfi L., Petronio C. & Salari L. (2011). Bos primigenius Bojanus, 1827 from the Early Late Pleistocene deposit of Avetrana (Southern Italy) and the variation in size of the species in Southern Europe: preliminary report. Journal of Geological Research, vol. 2011, 11 pp.
Pieri P., Sabato L., Tropeano M. (1996). Significato geodinamico dei caratteri deposizionali e strutturali della Fossa Bradanica nel Pleistocene. Memorie della Società Geologica Italiana, 51: 501-515.
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The analysis of the rock art in southern Jordan permits
us to establish an inventory of wild species and to
understand hunting activity since prehistory. They also
inform us about the method of hunting (individual,
collective). The permanence of this activity today helps
us to draw up a portrait of the hunter: his morals and
physical qualities.


L’analyse des gravures rupestres en Jordanie du Sud
permet d’établir un inventaire des espèces sauvages
et de connaître l’activité cynégétique depuis
la préhistoire. Elles nous éclairent également sur la
modalité de chasse (individuelle, collective). La permanence
de cette activité de nos jours nous aide à
dresser un portrait du chasseur : ses qualités morales
et physiques.

Key words: Jordan, Arabia, Wadi Ramm, Al-Hwaïtat,
hunting, hunters, inscriptions, north Arabic, Bronzeage,
ostriches, rock art, bovids, gazelle, ibex, felids,
caracal, cheetah, camels.

Mots-clés : Jordanie, Arabie, Wadi Ramm, al-
Hwaïtat, chasse, chasseurs, inscriptions, nordarabique,
âge de Bronze, autruche, gravures rupestres,
bovidés, gazelle, ibex, bouquetin, félins, caracal,
guépard, chameaux.

Are you interested in zooarchaeology? Then you can adapt your curriculum in such a way that you specialize in zooarchaeology during your 2-year Research Master in Groningen. You will be using one of the best reference collections in the world, and you will be part of a very active research group!

Body mass is an important attribute of organisms. For extinct species, body mass is usually predicted from allometric equations relating body mass with some variable(s) from the skeleton in extant species. However, even for extant species, individual associated body mass data are scarce, and mean body mass values taken from literature are commonly used when developing regressions. In this paper we evaluate the correlation between three external body measurements and the body mass of bovids with associated body mass, in order to find those variables adequate for body mass estimation in this family. The importance of using individuals with associated body weight to develop regressions was analyzed, as well as the use of Phylogenetic Generalized Least Squares (PGLS) and weighting procedures.Six equations were obtained with those variables suitable for body mass estimation (head-body length and thorax circumference), three by means of OLS and three by PGLS. Both phylogenetic and non-phylogenetic procedures render the same mean prediction error. The use of weighting procedures does not improve the predictive capacity of the equations. The percentage of prediction error (%PE) was lower than in previous works in ungulates (10–14%). The three equations were repeated with literature body mass data, and in all cases the mean %PE was around 50% higher than with associated body mass data. The multiple regression is strongly recommended for body mass estimation, when both variables are available. Body mass was estimated for three bovid species: Bos primigenius, Myotragus balearicus and Pseudoryx nghetinhensis.

Resumo:
A villa romana do Rabaçal, escavada desde 1984, tem vindo a revelar todo um impressionante conjunto de estruturas, tanto a nível arquitectónico, como arqueológico. Datada do século IV d. C., esta casa senhorial é conhecida pelo seu rico espólio decorativo, especialmente quanto a mosaicos.
Este trabalho pretende ajudar a conhecer melhor esse importante sítio através da análise do espólio faunístico recolhido entre 1989 e 1998 na zona rústica e balnear da villa. Foi detectada a presença de vários táxones, a quase totalidade deles mamíferos. Por ordem de abundância foram identificados os seguintes animais: boi, ovino-caprino (ovelha e/ou cabra), suídeo (porco e/ou javali), veado, cavalo, cão, coelho, urso e, por fim, galo.
Nem todos os táxones identificados pertencem a animais utilizados como alimentação. O cão e o cavalo serviriam, respectivamente, para companhia e transporte. Já o urso (caso seja confirmada a sua determinação; apenas representado por um osso metacárpico) permite-nos outro tipo de interpretações mais flexíveis, possivelmente como troféu.
No geral a arquefauna presente na villa romana do Rabaçal integra-se bem nas características do um local de habitação senhorial.

Abstract:
The Roman villa of Rabaçal, escavated since 1984, has revealed an impressive set architectural and archaeological structures. It dates from the 4th Century BC and it is known by its rich decorative materials, specially the mosaics.
The present work aims to increase our knowledge on this important site by studing the fauna remains collected in the rustic and balnear area of the villa, between 1989 and 1998. Several taxa were identified, with its majority being mammals; by order of abundance they were: cattle, ovicaprids (sheep and/or goat), suids (pig and/or wild boar), red deer, horse, dog, rabbitt, bear and chicken.
3
Not all of these taxa were used as food. Dog and horse were used, respectively, as pets and as mean of transportation or draft animals. Bear (if indeed confirmed; represented by a single metacarpal) allows us another interpretation set, maybe as trophy.
In general, the archaeological fauna from Rabaçal is a good representation of the diet and lifestyle of a wealthy landowner.