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Chapter Fourteen. Faunal Analysis: Bones from Animals of Economic Importance
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149 14 Faunal Analysis: Bones from Animals of Economic Importance The animal bone remains from the Middle Neolithic site of Capo Alfiere come from excavations carried out in the summers of 1987 and 1990. The finds from the earlier excavation were studied and published by Salvatore Scali of the Laboratorio di Bioarcheologia in Rome (Scali 1990). In the summer of 2007, I was invited to examine the complete animal bone assemblage recovered from both excavations.1 My analysis concentrated on the remains of terrestrial animals. Almost 9,000 remains have been identified, including domestic residues and bone artifacts alike from three stratigraphic units.2 This is the largest known Neolithic animal bone assemblage collected in this area of Italy. This study seeks to illuminate the economic and cultural life of the people who inhabited the settlement of Capo Alfiere in the Middle Neolithic, as reflected by their hunting, animal husbandry, and craft activities. The results may also fill in the gap between archaeozoological studies on the Early Neolithic period in southern Italy (e.g., Bökönyi 1977–1982; Tagliacozzo 2005–2006) and the Bronze Age (e.g., Bökönyi and Siracusano 1987; Tagliacozzo 1994). The Capo Alfiere material was found in a fragmented condition, which resulted in a considerable loss of information. Only part of the remains from each context had a number of identifiable specimens (NISP). The fragmentation of bones was similar in all three strata. More than 50% of the fragments measured less than 25 mm. The size of fragments was inversely proportional to the number of remains. The largest fragments, measuring above 100 mm, were the fewest (Fig. 14.1). This indicates how carefully the bones were collected by hand, since only a part of the material was water-sieved. The application of the latter technique resulted in the recovery of tiny and fragile bone finds from birds, bats, and rodents. 1 I am grateful to Professor Joseph C. Carter for inviting me to identify the faunal remains. 2 I thank Dr. John Robb for providing information concerning the stratigraphy of the site. The smaller remains from the latter two groups were studied by Zsófia Eszter Kovács (Chapter 15). Stratigraphical and Taxonomic Distribution and Taphonomic Characteristics In total, 8,924 animal bone remains from the fieldwork of 1987 and 1990 were found in 95 contexts (Context 2 to Context 143). An additional 394 bones could not be associated with contexts. A majority of animal bone fragments with contexts (5,213 = 58.4%) was found in Stratum III, which includes superficial levels damaged by ploughing as well as postholes and natural fissures (Table 14.1). This mixed material comes from 30 contexts. Context 81 was outstanding , yielding 1,469 remains, while the other contexts Figure 14.1 Size of remains: distribution by stratum. Erika Gál 150 Faunal Analysis: Bones from Animals of Economic Importance Table 14.1 Distribution of species and number of remains by stratum. Species Stratum III Stratum II Stratum I NISP % NISP % NISP % Bos taurus L. (cattle) 953 34.54 359 23.11 156 25.74 Ovis aries L. (sheep) 19 0.68 5 0.32 6 0.99 Capra hircus L. (goat) 1 0.03 Caprinae (sheep and goat) 1.606 58.20 1.111 71.53 411 67.82 Sus domesticus Erxl. (pig) 56 2.02 45 2.89 15 2.47 Canis familiaris L. (dog) 4 0.14 1 0.06 2 0.33 Domestic mammals total 2,639 95.63 1,521 97.92 590 97.35 Bos primigenius Boj. (aurochs) 13 0.50 8 0.51 10 1.65 Cervus elaphus L. (red deer) 6 0.21 1 0.06 1 0.16 Capreolus capreolus L. (roe deer) 2 0.07 1 0.06 Sus scrofa L. (wild boar) 1 0.03 1 0.06 1 0.16 Canis lupus L. (wolf) 1 0.16 Vulpes vulpes L. (fox) 1 0.03 1 0.06 Lepus europaeus Pall. (hare) 4 0.14 2 0.12 2 0.33 Wild mammals total 27 0.98 14 0.87 15 2.46 Chiroptera indet. 4 0.14 4 0.25 Rodentia indet. 73 2.64 1 0.16 Coturnix coturnix L. (quail) 1 0.03 Galliformes sp. indet. 1 0.03 Charadriiformes sp. indet. 1 0.06 Athene noctua Scop. (little owl) 2 0.06 Passeriformes sp. indet (type Sturnus/Turdus) 1 0.06 Passeriformes sp. indet (small sized) 6 0.39 Aves indet. 1 0.03...