Reassessing Animal Exploitation in Northern Syria from the Early Bronze Age to the Persian/Hellenistic Period: The Evidence from Tell Tuqan (original) (raw)
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PIG PRODUCTION AND EXPLOITATION DURING THE CLASSICAL PERIODS IN THE SOUTHERN LEVANT
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International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2013
In this paper, we present a reanalysis of pig (Sus scrofa) remains from the Neolithic site of Qalat Jarmo, originally excavated in the 1940s and 1950s. Employing modern zooarchaeological techniques, not available during the initial analyses, we explore the nature of swine exploitation strategies and demonstrate that pigs were most likely managed by the early 7th millennium (Pottery Neolithic) and perhaps earlier. Comparing biometric data with those from other sites in the region, we show that the Jarmo pigs exhibit evidence for size decrease associated with intensive management, but had not yet achieved the degree of dental or post-cranial size reduction seen in later Neolithic domestic populations. Although samples from the earliest (Pre-Pottery) occupation of the site are small, there is some evidence to suggest that domestic pigs were present at Jarmo as early as the late 8th millennium cal. bc. In either case, Jarmo likely represents the earliest appearance of pig husbandry along the Zagros flanks, and we discuss the mechanisms by which Neolithic technologies, including domesticated animals, spread to new regions. This project emphasises the value of curated faunal assemblages in shedding new light on the spread of Neolithic economies.
Animal economy at Tell Arbid, north-east Syria, in the third millennium B.C., 25-43
Bioarchaeology of the Near East 4, 2010
The main aim of this paper is to reconstruct animal economy at Tell Arbid in the 3 rd millennium BC. The examined material consists of post-consumption bone remains retrieved from various contexts dated to the Ninevite 5, Early Dynastic III, Akkadian, and Post-Akkadian periods. Domesticated animals were the dominant species in all of the distinguished periods. Sheep and goat were the main species (~50%) followed by pig (~40%) and cattle (~10%). Starting in the Akkadian period there was a small increase in caprines and a concomitant decrease in pigs. The Arbidian animal economy was marginally supplemented by hunting wild animals (roe deer, gazelle, fallow deer, boar). Equids (onager, horse, donkey), canids (dog, jackal), and felids (domestic and wild cat, caracal) are represented in small numbers. The pattern of animal exploitation observed at Tell Arbid is comparable to the picture obtained for other Upper Khabur sites, although a significant share of pig (40−48%) is noticeable at the site during the 3 rd millennium BC.
Pigs in Sight: Late Bronze Age Pig Husbandries in the Aegean and Anatolia
Journal of Field Archaeology, 2020
This paper explores pig husbandry across the Aegean and Anatolia based on zooarchaeological data and ancient texts. The western Anatolian citadel of Kaymakçı is the departure point for discussion, as it sits in the Mycenaean-Hittite interaction zone and provides a uniquely large assemblage of pig bones. NISP, mortality, and biometric data from 38 additional sites across Greece and Anatolia allows observation of intra-and interregional variation in the role of pigs in subsistence economies, pig management, and pig size characteristics. Results show that, first, pig abundance at Kaymakçı matches Mycenaean and northern Aegean sites more closely than central, southern, and southeastern Anatolian sites; second, pig mortality data and biometry suggest multiple husbandry strategies and pig populations at Kaymakçı, but other explanations cannot yet be excluded; and, third, for the Aegean and Anatolia during the Late Bronze Age more generally, pig data suggests pluriformity, which challenges the use of "pig principles" in this region.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2019
The climate record of the Mid-Holocene southern Levant indicates a period of rapid climate change and erratic rainfall. An unpredictable rainfall regime would have posed a considerable risk to societies dependent upon crops and livestock that require a plentiful and consistent supply of water. In this paper, we first examine an assemblage of pig remains from Hartuv, a small settlement occupied during the Early Bronze Age, and then interpret these data alongside palaeohydrological evidence. We reconcile seemingly contradictory data—high relative taxonomic abundance of pigs and climatic conditions characterized by a general aridification trend and rainfall instability—by considering zooarchaeological assemblages from nearby sites in the context of their hydrological settings. On the basis of geoarchaeological evidence from Hartuv, we conclude that the effects of variable rainfall were mitigated by a locally marshy environment and an anthropogenic landscape feature, which may have been used to store water.
Pigs and the pastoral bias: The other animal economy in northern Mesopotamia (3000–2000 BCE)
Discussion of the animal economy in Mesopotamia has been subject to a persistent, pastoral bias. Most general treatments assume that the Early Bronze Age (ca. 3000–2000 BCE) animal economy was dominated by the herding of sheep and goats. An examination of the abundant written evidence would support such a contention. Zooarchaeological evidence from northern Mesopotamia, however, clearly demonstrates that pigs played a major role in the diet, despite their virtual absence in the written record. In this paper, we attempt to lay bare and correct for the pastoral bias by reviewing the relatively meager written evidence for pig husbandry and by examining the zooarchaeological evidence for pigs from two angles. First, we use relative abundance data from sites across northern Mesopotamia to demonstrate the ubiquity of pigs and to identify regional-and site-level patterning in pig consumption. Second, we use a series of proxy techniques to reconstruct pig husbandry practices at three sites: Tell 'Atij, Tell al-Raqa'i, and Tell Leilan. Ultimately, we argue that this ''other " animal economy emerged to fill a niche opened up by the twin processes of urbanization and institutional expansion. For households struggling to deal with the impacts of these wide-ranging transformations, pigs offered an alternative means of subsistence and perhaps a way of maintaining some degree of autonomy.
ANIMAL REMAINS FROM MIDDLE BRONZE AGE GRAVES AT TELL ARBID (SYRIA)
Światowit Annual of the Institute oF Archaeology of the University of Warsaw Vol. iX (l) (2011) Fascicle a Mediterranean and non-European Archaeology Warsaw2012, 2012
Several graves equipped with animal remains dated to the Middle Bronze Age were discovered at Tell Arbid in years 1997-2008. The article presents results of archaeozoological studies of animal species. The second focus is an archeological interpretation of this category of finds. Animal bones were found mostly in grave chambers, next to the body of the deceased where they were interpreted as a food supplies for the last journey. In few cases, they were deposited also in dromoi of vaulted chamber tombs and they seem to represent traces of performing kispum rituals. There was also another category of animal finds: accompanying animal burials. These were apparently unique on Tell Arbid but they have parallels on other sites. It seems probable that they are traces of funeral ceremonies associated with the West Semitic milieu.
Chalcolithic pig remains from Çamlıbel Tarlası, Central Anatolia
In: Bea De Cupere, Veerle Linseele & Sheila Hamilton-Dyer (ed.), Archaeozoology of the Near East X. Proceedings of the Tenth International Symposium on the Archaeozoology of South-Western Asia and adjacent areas (Leuven: Peeters) 101–120., 2013
The Late Chalcolithic site of Çamlıbel Tarlası (3590–3470 cal BC) located near Bogazkale in Anatolia was a rural settlement spanning an estimated time interval of 120 years. While the main domestic ungulates were represented by comparable numbers of bones among the faunal remains, this paper is aimed at studying pigs within the context of other animals. It seems that pig still played a major role in Chalcolithic meat diets at a site that shows little evidence of hunting. The domestic status of pigs was therefore studied from different angles, including traditional morphometry supported by ancient DNA studies and geometric morphometrics. All results point to the overwhelming dominance of domestic pig characteristics in the Chalcolithic assemblage. While the influence of local wild boar seems evident, most bones fall below the size range of the wild ancestor. Ancient DNA is indicative of local origins for these pigs. Geometric morphometric analyses revealed a domestic signature for nearly all the specimens analysed. The overall results are indicative of small scale, household-level animal husbandry in which pigs had a fair share before the onset of sheep and goat based systems of animal husbandry at the beginning of the Anatolian Bronze Age.