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During the Middle Paleolithic in Eurasia, the production of deliberate, abstract engraving on bone or stone materials is a rare phenomenon. It is now widely accepted that both anatomically modern humans and hominins that predate them have produced deliberate engravings associated with symbolic behavior. Within the Levantine Middle Paleolithic context, only five examples of intentional engravings are known thus far. In this paper, we present an aurochs bone fragment that bears six deep, sub-parallel incisions, recovered at the open-air Middle Paleolithic site of Nesher Ramla in Israel. The item, found in an anthropogenic accumulation of artifacts in Unit III of the site, was dated to early Marine Isotope Stage 5 (ca. 120 ka). Unit III is a stratigraphically well-defined layer that is characterized by intense on-site knapping activities with predominance of the centripetal Levallois reduction method and by intense exploitation of aurochs and tortoises. This paper presents a multidisciplinary study of the bone and the incisions, including zooarchaeological, macro- and microscopic analyses, Scanning Electron Microscope analysis and experimental replications. The macroscopic and microscopic attributes of the incisions, and the comparisons with experimental material exclude a taphonomic or utilitarian origin of the incisions. The study indicates that the engravings were most likely produced by a right-handed individual in a single working session. The morphology and characteristics of the incisions, especially the presence of longitudinal polish and striations in one of the incisions, suggest that they were made by a flint artifact, likely retouched. The engraved bone from Unit III at Nesher Ramla is one of the oldest deliberate abstract manifestations produced by Middle Paleolithic and Middle Stone Age hominins and the oldest known so far in the Levant. As such, it has major implications for our understanding of the emergence and early stages of the development of human symbolic behavior.

The Levantine Middle Paleolithic period displays significant archaeological variability across a series of cave and open-air sites encompassing ca. 200,000 years. Faunal remains are an important source of knowledge regarding hunting and mobility patterns but have mostly been studied in the deep stratigraphic sequences of the Levantine caves. This research addresses questions of hunting, carcass transport, butchery patterns and use of space as they occurred at the Middle Paleolithic open-air site of Nesher Ramla in central Israel. The site is an eight-meter-thick sequence within a karst sinkhole, dating to MIS6/5. We conducted the first detailed taphonomic and zooarchaeological study at the site, focusing on a sample from Unit III, which is a thin layer with dense lithics and faunal remains, combustion features, manuports, and ochre. Our results reveal an anthropogenic accumulation that is dominated by aurochs, equid, and tortoise remains. The large ungulates’ (aurochs) skeletal-element representation is biased in favor of meat- and fat-rich body parts, coupled with abundant evidence of dismemberment, filleting and marrow extraction. These parts were imported to the sinkhole for processing and consumption. Tortoises are abundant. The lithic assemblages exhibit high frequency of retouched tools and low typological diversity and are characterized by high visibility of personal toolkit components. Coupled with use-wear analysis that suggests low spectrum of activities and massive occurrence of hammerstones, anvils and manuports, these characteristics indicate that the Unit III occupation represents an intensive camp centering on aurochs processing and butchering.

Archaeological sites at Affad (Sudan) are the only ones in northeastern Africa providing ostological remains of both African aurochs (Bos primigenius), dated to 50 kya, and domestic cattle, dated t...

Previously published and original data on the Holocene distribution and extinction of ungulates in northern Eurasia are examined. Data on the relative and absolute age and finding places on the wild horse (Equus ferus Boddaert 1785), the European ass (Equus hydruntinus Regalia 1907), the giant deer (Megaloceros giganteus Blumenbach 1799), the steppe bison (Bison priscus Bojanus 1825), the musk ox (Ovibos moschatus Zimmermann 1780), and the aurochs (Bos primigenius Bojanus 1825) are analyzed and summarized; the patterns of changes in the species ranges and extinction processes are compared. It has been concluded that, in the last interglacial era, the limits of the ranges changed at different rates, not only in different species, but also in one species in different parts of the range.

The contribution of domestic cattle in human societies is enormous, making cattle, along with other essential benefits, the economically most important domestic animal in the world today. To expand existing knowledge on cattle domestication and mitogenome diversity, we performed a comprehensive complete mitogenome analysis of the species (802 sequences, 114 breeds). A large sample was collected in Southeast Europe, an important agricultural gateway to Europe during Neolithization and a region rich in cattle biodiversity. We found 1725 polymorphic sites (810 singletons, 853 parsimony-informative sites and 57 indels), 701 unique haplotypes, a haplotype diversity of 0.9995 and a nucleotide diversity of 0.0015. In addition to the dominant T-3 and several rare haplogroups (Q, T-5, T-4, T-2 and T-1), we have identified maternal line in Austrian Murbodner cattle that possess surviving aurochs' mitochondria haplotype P-1 that diverged prior to the Neolithization process. This is convincing evidence for rare female-mediated adaptive introgression of wild aurochs into domesticated cattle in Europe. We revalidated the existing haplogroup classification and provided Bayesian phylogenetic inference with a more precise estimated divergence time than previously available. Occasionally, classification based on partial mitogenomes was not reliable; for example, some individuals with haplogroups P and T-5 were not recognized based on D-loop information. Bayesian skyline plot estimates (median) show that the earliest population growth began before domestication in cattle with haplogroup T-2, followed by Q (-10.0-9.5 kyBP), whereas cattle with T-3 (similar to 7.5 kyBP) and T-1 (similar to 3.0-2.5 kyBP) expanded later. Overall, our results support the existence of interactions between aurochs and cattle during domestication and dispersal of cattle in the past, contribute to the conservation of maternal cattle diversity and enable functional analyses of the surviving aurochs P-1 mitogenome.

The large bovids, bison and aurochs, both feature in Paleolithic archaeofauna and art, particularly in Southwestern Eu- rope during the Late Upper Pleistocene. We present a brief taxonomic and morphological description of the bovid spe- cies present at that time, as well as their biogeographical distribution. We then compare this distribution data with their presence in cave and portable art from this period and describe and interpret their depictions according to a number of themes. Our knowledge of the anatomical traits and ecology of these species allows us to better identify and interpret their representation in cave art and portable art made by hunter-gatherer societies. Several examples of Paleolithic art are given, illustrating the relationship between biological context and socio-economic value, and allowing us to under- stand the particular and highly symbolic nature of the relationship between humans and bovids. Beyond subsistence, Paleolithic representations clearly demonstrate a mythological dimension.

The collection of animal bone remains (about 5000 units) excavated from the Eneolithic age site «Berezovska GES» in the forest-steppe region on the left bank the river South Bug. The bones of animals were determined by V.I. Zalkin, O.P. Zhuravliov and О.P. Siekerska. The settlement is of the Atlantic period and there are 2 radiocarbon dates: 4610+70 and 564+85 Саl. BC. Among domestic animals, the first place was occupied by cattle, the second ‑ pigs, and the third-sheep and goats. Breeding of cattle was obviously mixed ‑ meat-dairy direction. Adult animals provided reproduction of the herd and gave milk. The strategy of breeding sheep and goats was most likely aimed at obtaining wool. The dogs that served as guards and hunting assistants had a wolf-like appearance and were of medium size. Their height at the withers was 45 cm. The breeding of horses by the inhabitants of the Berezovska GES can now be called into question. In hoe farming and the transport of goods by the draught power of oxen, the use of the horse in agriculture could be reduced to the ussng this species in food. However, the data of age analysis (out of 17 individuals only 1 was semi-adult, and 16 were adults), contradicts the strategy of breeding horses for meat. The strategy of breeding animals for the use of meat will be somewhat different – slaughtered mainly young and semi-mature individuals. Analysis of bone measurements suggests that the remains of the horse found belong to a wild form – Tarpan. Hunting by its economic significance continued to occupy one of the leading places in providing the population with meat food. The bones-individuals ratio for domestic and wild animals is 54,8% – 45,7% and 45,2% – 54,3% respectively. The hunting prey included red deer, roe deer, wild boar, aurochs, beaver, wolf, bear. Periodically extracted bison, elk, hare, badger, marten and other animals. Thus, it was developed as a meat direction of hunting, and hunting for meat-fur and fur species. The fauna of wild mammals from the Middle Pobuzhzhia region in the Atlanti period are described. Based on the description of the fauna of wild mammals of this region, the environment is characterized. The mosaic of landscapes around the settlement was determined, including such stations as broad-leaved forests with shrubby undergrowth, meadows and small areas of steppe vegetation on watersheds.

This paper aims to assess the etiology and differential diagnosis of severe pathological lesions in wild and domestic cattle from the Late Neolithic site of At-Vršac in the northeast part of the present-day Serbia. Excavations of this multilayered site revealed the remains of a Late Neolithic settlement belonging to the Vinča culture network of the Central Balkans. An aurochs metacarpal bone, two domestic cattle fragments of fused ulna and radius and of tibia, all with massive bone proliferations were recovered during the archaeological excavations in 1976. Paleopathological study was undertaken using an interdisciplinary approach, including AMS dating, radiography, computed tomography (CT), and histopathology. The results show severe oblique healed fracture with secondary pronounced bone reaction in the aurochs metacarpal bone and in the domestic cattle ulna–radius, while traumatic alteration infected with disseminated osteomyelitis was found in the domestic cattle tibia. These pathologies of wild and domestic cattle are discussed to reveal the level of environmental and human influence on the origin and development of the lesions in the Late Neolithic cattle.

The aim of this thesis was to monitor the behaviour of the back-crossed aurochs in the nature reserve Milovice. The subject of monitoring was first their daily activity and the possible differences between age and sex groups, second the seasonal cycles and third the usage of the locality. Results were discussed with literature concerning the extinct aurochs and still-living wild cattle.

Two native European large herbivores: the aurochs Bos primigenius Bojanus, 1827 and the wisent Bison bonasus Linnaeus, 1758 lived simultaneously until the end of the Medieval period. Between the 15th and beginning of the 17th century, however, the aurochs population declined rapidly, while wisents continued to live in the wild until the end of World War I. In western Europe, both aurochs and wisents went extinct much earlier than in the east, so by the 16th century the two species were commonly confused, as illustrated by a drawing from 1571, showing the differences in appearance, and providing proper nomenclature for both species. The extinction of aurochs took place despite their strict protection and even supplementary feeding imposed by Polish kings. Since in central and eastern Europe there is a number of traditional geographical names associated with both species, we made an attempt to determine their distribution in four areas of eastern Europe (Poland, Lithuania, Romania + Moldova, and Ukraine), and by comparing historical changes in land cover, identify possible reasons for such a substantial difference in their survival. Numbers of geographical names were much higher for the aurochs than for the wisent: >5−fold in Poland and >4−fold in Ukraine, indicating much greater recognition of the aurochs by the human population. The suggestion is either that aurochs were more abundant, or were more frequently present in open areas. Between 1000 and 1400 (when in Poland and Lithuania hunts for the aurochs by the kings of the Jagiellonian dynasty were organised only occasionally), there was a drastic decline in forest cover, estimated at almost 50% in Poland, nearly 40% in Lithuania, and almost 30% in Ukraine. This deforestation was associated with the development of agriculture and settlements, which resulted in much greater areas of open land with attractive forage for herbivores. Therefore, the most probable factor for differences in the survival of the two species, we suggest, was preference by aurochs for open landscapes, making them more conspicuous, leading to more frequent encounters with people and conflicts with cattle breeders and farmers. This case indicates the critical importance of socio−economic circumstances for the survival of endangered species, despite strict protection., Sylwan 166 (7): 462-469

Cattle, as an important tool for agricultural production in ancient China, have a complex history of domestication and distribution in China. Although it is generally accepted that ancient Chinese taurine cattle originated from the Near East, the explanation regarding their spread through China and whether or not this spread was associated with native aurochs during ancient times are still unclear. In this study, we obtained three nearly complete mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) from bovine remains dating back ca. 4,000 years at the Taosi and Guchengzhai sites in North China. For the first time at the mitogenome level, phylogenetic analyses confirmed the approximately 4,000-year-old bovines from North China as taurine cattle. All ancient cattle from both sites belonged to the T3 haplogroup, suggesting their origin from the Near East. The high affinity between ancient samples and southern Chinese taurine cattle indicated that ancient Chinese cattle had a genetic contribution to the taurine cattle of South China. A rapid decrease in the female effective population size ca. 4.65 thousand years ago (kya) and a steep increase ca. 1.99 kya occurred in Chinese taurine cattle. Overall, these results provide increasing evidence of the origin of cattle in the middle Yellow River region of China.

The late third millennium BCE was a period of technological and cultural change in China’s Yellow River valley. Domestic cattle and sheep were introduced into China from West Asia during this period, marking a shift in the zooarchaeological record and the arrival of new methods of animal exploitation. Using zooarchaeological evidence for the exploitation of secondary products and bone working at the Late Neolithic Longshan period sites of Taosi and Zhoujiazhuang in Shanxi Province, I examine the relationship between animal products, craft specialization, and increasing social complexity. My research suggests that non-subsistence uses of cattle and sheep were important factors that contributed to the adoption of herding in the Central Plains region, and that the nature of cattle and sheep exploitation varied between sites depending on local environmental and cultural conditions. Additionally, I use ancient DNA analysis to identify bovine oracle bones from Taosi and Zhoujiazhuang. Both domestic cattle and wild aurochs scapulas were used in divination rituals, raising the possibility that people experimented with managing native East Asian wild aurochs alongside domestic cattle. The zooarchaeological data presented in this study indicate that greater attention should be paid to the varied non-subsistence uses of animals in ancient China during periods leading up to Bronze Age state formation.

BackgroundDuring the Neolithic expansion, cattle accompanied humans and spread from their domestication centres to colonize the ancient world. In addition, European cattle occasionally intermingled with both indicine cattle and local aurochs resulting in an exclusive pattern of genetic diversity. Among the most ancient European cattle are breeds that belong to the so-called Podolian trunk, the history of which is still not well established. Here, we used genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data on 806 individuals belonging to 36 breeds to reconstruct the origin and diversification of Podolian cattle and to provide a reliable scenario of the European colonization, through an approximate Bayesian computation random forest (ABC-RF) approach.ResultsOur results indicate that European Podolian cattle display higher values of genetic diversity indices than both African taurine and Asian indicine breeds. Clustering analyses show that Podolian breeds share close genomic relationships, which suggests a likely common genetic ancestry. Among the simulated and tested scenarios of the colonization of Europe from taurine cattle, the greatest support was obtained for the model assuming at least two waves of diffusion. Time estimates are in line with an early migration from the domestication centre of non-Podolian taurine breeds followed by a secondary migration of Podolian breeds. The best fitting model also suggests that the Italian Podolian breeds are the result of admixture between different genomic pools.ConclusionsThis comprehensive dataset that includes most of the autochthonous cattle breeds belonging to the so-called Podolian trunk allowed us not only to shed light onto the origin and diversification of this group of cattle, but also to gain new insights into the diffusion of European cattle. The most well-supported scenario of colonization points to two main waves of migrations: with one that occurred alongside with the Neolithic human expansion and gave rise to the non-Podolian taurine breeds, and a more recent one that favoured the diffusion of European Podolian. In this process, we highlight the importance of both the Mediterranean and Danube routes in promoting European cattle colonization. Moreover, we identified admixture as a driver of diversification in Italy, which could represent a melting pot for Podolian cattle.

Resumo As pesquisas em Paleogenômica têm encontrado nos acervos de Antropologia e História uma riquíssima fonte de material para análise do genoma de organismos que já não existem mais. Com objetos de museus, essa nova área científica tem conseguido interpretar as relações entre espécies extintas e atuais e dar evidências à ação antrópica em processos de extinção. Ao reforçar o paradoxo do Antropoceno – uma nova época geológica em que se destrói para prosperar –, os museus se inserem na discussão sobre correr riscos de danificar ou perder acervos museológicos em prol do desenvolvimento científico. Assim, este artigo visa contribuir com o debate sob a perspectiva museológica, analisando aspectos relacionados à responsabilidade e ao compromisso com a preservação e a pesquisa nos museus, com atenção especial à ‘aura’ do objeto. Para a construção dos argumentos, enfoca-se o caso de uma das maiores coleções de cornos adornados do mundo, do Museu Nacional da Dinamarca, útil para a interpretação do processo de extinção dos auroques. Ao final, reconhecendo os museus como aliados ao paradoxo do Antropoceno, considera-se a Museologia a área mais afetada pelo dilema e recomenda-se atenção a oito conjuntos de perguntas que surgem sempre que a questão se estabelecer em um museu. Abstract Paleogenomics researches has found in anthropological and historical collections a very rich source of material for analyzing genome of organisms that no longer exist. With museum objects, that new scientific area has been able to interpret the relationships between extinct and current species and provide evidence of anthropic action in extinction processes. By reinforcing the Anthropocene paradox - a new geological epoch based on destruction in order to prosper - museums start a discussion about taking risks of damaging and even losing museum collections in favor of scientific development. This article aims to contribute to the debate from a museological perspective, analyzing aspects related to responsibility and commitment to preservation and research in museums, with special attention to the aura of the object. It focuses on the specific case of one of the largest collections of drinking horns in the world, from the National Museum of Denmark, useful for the interpretation of the auroch’s extinction process. Finally, museums are recognized as allies to the Anthropocene paradox, whilst Museology is considered the most affected area by the dilemma. Therefore, attention to eight sets of questions is recommended, whenever this situation becomes real in a museum.

Cattle Bos taurus can perform valuable ecological functions in the maintenance of high nature value (HNV) pastoral systems. They have also attracted attention as potentially filling the ecological niches of megaherbivores, notably the extinct aurochs Bos primigenius, in rewilding initiatives. Native cattle breeds are recognized under the 1992 Rio Convention as components of biodiversity. They are used in HNV settings, but their conservation as breeds has rarely been an important consideration for their management in these contexts. The Chillingham herd has been kept under minimal management in Chillingham Park (northern England) for several centuries. Chillingham Park is not a rewilding scenario, but the long‐term study of the cattle can be informative for the design of rewilding schemes that involve cattle as megaherbivores. The pastures of the park are species‐rich seminatural grasslands. To 2004, pasture management was influenced by the need to provide herbage for a flock of sheep that was under separate ownership, as well as for the cattle. Surveys of the vegetation conducted in 1979 and 2006–2008 showed a decline of plant species richness (species per 100 m2 quadrat) from 33.8 in 1979 to 22.6 in 2006–2008. This was acceptable as the conservation priority has always been the cattle herd. With removal of the sheep from 2004, it became possible to include recovery of plant diversity as a management goal. In 2017, the cattle numbered 111 (64 in 1979). Plant species richness in 2017 had increased to 26.3 species per quadrat. It has therefore been possible at Chillingham both to conserve the cattle herd and to improve plant diversity. While providing basic information of relevance to the management of cattle in free‐ranging situations, this study also suggests a general principle, that the management of pastoral landscapes by native breeds of cattle, can deliver multiple conservation benefits.

This article presents a history of the European bison specimens preserved at the National Museum of NaturalHistory (MNHN) in Paris. The inventory made in 1945 by Jacques Millot, who first noticed the importance of these collections for the conservation of the species, constitutes a starting point of the present analysis. The oldest European bison of the MNHN collection came from the royal menagerie of Versailles. Louis Jean-Marie Daubenton was the first who has published a description of the species, four years before publication of Systema Naturae by Carl Linnaeus. Then Georges Cuvier, when working on the MNHN collections, distinguished the European bison from aurochs and compared it to the American bison. His research has contributed to the development of the notion of “extinct species”. This article presents also the history of the European bison from the Zoo of Cologne and the specimens from Petersburg, by Friedrich von Brandt, with a focus on the difficulties of obtaining specimens of the European bison in XIX century. European bison specimens from the National Museum of Natural History in Paris have played a particularly important role in the history of the species biology. They also offer an interesting perspective for genetic studies on the species.

Palaeoenvironmental information on Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3) coastal Latium is sparse, mainly based on studies of individual faunal assemblages or long pollen records from lake sediments, often of insufficient resolution to aid in palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. This study describes in detail the Late Pleistocene faunal assemblage from layers SU11 and SU12 of Cava Muracci (Cisterna di Latina, central Italy), the first of which is a partially-preserved hyena den. The first multi-disciplinary palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of coastal Latium between 34–44 ka BP is provided combining palaeoecological inferences from a previous pollen analytical study of hyena coprolites with the palaeontological study described here. The results indicate a temperate climate and a landscape characterised by the coexistence of at least three habitats within a short distance between the coastline and the inland mountains, suitable for a wide variety of species. A wooded hilly area populated by wolfs, aurochs, cervids and other small vertebrates; wide steppe and grasslands inhabited by wild horses, rhinoceros and cave hyenas; lastly, wetland habitats along coasts and rivers populated by wild boars and several amphibians and reptiles.

An essential aspect of studying the Neolithic is the identification of its early phase. The research is constrained by scarce source base of the study. Until recently, the early Neolithic in the Lower Volga region has not been identified by the experts. The situation has changed due to the excavation of the settlement Oroshayemoye I on the river B. Uzen. This paper focuses on the received materials. The monument is multi-layered. During the field work in 2018, the lower cultural layer was investigated. Ceramic, stone and osteological equipment was found in it. The pottery and set of tools are typologically similar to the materials of the lower layer of the Varfolomeyevskaya site, which belong to the Orlovskaya culture. The technological analysis of the ceramics of the Oroshayemoye settlement showed its proximity to the pottery making technology of Orlovskaya culture. The study of osteological remains revealed the presence of bones of aurochs, saiga, tarpan and other wild species on the monument, as well as a domestic dog. According to radiocarbon analysis, the age of the lower layer of the monument is determined by the last quarter of VII the beginning of the VI millennium BC. Paleoclimatic studies conducted on the monument showed that during this period the climate was warm and humid.

The fauna of Neolithic Lameiras includes abundant sheep. Many could be securely identified by applying criteria described by the late Joachim Boessneck as well as metrical methods. Sheep bones from Early Neolithic contexts, several dated directly via 14C, pinpoint the arrival here, 5450 cal BC, of this exotic animal three thousand years after its domestication 5000 km to the east. Thus sheep were transported at a rate of 1,6 km per year – considerably faster than suggested by the ‘wave of advance’ theory. It therefore seems probable that part of the journey was undertaken by ship. Most of the mammal remains identified at Lameiras belonged to domesticated forms and besides sheep and some goat, they include cattle and pig. Zooarchaeologically there is little difference between Early and Late Neolithic. However the Neolithic spectrum of species contrasts with that from a small assemblage in the underlying Mousterian level as well as other pre-Neolithic assemblages in Portugal. It is possible that in southern Portugal the adoption of animal husbandry was sudden. Measurements of the remains of Canis, Bos, Ovis, Capra and Sus compared with an increasingly large corpus of data from the South-Western part of the Iberian Peninsula indicate several occasions when these animals underwent size changes. Bos, Capra and Canis were considerably larger in the Pleistocene – a size difference now documented in other regions. Besides a Pleistocene-Holocene reduction in size, they underwent a further diminution associated with their domestication. It is possible that aurochs and wild boar recovered some of their former size after the Neolithic, perhaps due to a relaxation of hunting pressure after the Mesolithic. Domestic sheep, goats and cattle increased in size in more recent times perhaps reflecting Moslem and Christian improvements., La fauna neolítica de Lameiras incluye numerosas ovejas. Muchas pudieron ser identificadas al aplicar los criterios descritos por el fallecido J. Boessneck y por métodos métricos. Los huesos de oveja de los contextos del Neolítico temprano, algunos datados a través del C14, apuntan a la llegada de esta especie hacia el 5.450 cal. D.C. 3.000 años después de su domesticación a 5.000 km de distancia hacia el Oriente. De este modo, las ovejas fueron transportadas a un ritmo de 1,6 km al año lo cual es considerablemente más rápido que lo sugerido por la llamada teoría de la “ola de avance”. Por ello, parece probable que parte de este viaje se haya llevado a cabo en barco. La mayoría de los restos de mamíferos identificados en Lameiras representan formas domésticas que además de la oveja y alguna cabra incorporan vacuno y porcino. Desde un punto de vista zooarqueológico existe poca diferencia entre el Neolítico temprano y tardío. Sin embargo, el espectro de especies neolíticas contrasta con el de una pequeña muestra en el nivel musteriense que subyace a estos depósitos así como a otras muestras preneoliticas en Portugal. Es posible que en el sur de Portugal la adopción de la práctica ganadera haya sido rápida. Los valores de los restos de Canis, Bos, Ovis, Capra y Sus apuntan a varios momentos en los cuales los animales sufrieron cambios de tamaño, datos que encajan con el corpus osteométrico que se viene recopilando para el sector sudoccidental de la Península Ibérica. Bos, Capra y Canis eran considerablemente más grandes en el Pleistoceno, una diferencia de talla ahora documentada en otras regiones. Además de la reducción de tamaño durante la transición Pleistoceno-Holoceno estas especies sufrieron otra adicional asociada con su proceso de domesticación. Es posible que tanto uros como jabalíes recuperasen parte de sus antiguas tallas al concluir el Neolítico. Quizás ello se deba a una relajación en la presión de caza operada tras el Mesolítico. Las ovejas, cabras y vacas domésticas aumentaron de tamaño en épocas más recientes reflejando posiblemente mejoras en las prácticas pecuarias de musulmanes y cristianos.

An aurochs right humerus with a fragment of an embedded projectile point was discovered during excavations at early Neolithic Gobekli Tepe in south-eastern Turkey. Evidence for hunting trauma in bones is extremely rare in the prehistoric record from the Near East and Africa, while the dataset from Europe is much larger. In this contribution a hunting lesion from Gobekli Tepe and its context will be described and discussed against the background of data on similar hunting lesions found in Europe, the Near East and Africa. Communal hunting is identified as one strategy to hunt down large game like aurochs, which, in the case of Gobekli Tepe, will be placed in the socio-cultural context of large scale gatherings.

Present-day domestic cattle are reproductively active throughout the year, which is a major asset for dairy production. Large wild ungulates, in contrast, are seasonal breeders, as were the last historic representatives of the aurochs, the wild ancestors of cattle. Aseasonal reproduction in cattle is a consequence of domestication and herding, but exactly when this capacity developed in domestic cattle is still unknown and the extent to which early farming communities controlled the seasonality of reproduction is debated. Seasonal or aseasonal calving would have shaped the socio-economic practices of ancient farming societies differently, structuring the agropastoral calendar and determining milk availability where dairying is attested. In this study, we reconstruct the calving pattern through the analysis of stable oxygen isotope ratios of cattle tooth enamel from 18 sites across Europe, dating from the 6th mill. cal BC (Early Neolithic) in the Balkans to the 4th mill. cal BC (Middle Neolithic) in Western Europe. Seasonal calving prevailed in Europe between the 6th and 4th millennia cal BC. These results suggest that cattle agropastoral systems in Neolithic Europe were strongly constrained by environmental factors, in particular forage resources. The ensuing fluctuations in milk availability would account for cheese-making, transforming a seasonal milk supply into a storable product.

Cattle were of great importance for the Neolithic farmers of southeastern Europe, in particular as farming expanded towards the well-watered regions of Džuljunica (ca. 6200–5500 cal. BCE), one of the earliest known Neolithic settlements in northeastern Bulgaria. The clear stratigraphy and the substantial Bos assemblage from Džuljunica Provided us with a great opportunity to investigate the beginning and evolution of cattle husbandry in the northern Balkans through stable isotope and zooarchaeological analyses. The relative abundance of Bos at Džuljunica leaves no doubt about the importance of beef and cattle herding. Mortality profiles suggest a transition in the early phases of the Neolithic from beef-oriented to mixed beef and milk production husbandry, enabled through intensified post-lactation culling. Stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis of tooth enamel on a limited number of samples provides no evidence for an extended calving season for increasing milk availability or for vertical mobility. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values of bone collagen suggest that cattle were kept near the site, where C3 and C4 plants were available in summer, and that they were occasionally foddered with forest resources in the winter. Cattle experience a diachronic reduction in size on a regional scale, possibly due to farmers' choices aimed at more manageable herds consisting of smaller individuals. Restricting intermixing with local aurochs and the arrival of a new type of cattle may also have contributed to this change. Local factors or inter-regional influences may have influenced the ways cattle husbandry evolved at Džuljunica in particular and in northeastern Bulgaria more generally. More data from the region are necessary to flesh out the role of the interplay among environmental factors, local developments, and inter-regional contacts that facilitate the transfer of skills and traditions relating to the changing modes of cattle husbandry.

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This paper analyzes archaeozoological data on globally extinct wild cattle (Bos primigenius Bojanus 1827) from the Holocene sites in Serbia through time, giving support to the research of its extinction dynamics. It is suggested that aurochsen were rare creatures in past landscapes of Serbia. At the onset of the Holocene, with climate changes, their habitats expanded, while they were hunted the most during the Neolithic. Since the Eneolithic, the number of their occurrences significantly declined, probably as a consequence of indirect anthropogenic influence. The fragmentary populations survived at least until the early Medieval period in Serbia. Рад се бави проучавањем динамике изумирања дивљег говечета (Bos primigenius Bojanus 1827) на територији Србије на основу анализе археозоолошких података из периода холоцена. Претпостављено је да је дивље говече представљало ретку врсту, која је насељавала пејзаже Србије у прошлости. Почетком холоцена, када је дошло до климатских промена, хабитати ове врсте су проширени. Дивље говече највише је ловљено током неолита, док у енеолиту њихов број значајно опада, највероватније услед посредних утицаја човека. Мање популације ових животиња преживеле су у Србији најмање до раног средњег века.

[EN] Cattle was one of the main species raised by the first Neolithic farmers in the Iberian Peninsula. In most of the sites, domestic Caprines were the basis of the economy, with cattle being a complement. However, there were some exceptions, especially in open-air settlements, where bovines were the main species bred. This is the case of the necropolis of Bòbila Madurell (4210-3670 cal BC), the most extensive of the Iberian Middle Neolithic in surface and number of tombs. The importance of the cattle in the ritual of this site has been related to its economic importance for these groups of the Middle Neolithic. This work focuses on the zooarcheological study of cattle remains recovered in the two main sectors of this necropolis, “Madurell Sud” and “Madurell Ferrocarrils”. The aim is to analyse the management of cattle herds during the Middle Neolithic. The osteometric analyses and the determination of the age-at-death and obtaining mortality profiles have been the basis of this study. Osteometric analysis has made it possible to differentiate between the remains of cattle and their agriotype, the aurochs. Mortality profiles provide information on the economic use of these animals. 37 individuals were identified from 20 structures. Based on the osteometric analysis, we have characterized the whole and ruled out the presence of wild specimens or aurochs (Bos primigenius). Mortality profiles indicate that the herd was exploited basically for meat, once its optimum weight was obtained, and secondarily for milk, [ES] En la ganadería neolítica de la Península Ibérica el bovino doméstico (Bos taurus) fue el segundo taxón en importancia, después de los ovicaprinos. Algunos yacimientos constituyen una excepción y presentan una mayor abundancia de bovino. Éste es el caso de la necrópolis de la Bòbila Madurell (4210-3670 cal BC), la más extensa del Neolítico Medio peninsular en superficie y en número de tumbas. El objetivo de este trabajo es estudiar la configuración de la cabaña bovina a partir de los conjuntos faunísticos registrados en los principales sectores de la necrópolis. Un volumen de restos importante ha permitido diferenciar 37 animales en 20 estructuras. Basándonos en el análisis osteométrico se caracteriza el conjunto y se descarta la presencia de ejemplares salvajes o uros (Bos primigenius). Los resultados indican que el rebaño fue explotado básicamente para la obtención de carne una vez obtenido su peso óptimo y secundariamente para el aprovechamiento de la leche., [EU] Iberiar penintsulako abeltzaintza neolitikoan, eta ardiak ondoren, garrantziari dagokionez bigarren taxona etxeko behi-azienda (Bos taurus) izan zen. Aztarnategi batean, salbuespena dira eta behin-azienden kopurua ugariagoa da. Horixe bera gertatzen da Bòbila Madurelleko nekropoliaren kasuan (K.a. 4210-3670 gutxi gorabehera). Azalerari eta hilobi kopuruari dagokienez, Iberiar penintsulako Erdiko Neolitoko handiena da. Lan honen helburua da nekropoliko sektore nagusietan erregistratutako multzo faunistikoetatik abiatuta behi-aziendaren konfigurazioa aztertzea. Aztarnen bolumena handia denez, 20 egituratan 37 animalia bereizi ditugu. Azterketa osteometrikoan oinarrituta, multzoa karakterizatu eta uroen (Bos primigenius) edo ale basatien presentzia baztertu dugu. Emaitzek agerian utzi dute azienda haragia lortzeko ustiatu zutela batez ere haien pisu egokia lortutakoan, eta bigarren mailan, aldiz, esnea aprobetxatzeko., Este trabajo se ha realizado bajo el soporte de la beca Juan de la Cierva-Formación P. Martín (FJCI-2016-29045) y de varios proyectos nacionales. Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competividad: HAR2017-87695-P, HAR2016-75201-P, HAR2011-23149 and HAR2017-87695-P. Generalitat de Catalunya: SGR2017-00011.

An assemblage of 120 mammal remains of Pleistocene age has been collected from the fluvial deposits of river Raba at a gravel pit in the village of Targowisko, 30 km east of Krakow, southern Poland. Nearly 100 remains represent woolly mammoth Mammuthus primigenius . Other remains belong to four or five such mammal species as horse Equus ferus , woolly rhinoceros Coelodonta antiquitatis, red deer Cervus elaphus and steppe bison Bison priscus or aurochs Bos primigenius . Pleistocene coarse-grained deposits containing isolated bones, teeth and tusks occur in the lowermost part of the fluvial succession in the open pit, presently inundated by groundwater. The surfaces of the majority of bones and teeth show abrasion damages by fluvial transport, including their rounding and smoothing as well as scratches and grooves. Traces of carnivore activity are visible on mammoth and horse bones. The location, dimension and shape of these marks suggest wolf or cave hyena gnawing.