Search

The discovery of Neolithic houses at Durrington Walls that are contemporary with the main construction phase of Stonehenge raised questions as to their interrelationship. Was Durrington Walls the residence of the builders of Stonehenge? Were the activities there more significant than simply domestic subsistence? Using lipid residue analysis, this paper identifies the preferential use of certain pottery types for the preparation of particular food groups and differential consumption of dairy and meat products between monumental and domestic areas of the site. Supported by the analysis of faunal remains, the results suggest seasonal feasting and perhaps organised culinary unification of a diverse community.

The aurochs ( Bos primigenius ) is generally agreed to be the wild ancestor of domestic cattle ( Bos taurus ) and an in-depth knowledge of this animal is therefore key to research exploring human–cattle interactions, and the origins and spread of cattle domestication. Domestic cattle are smaller than their wild ancestors, but there is also a degree of overlap between the two species, which means that distinguishing them can be problematic. However, previous analyses of aurochs morphology have generally been patchy, and do not provide a picture of aurochs variation across Europe according to environment, climate and geography. As a consequence, zooarchaeologists often refer to comparative biometrical data from geographical areas and time periods which may not be suitable for identifying remains from their study area. This paper presents results from a wide-ranging study of aurochs biometrical data, in order to provide an overview of its morphological variation across Europe, and highlight the importance of using geographically and climatically appropriate comparative data when attempting to identify and interpret the significance of aurochs remains. We also propose a set of ‘standard’ measurements from an aurochs population excavated at the site of Ilford (Essex, UK) dated to Marine Isotope Stage 7 with the hope that they will be of use to others seeking a suitable standard for the biometrical analysis of cattle populations, especially when looking for the presence of wild specimens.

The assemblage from Greenwich High Road has interesting implications for our\ud understanding of 18th and early 19th century tanneries and also of the use of bones as building\ud material. The study of the age at death of the animals revealed that the horncores are mostly from\ud fully adult individuals, probably culled draught animals. This hypothesis is supported by\ud biometrical analysis. The comparison of the Greenwich horncores with modern data and\ud archaeological evidence suggests that the Greenwich assemblage is predominantly composed of\ud oxen. The horncores were used to line a drain on the site and are likely to represent waste\ud material resulting from the activities that took place in the nearby tannery. Skins and horns were\ud removed for craft purposes while the bony cores, with no economic value, were simply used as\ud cheap and ready material to help the construction of the drain.

The recording of tooth wear is essential for the investigation of age in zooarchaeological assemblages, but most tooth wear methodologies apply only to mandibular teeth, thereby neglecting potentially valuable maxillary data. The large sample of pig maxillary jaws and teeth recovered at Durrington Walls has provided the opportunity to design a new recording method for maxillary as well as mandibular jaws. Work on previously excavated animal bone material from Durrington Walls (Albarella and Payne, 2005) suggested the possibility of seasonal pig killing at the site, but the issue has not, until now, been explored in detail. This paper therefore has a dual purpose: to describe the new method for recording tooth wear on pig teeth; and to use the new information from both the mandibular and maxillary teeth to explore pig age at death and seasonality at Durrington Walls. The results provide evidence of differential deposition of pigs of different ages at Durrington Walls, with one midden context containing younger pigs brought to the site to provide meat for predominately winter-based feasting events, and other contexts containing remains of older pigs (mainly in their second year) deposited in both domestic and more public locales also predominantly in winter. The study highlights the usefulness of maxillary teeth for our understanding of past systems of pig exploitation as well as the desirability of recording their wear in animal bone assemblages.