Search

Osteological remains of small waders of the order Charadriiformes are regularly found in archaeological sites in Europe. Due to high taxonomic diversity, the rarity of some species in reference collections, and a lack of published diagnostic criteria, their identification poses challenges. To help resolve this issue, this study uses morphometric data, taken on a sample of extant wader skeletons, to identify metric criteria for species differentiation. Despite the relatively small sample size, the results show that multiple taxa can be distinguished using morphometrics. Used in conjunction with comparative morphological analysis, this morphometric method provides a valuable aid to zooarchaeologists working on wader remains from continental Northwestern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Early Holocene, northern China witnessed revolutionary changes, such as the emergence of sedentary lifestyles, the domestication of animals and plants, the spread of pottery making, and a radical restructuring of social relationships. During this period, the avifauna became an increasingly significant component of the diversified small game resources. This paper presents the results of a study of remains of pheasants, assigned to Phasianinae, recovered at the Xiaogao site in Shandong Province, northern China. The data show that the occupants of Xiaogao seasonally hunted predominantly male pheasants and systematically butchered them. They became familiar with the ecology and ethology of pheasants, and they were able to consciously and purposefully intensify the utilization of pheasants to a maximum foraging efficiency. Animal exploitation behaviors are manifestations and results of niche-construction efforts by human societies. This emphasizes humans’ capacity to actively exploit wild animal and plant resources and modify the environment and ecosystem to produce stable and sustainable subsistence economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the study of birds bone remains from the cultural layers of the medieval site of federal significance, the Ufa-II hillfort. In the course of the study 112 bone remains of birds from this hillfort were studied. This site dates back to the V–XVI centuries. The material was collected during excavations in 2007–2008, 2017 and 2022. Nowadays it is kept in the museum of the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology UB RAS. Identification of bone remains was carried out using classical methods – morphological and morphometric, using the D. Poland size database and statistical package R. As a result of combining the obtained data with previous studies, the dominant and subdominant groups of birds inhabiting the territory of the site during the Middle Ages were determined. For the first time, bone remains of the poultry were found in the cultural layers of the settlement. On this basis it was possible to suppose what kind of hunting activity and poultry keeping the population of the fortified settlement was engaged in during the period of its existence. Thanks to the revealed ecological structure of avifauna, it was established what landscapes prevailed on the adjacent areas.

Chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) is thought to have been introduced in Japan during the Yayoi period (5th century BC to 3rd century AD). However, according to historical documents and archeological materials, chickens were not commonly consumed as food until the early modern period. Many remains identified as chicken have been recovered from the archeological sites located in Edo, early modern Tokyo; however, the consumption pattern of chickens, such as age profile and sex ratio of consumed birds, has seldom been analyzed. To clarify how chicken consumption became popular in early modern Japan, we analyzed the bird assemblage from the Ichigaya Honmura‐cho site, mainly inhabited by samurai people between the 17th and 19th centuries. Our results revealed that chickens had been consumed at the site since the 17th century but chicken consumption as food might have increased and become more frequent after the 19th century. Moreover, it can be suggested that the chickens targeted for consumption were not limited to immature and female individuals, as it is in modern Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The end of the Pleistocene to the Holocene is a moment of particular interest, as several environmental changes coincided with some significant culture shifts: the Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic and the Palaeolithic to Neolithic transitions. Here we present the analysis of the environmental conditions during this period in the Northeast Iberian Peninsula, based on the bird remains from Cova Foradada (Calafell, Tarragona), a site known for its archaeological record, including the symbolic use of imperial eagle phalanges. The stratigraphic sequence of the site is divided into five units, spanning from the Late Pleistocene (Units V to III) to the Northgrippian (Units II and I). A total of 1310 avian remains from these five units have been analysed, revealing the presence of at least 25 bird taxa. This suggests a landscape dominated by open areas with forest or scattered trees. The presence of four species, currently absent around the site, could be related to habitat expansions during colder periods, or to sporadic visits to the area. The layers in Unit IV show a trend towards a reduction in woodlands and an increase of open areas, which may be related to the Heinrich 4 event (ca. 40Ka). The layers in Unit III show the lowest proportion of woodlands and the highest proportions or rocky areas in the sequence. In the Holocene units the presence of water bodies is indicated by the presence of aquatic taxa. Diurnal birds of prey appear to be the main contributors to the bird accumulation, and probably also contributed to the accumulation of leporids. The impact of humans on birds at the site has been documented in several remains, confirming the mixed origin of the avian accumulation and contributing to increasing cases of interaction between humans and large diurnal raptors during Iberian prehistory. • The assemblages from Cova Foradada reveal the presence of 25 avian taxa. • Birds from Pleistocene and Holocene units relate to open-forest landscapes. • Presence of species from colder habitats indicate moments of climatic harshening. • Diurnal birds of prey are the main accumulators of the assemblage. • Human action over the birds in both Pleistocene and Holocene assemblages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigating the origins of goose domestication relies on successful identification of this species and, specifically, distinguishing it from its wild, morphologically similar, form. Here we present the first attempt to separate wild and domestic geese recovered from Estonian archaeological assemblages using a combination of morphometrics and stable isotope analysis. To this aim, measurements from 159 archaeological bones were compared with modern specimens. Twenty‐five archaeological samples were chosen for stable isotope analysis based on their morphometrics. The results of this paper show that bones identified as "domestic" by their size and shape had significantly higher δ15N values compared with those identified as "wild." The higher δ15N could be a result of dietary differences, for example, the role of manured crops and/or animal protein in the diets of domestic geese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine archaeological bird remains from Klaipėda Castle (Ger. Memel), western Lithuania. The castle was built in 1252, and during the Middle Ages, it was the northernmost castle of the Teutonic Order in Prussia. The castle together with its adjacent town were subjected to wars and changing political situations over the centuries, but nevertheless represented a socially higher status. The studied bird remains were found during the excavations in 2016 and have been dated by context to the Middle Ages – from the end of the 13th to the beginning of the 14th century. Our aim is to introduce and discuss the bird remains with an emphasis on two species – the white-tailed sea-eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) and golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos). Most of all, we are interested in their role in expressing people’s social status, use in material culture, and significance as a food source. Our analysis showed that in Klaipėda, the eagles were probably used for raw material and possibly for feathers, but not for hawking and food. Alternatively, they could have been killed for scavenging. Other species identified in the assemblage such as chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus), grey partridge (Perdix perdix), geese (Anser sp.), ducks (Anatinae), and great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) were mainly interpreted as food waste. This article presents the first concentrated study on bird remains from Klaipėda and is one of the first discussions about the meaning of eagles in the Baltic region.

Copyright of Archaeologia Lituana is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Dolní Vĕstonice I and Předmostí I, two large and important Pavlovian sites in Moravia (Czech Republic), have yielded extraordinary assemblages of lithic artefacts as well as animal remains. In this paper, the bird remains from both these sites are analysed in terms of their species, anatomical representation and bone fragmentation. The large share of tetraonid and raven ( Corvus corax ) remains, and the overrepresentation of ulnas among the raven bones, are similarities shared by both sites included in the study, and by the other sites from Pavlovian times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New research affords new data on bird usage in the Pavlovian culture. This is the first article to report on bird remains excavated at Dolní Věstonice II and Pavlov II, and to discuss a small group of bones from Pavlov I. Although the two sites share a number of striking similarities, including the high frequency of Raven ( Corvus corax ), there are also some differences, e.g., in the ratio of the bird taxa. The former may be common for the whole Pavlovian culture; the latter may depend from specific usages of the sites by the Gravettian people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has long been recognized that the minimum number of individuals (MNI) and the number of taxa identified (NTAXA) are both often tightly related to the number of identified specimens (NISP) in a collection. The relationship between NISP and NTAXA has been suggested to vary between bird remains and mammal remains for three reasons that concern the rate at which identifiable skeletal parts of each are input to the zooarchaeological record. Rigorous testing of the relationship using 59 pairs of assemblages of bird and mammal remains confirms that the NTAXA of birds increases more rapidly per NISP than does the NTAXA of mammals per NISP. Data also indicate that two of the three proposed reasons (bird taxa outnumber mammal taxa on the landscape; each mammalian individual contributes more NISP than each avian individual) are the likely causes for intertaxonomic variability in the relationship between NISP and NTAXA. The third reason (fragmentation reduces identifiability of bird remains more rapidly than it does mammal remains) has yet to be empirically evaluated but is logical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The paper analyses more than 2000 avian remains from four sites that played a crucial role in the formation of the Polish State in the early Middle Ages: a stronghold and suburbium (extra-mural settlement) at Ostrów Lednicki, a settlement at Dziekanowice and a stronghold at Grzybowo. At least 25 taxa were found at all the sites. The domestic chicken clearly dominates among all the avian remains, followed by geese of the genus Anser. Other taxa, recorded in smaller numbers, indicate a mosaic of aquatic, woodland and open habitats. The relatively high percentage of immature domestic chicken (28-38%) suggests that it was kept both for meat and eggs. Hawking at Ostrów Lednicki can be indirectly inferred from the presence of remains of female goshawks and their possible prey. Remains of the peacock, capercaillie and black grouse support the high status of the sites. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Avian remains from a new quaternary site (Marmot Cave) in the NW Altai, Siberia, located very close to the famous Denisova Cave, have been studied. The fauna from Marmot Cave includes 19 extant taxa, three of which were not reported previously from Denisova Cave. Taphonomic analysis of the bird bones from the new site indicates a mixed origin for the material. The largest portion of bones evidently represents remains not eaten by large falcons, while a small part of the sample may be the prey of the Golden Eagle. Bones of the Black Grouse are of anthropogenic origin and apparently were brought to Marmot Cave from the human settlement of Denisova Cave. The faunal composition suggests a Holocene age for the sediments of Marmot Cave, which is in contradiction with data from mammal remains. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This is the first article that describes in detail the bird remains from the Gravettian mega-site Pavlov I in the Czech Republic. More than 1000 bird bones represent at least 19 taxa, of which the most numerous are tetraonids including black grouse (Tetrao tetrix), willow grouse (Lagopus lagopus) and ptarmigan (Lagopus muta), and ravens (Corvus corax). The archaeological and biological contexts indicate that most birds were hunted by people in the vicinity of the site, possibly with the help of knotted nets made from plant fibres. We suggest that ravens were killed while feeding on carcasses and/or food remains that may have been disposed of intentionally, and feathers may have been used for arrow fletching. Human-modified bones indicate that birds were used not only for food but also as raw material for tools and decoration. Although mammals were certainly more important in the subsistence of the Gravettian people, it is clear that birds played a role in their culture. The location of Pavlov I enlarges the explanatory scope of the Broad Spectrum Revolution hypothesis to include higher latitudes north of the Mediterranean. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]