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    1991 Late Neo Subsistence Central Balkans Zooarchaeology Greenfield JFA

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    Fauna from the Late Neolithic of the Central Balkans: Issues in Subsistence and Land Use Haskel J. Greenfield Journal of Field Archaeology, Vol. 18, No. 2 (Summer, 1991), 161-186, Stable URL hitp:/flinks jstor-orgisii sici=0093-4690% 28199 122% 29 18%3A2%3C 161%3AFFTLNO%3E2.0,CO%3B2-8 Journal of Field Archaeology is currently published by Boston University ‘Your use of the ISTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR’s Terms and Conditions of Use, available at hup:/www,jstororglabout/terms.hml. ISTOR’s Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www jstor.orgyjoumals/boston html Each copy of any part of @ JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the sereen or printed page of such transmission. STOR is an independent not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating and preserving a digital archive of scholarly journals. For more information regarding JSTOR, please contact support @jstor.org, hupulwwwjstor.org/ Pri May 13 16:14:28 2005, Fauna from the Late Neolithic of the Central Balkans: Issues in Subsistence and Land Use Haskel J. Greenfield Univesity of Manitoba ‘Winnipeg, Canada The earliest “proc-urban” socites in Europe north ofthe Aegean appear inthe central Balkans during the Late Neolithic and, as a result, are frequently included in discusions of the evolution of comple societies in Europe. Although such discusions oftn consider subi tence, litee caoarchacological research has been undertaken in the central Balkans. This study has two goals. First, it introduce and reviews the nature, quality, and problems per- taining t0 each ofthe major Late Neolithic zooarchacologica samples from this area to dem- onstrate the dificult of inter asemblage comparison. Sceon, it explores the potential of these asemblages for reconstructing animal exploitation strategies and land use patterns during the Late Neolithic, which are essential for understanding the economic process in- 161 volved in the evalution of early complex societies in sx Exeope. Introduction ‘The evolution of complex societies in temperate Europe has tong fascinated students of prehistory. The earliest ‘complex socioeconomic systems in Europe north of the ‘Mediterranean littoral appear in the northern half of the Balkan peninsula (#16. 1; hereafter referred to as the cen- tral Balkans) during the latter half of the Neolithic. The Late Neolithic “Vinéa” culture of the central Balkans (4500-3300 b.c., uncalibrated) witnessed the consolida- tion of farming adaptations by the earliest agriculturalists, the development of the earliest European metallurgy, and the development of the earliest hierarchically-organized societies in Europe north of the Mediterranean (Barker 1985; Chapman 1981; McPherron and Srejovié 1971; Tringham 1971; Tringham et al. 1980). As a result, the Late Neolithic of the central Balkans is considered one of the most crucial periods in European prehistory and has, become one of the most intensively investigated prehis- toric periods in the region. Many scholars have proposed. explanatory models, often including economic or subsis- tence components (with a paucity of supporting data), for the rise, maintenance, or fall of the “proto-urban” cultures of Late Neolithic temperate st Europe (e.g., Bankoff and Greenfield 1984; Barker 1985; Bokényi 1974a; Chapman 1981; GaraSanin 1973, 1983; Gimbutas 1973; Greenfield 1984a, 1984b; Sterud 1978). If economic processes are recognized as fundamental to the emergence of complex societies, economic data must be collected and used to test models for their evolution. While relatively little paleobotanical data has been sys- tematically collected and analyzed from the region (with the exception of Dennell 1978), systematic zooarchaco- logical research is entering its third decade, Neither the few systematic zo0archacological studies nor the second ary discussions employing such data, however, have paid attention to the taphonomic history of samples or to the ‘methodological problems connected with analyzing the fauna from this period and region. It is only after such issues are addressed that prehistoric economies or site- specific and regional trends in animal exploitation strate- ies can be discussed. Since patterning in assemblages may not directly reflect prehistoric behavior, the processes that ‘modified the original assemblage must be understood be- fore proceeding from one to the other. For example, some of the more observable patterning may be traced to pro- cesses that destroy or remove specific categories of bone (such as weathering, bone density, and recovery method- cology) rather than to prehistoric human activities (Gifford 1981; Lyman 1987; Meadow 1980). Zooarchacological research in Eastern and Central Eu- rope extends back more than a century (BOkOnyi 19742), but most studies are little more than species lists and simple bone counts (e., Nicolaescu-Plopsor 1980). This is particularly true of work in the central Balkans, where, for example, there is only a handful of published and systematically analyzed faunal assemblages. Also, differ- ences in theoretical and methodological. perspectives adopted in these studies have produced analyses leading 162 Fauna from the Neolithic Balhans\Greenfeld Ze t >) YUGOSLAVIA “AX, OMANIAG “ o lees Belerade ORAS : f SOS % a X So | ‘ ec a Ses os ay é oF do Le & >| ce No Js) Satin a KieARs ist Adriatic € sea ’ FC SSS z je blema Figure 1. Map of the central Balkans, with locations of sites men- tioned in the text. . D = Divostin; G = Gomolav; J Jela; LJ = Ljulaci, © = Opovo; OB = Obre Il; P= etnies Vinca, to interpretations frequently at variance with each other, of different quality, and of limited comparability. These shortcomings in the database become of paramount im- portance when one attempts to reconstruct prehistoric economies on the basis of inter-site patterning in bone assemblages. This study first reviews the nature, quality, and prob- Jems underlying each of the systematically-analyzed Late Neolithic faunal samples from the central Balkans in order to demonstrate the difficulty of inter-assemblage compar- ison. Second, it explores the potential ofthese assemblages, for reconstructing animal exploitation strategies and land tse patterns in the context of the evolution of early com- plex societies in st Europe. ‘The Region ‘The central Balkans encompasses the eastern half of ‘modern Yugoslavia, including central and southern Serbia, southern Vojvodina, eastern Bosnia, and Macedonia (1G 1). Tt coincides for the most part with the spatial extent of the Late Neolithic Vinéa “culture” and some of the neighboring ceramic groups, such as Butmir in Bosnia ‘This region was selected as the focus for discussion partly because of the dearth of published, systematic analyses of Late Neolithic fauna from neighboring areas. Most pub- lished accounts consist of species-frequency lists or prelim- inary reports, usually lacking detailed supporting data. ‘The term Balkan is an apt description of the environ- ‘mental context of the sites. Originally a Turkish word, it means a chain of (forested) mountains when used in Ser- bian (Klaié 1982; Navy 1944). Several interconnected mountain systems course through the Balkan peninsula, and the central Balkans is a particularly complex topo- ‘graphical zone. More than 37% of the land lies above 500 ‘m (Turnock 1989: 8), with large basins and flat plains in juxtaposition to high mountain zones. This variation in land forms within a small area has a strong influence on local climate, which is transitional berween that of tem- perate Central Europe and the more arid Mediterranean basin, Climate and plant and animal communities take on different characteristics not only in a general n-s gradient, but also do so with increasing altitude. Neighboring val leys often exhibit very different combinations of regional ‘environmental variables, yet retain the general pattern of ‘environmental diversity within the area as a whole. Central Balkan Chronology ‘The temporal limits of this study coincide with those of the Vinéa culture, ca. 4500-3300 b.c., and some of the neighboring ceramic groups, such as Butmir in Bosnia (for corrected, but not dendrochronologically calibrated “C dates: Chapman 1981; Garaianin 1983; Gimbutas 1976; Tringham 1971; Tringham et al. 1980; TABLE 1) ‘The Vinga culture has been subdivided by individual scholars into different chronological periods based on the stratigraphy and typology of ceramic artifacts excavated at the type site of Vinéa, located on the Danube near Bel- grade, Vinéa was initially excavated by Vasié (1932-36) during the first decade of this century and has remained ‘one of the anchors of the Neolithic chronology of sé Europe since Childe’s seminal synthesis (1929; Chapman 1981). The most-used chronologies were devised by Mi- lojtié (1949) and GaraSanin (1973, 1983), while a less popular scheme has been proposed by Chapman (1981). Milojéie’s system, with its four major chronological phases (A through D) ‘and additional subphases, is the most widely used and is followed here (TABLE 1) because a majority of the published assemblages are referable to it. GaraSanin proposed an alternative (and only slightly less widely cited) chronology for the period, which not only emphasizes the continuity within the earlier and later phases, but also points out discontinuity between them. He divided the Vinéa culture into an earlier Vinéa-Tordos Journal of Field Archacolgy/Vol. 18, 1991 163 ‘Table 1. Chronology, assemblage size (number of mammal fragments identified to the species level), and assemblage diversity (number of identified mammal species) of Late Neolithic sites discussed in the text. For chronology, based on unrecalibrated “C dates, cf. Chapman 1981; Garaanin 1983; Gimbutas 1976; Tringham et al. 1980; ‘Tringham and Brukner 1985. mbps Aaa Sie ee tm Crone ‘Anza IV 3,007 2 Vinge A,B Divostia I 10,782 15 Vines D, Pose D Gomoliva 2570 1B Vinee B,C, D bee It 28,909 18 Vinés BLODI pov ‘631 10 Vinta B,C Petnica 568 ry Vinga B,C, D (Land Il) and a later Vinéa-Ploénik (I, ITA, and IIB). The ‘two systems are rarely confused since they are nearly co- terminous (Vinéa-Tordos I = Vinéa A, Vinta-Tordos It = Vinéa B, Vinéa-Plosnik I = Vinéa C, Vinéa-Ploénik II = ‘Vinéa D) (Tringham 1971; Tringham et al. 1980). Chap- ‘man, on stratigraphical, typological, and chronological ‘grounds, groups Milojéie’s Vinéa A, B, and C sequentially in an Early Vinéa period, while placing Vinéa D and later Vinéa groups in the Late Vinéa. The published faunal samples from the region are rarely subdivided by phase (Milojeiés or others), and only the faunal remains from the six sites under consideration were systematically ana- lyzed and published: Anza, Obre II, Divostin, Gomolava, Petnica, and Opovo.! ‘The Late Neolithic of the Central Balkans ‘The Late Neolithic settlement system dominates the archaeological landscape with its substantial settlements, high density of remains, and high degree of preservation. ‘The distinctive ceramics, lithics, and other material culture remains attract the attention of prehistorians in a manner that makes those of preceding and succeeding prehistoric phases pall by comparison. Cultural assemblages of com- parable visibility are not found until much later, in the Classical period. The Late Neolithic has, therefore, been the most intensively studied prehistoric phase in the cen- tral Balkans. At last count, there were more than 668 known Late Neolithic sites, of which 179 or more have been partially excavated (Chapman 1981; Kaiser and Voy- tek 1983). Large settlements tend to be relatively evenly spaced and settlement size/function analyses reveal the 1, Several other zoarchacologclasembags from this period were also examined, bo were not need in the analy This war dc to a Yareyof foe such at extreme sleivy f ertain species or by by excavators (eq Jel Saba Tebuhovic and Vaseie 1984; Banja Todorov and Cemanonic 1961) ‘emergence of simple, functional spatial hierarchies, with 10,000 fragments). ‘Some of the samples in question (Opovo and Petnica), however, ae relatively small, and NISP is more useful for the analysis of small samples, especially those with unequal species frequency ratios (Gilbert, Singer, and Perkins 1982). Also, MNI counts are not given for all of the samples, being available only for the total remains of each species from three of the sites (Obre Il, Divostin TT, and ‘Anza IV). In each instance the values were calculated in the same manner (Bokényi 1970). Finally, NISP counts are available for all of the sites, making the samples more comparable. They were calculated slightly differently from site to site, however. In the NISP counts from Opovo and Pemica, whole and partially-articulated skeletons and limbs were not double-counted. Articulated specimens ‘were counted only once. Antler and horn fragments were few and mostly attached to cranial elements (Greenfield 1986). The NISP counts from Gomolava were recalcu- lated (Clason 1979) without the large quantities of loose horn and antler fragments to prevent them from statisti cally overwhelming the species without comparable ele ‘ments. In this way, the Gomolava data became more com- parable to Opovo and Petnica, where there were fewer such elements. The question of clement articulation was not directly addressed in the published analyses from Gomolava, Anza IV, Obre II, and Divostin Il. Whole skeletons were not found in the last three, however. Sample fraction is another important consideration ‘when quantifying faunal assemblages. Many studies main- ‘ain a minimum cut-off point below which sample quan- tification is deemed unreliable (Chaplin 1971; Uerpman 1973). Where sample fraction is unknown, 500 bones is an oft-mentioned value, although McGovern (1983: 83) uses 300 identifiable specimens from each phase of occu- pation in a locality as the minimal frequency level for ‘quantitative comparisons. Sample fraction is unknown from three of the samples, and even the total number of bones is unknown from Anza IV, Divostin, and Obre I. ‘Asa result, sample size is used as a proxy measure for sample fraction because it is the only one available. Each sample at east has the widely-agreed-upon minimum sam- ple size for quantitative analysis (>500 identified frag- ‘mentsphase) Assemblage Size and Species Diversity ‘The total fragment count of identified and unidentified specimens (TABLE 2) is unknown for half of the sample (Anza IV, Divostin II, and Obre If). Also, nonmammalian samples were in most cases haphazardly collected. As a result, the following discussion reffects use of the identi- fied fraction of mammalian (TABLE 1) remains instead of the total assemblage. Species counts by separate Vinéa phases are available only for Anza, Opovo, Petnica, and Divostin. The Gom- lava assemblage was not published by separate levels, and at Obre Il it i difficult to correlate the major occupational phases with the counts of species for each stratum. Also, the size of the identified mammal-bone sample varies widely from site to site (TABLE 1). Only Obre II and Divostin II have substantial samples; the rest have smaller samples and identifiable fractions. Of the latter group, ‘Anza IV has the largest sample, while Petnica has the smallest. Assemblage size scems to be generally correlated with species diversity (TABLE 1), although this is not statistically Journal of Field Archacolog/Vol. 18, 1991 169 very significant, probably due to the small number of samples (coefficient of determination R? = 0.69; coeffi- 80% before the first year), while females have higher rates of survival through adulthood. More than half (50-60%) of the har- vest profile will be infants or juveniles, killed during the first year of life. The rate of attrition would decrease dra- matically afterwards. Where wool production is empha- sized, the emphasis shifts toward adults regardless of sex since both sexes can produce wool year after year. Kill off ‘occurs later in life, as the quality of wool declines (Green- ficld 1988; Higgs and Jarman 1969; Payne 1973: 281, figs. 2, 3) “These models are idealized and may not directly con- form to “real world” conditions. Most subsistence econ- ‘mies exploit animal herds with a mixture of the above strategies, confusing the interpretation of archacological harvest profiles. Ifthe mortality curve from a site conforms more to one of the above models than to others, then the conditions producing that model may be a possible expla- nation for the composition of the assemblage. For exam- plc, changes in the shape of the distribution curve can reflect alterations in the culling pattern and changes in the ‘uses to which the animals were put. Most analyses utilize the full range of bone parts from each species. Yer this ignores problems of differential survival and recovery of Journal of Fild Archacolegy/Vol. 18, 1991 71 bone elements. Bones of younger individuals or those of lower density will break up and disintegrate at a faster rate than those same bones of older individuals or portions from the harder, denser elements of the skeleton. Hand- collection recovers greater proportions of the bones of larger (and usually older) individuals than those of the smaller (and younger) animals. As a result, the harvest profile may be artificially biased toward older age classes. For this reason, many analysts prefer relatively hardy bbone elements for age determination. Mandibles are fre- quently chosen because they survive attrition better than ‘most other bone elements and are a frequently-collected body part, even by excavators utilizing hand techniques of recovery. Several methods have been offered to build age profiles from mandibles and teeth (Carter 1975; Crab tree 1982; Grant 1975; Payne 1973; Wilson, Grigson, and Payne 1982). Mandibles, however, are not the only source of age information used, and they also may be subject to attritional and analytical biases. For example, differential discard affects interpretation if only certain types of con- texts are investigated (such as the center and deepest part of the site, which could be middens and/or habitation areas). Relatively meat-poor elements might have been discarded off-site or used as tools (Gilbert 1979), biasing their distribution in the assemblage. Relying upon a single 65-70%), increasing, by 5% from Divostin I to II. The number of more mature specimens also increases slightly. This is the highest adult frequency among the samples. Subadults form the next largest group, while infant/juveniles are rare, probably re- flecting the fragility of their bones and poor preservation conditions. The cow:bull ratio (based on measurements) is 1:1. Te has been suggested that this pattern reflects a differing production emphasis at Divostin than at Obre IL (ie. that cattle at Divostin were raised for meat as well as some other reason, such as traction, wealth, and/or a status-related function: Bokonyi 1988). Cattle age distributions for Early and Late Neolithic ‘Anza were combined by BokOnyi (1976). Adults are best represented (60%), and Anza’s adult percentage is second, in an overall ranking of sites. Analysis of sheep elements revealed significant underrepresentation of younger age classes, which is probably the case for cattle. If the em- phasis upon adults is a function of bone attrition, imma- ture frequencies would have been higher. ‘At Petnica, cattle frequencies change from 19.5% (Vinéa B) to 34.7% (Vinéa C) to 33.6% (Vinga D). Part of the variation may be sample size, since most bones 109 % oy Temperate Uplond 0° \emperate /” sey CATTLE os SemisArid /wadhertoneon" Environment Journal of Field Archacolegy'Vol. 18, 1991 173 “ ee Figure 2. Three pole graph showing relative fequency (%) of major domestic species (tot of cattle pig, and ovisprine bones) For symbols and ste abbreviations see Figure 1 (F = Franchthi (Gave, Small roman numerals repesent occupational phases within a site. A closed doe symbolizes sn upland site and an open dota lowland site in cach ofthe figures come from the Vina C phase. When all phases and frag- ‘ments are aggregated, the largest category is composed of adults (59%). The age profile, however, is based on post- cranial remains because it is less affected by differential survival of body parts by age group. This avoids the swamping effect caused by the overrepresentation of adult cranial fragments. The percentages of postcranial adult (44%) and juvenile specimens (15%) from Petnica are smaller, while infants are higher (5.5%) than comparable categories in the other sites. ‘The Gomolava and Opovo age distributions are based ‘on mandibles for three reasons. First, age data for the Gomolava sample are only available for mandibles and. maxillae (Clason 1979). Second, the Opovo mandibles were found to be the most reliable age indicators due to differential attrition (Greenfield 1986). Third, by using the same element for comparative purposes, these two sites in similar lowland environments can be used to identify ‘common forms of habitat exploitation. At Opovo, man- dibles are evenly divided between subadults (40%) and adults (40%), with the remainder being from juveniles (20%). Among all the sites, these are the highest percent- ages for subadults and lowest for adults. Juveniles fall toward the upper end of the distribution. Gomolava has, ‘more juveniles and infants combined (33%) than all the other sites, but the fewest subadults (21%). Adults are at the lower end of the range (45%). ‘Two:pole scatter-plots of immature:mature cattle per- ‘centages (F1G. 3) yield a near-linear pattern from high immature to high mature. This relationship seems to be related to topography (upland versus lowland), but is not interpretable in terms of production strategies. There is not enough separation between plots of the aggregated age classes reflecting ideal culling strategies (milk, meat: Payne 1973) for this format to be useful When Payne’s harvest profiles and the cattle age distri butions from our sites are plotted onto a three-pole for- ‘mat, more subtle distinctions among sites appear (FIG. 4).* 4, The data fom Divostin and Obre Il are not included since the cattle, ovicaprine, and pig age groups were not quantfed in 3 manner tucful for this made of analysis 174 Fauna from the Neolithic Balkans\Greenfeld lowland so} Immature PD Upland tr wo Mature Figure 3. Two-pole scatter pot of relative frequency (%6) ‘of immature versus mature cate, For abbreviations and symbols see Figure 1 Very Immature This calculation is done by dividing the percentage of remains that could be aged into three groups: very im- ‘mature (neonatal, infantile, and juvenile), subadult, and adult. These are age distinctions most similar t0 those recognized by the majority of traditional herders. When juvenile/subadult specimens or those classified only as im- ‘mature are encountered, they are divided evenly between very immature and subadult. Neonatal, infantile, and ju- venile specimens are combined because of the difficulty in identifying the exact age group of the youngest bones and the poorer recovery and preservation of bones of the younger age groups. All very immature classes are com- ‘bined in the hope that the obvious attrition affecting these age groups can be compensated for to some degree. In contrast, bones that fuse before adulthood, such as pha- langes, can only be aged to the combined subadultadult age category. Early-fusing bones are poor indicators of the age at death. It is impossible to determine by traditional morphological observation whether the animal died as either a subadult or adult. In addition to fusing earlier than other bones in the skeleton, such subadultadult bones are relatively resistant to attritional processes such as weathering and erosion. As a result, they were excluded because they do not reflect a specific age group. Harvest profiles are slightly different for upland and lowland samples, with larger numbers of adults in the uplands. This may reflect differing subsistence orientations bberween upland and lowland sites, a subject explored in a later section, It is interesting that the profile from Anza (which is earlier than the other Neolithic samples and Figure 4. Tree pole scarer plot of relative frequency (3) of 3 major cate age groups to illustrate how closely the age curves approximate chose fom ideal hends managed mostly for meat or milk. For abbreviations and symbols, see Figure 1 which is found in 2 more Mediterranean environment) resembles the distribution from Petnica, a northern upland. site. Attrition was too great in all of the samples to expect to find large numbers of immature specimens (subadults and very immature). Ifthe very immature (infant-juvenile) percentages are increased to compensate for differential attrition, each sample would move closer to the meat node oon the three-pole graph. The age distributions are still closest to the primary products distribution, indicating that cattle during the Late Neolithic of the central Balkans ‘were probably exploited largely for their meat, hide, and bone. OVICAPRINES The relative frequencies of ovicaprines varied from a high of 70.9% (Anza IV) to a low of 6.1% (Opovo). All Journal of Fild Archacolegy/Vol. 18, 1991 178 of the samples, except that from Anza, had fewer than 13.5% ovicaprines (TABLE 3). They are uncommon on temperate European sites (except in the dry loess plateaus, of the Carpathian basin: BokOnyi 1974a). ‘The more Med- iterranean-type environment of Macedonia seems to ac- count for Anza’s distinctiveness. The moist forest zone north of the Mediterranean is not part of the natural habitat of sheep (Geist 1971). ‘At Obre II, BOkSnyi claims the sheep:goat ratio is ap- proximately 4:1, without separately enumerating either species nor indicating whether the ratios represent MNI for number of bone fragments. Most are juveniles and subadults, but there are more adults among the sheep. No ‘mature or senile sheep were found, but there were a few ‘mature and senile goats. The slightly larger pool of older adult goats has been used to argue for some secondary- Table 4. Relative frequencies of age classes from Late Neolithic sites (based upon all fragments unless otherwise noted). Taw Tie Tene ‘ate a ‘are Oni aries Divosin < 70 > 230 Obre It = most > ret Ana LIV 440 40 19. ives ‘Obve Ir e < most > rest few Divostin UL : = most S test few ‘Ana LIV > = soao |S 400-500 > OniCapra (al ovicapine fragments) Gomolaat 5 470 50 470 : 7 400 200 400 Shove 280 250 500 Pesnica : Bs a7. : rears Divenin TT < 30.0-35.0 > 65.0-75.0 few Anza LIV 17 182 214 600 : Petnica 48 n3 209 597 - Petia 55 153 292 4a Gomolavat 30 300 210 450 Opovo 200 00 400 - Opor0, 09 5537) 31s. 583 Su sera dom, Obre I few < most > few Divosin LAT < 00 > 200 ‘Ana LIV 470 400 130 Pemnics 89 as) 239 209 a8 Pemica®™ 85° 43) 130 31 Pemnicat 500 200 300 Gomolavat 90 20 300 39.0 Opovor 360 310 320 pore. 7 20 (68) 373, 322 ‘cranial fragments “mandibles Sposteanial clements “<> indicates che range of age clases tha the percentage represents (O represents the proportion of remains tha were Mentifable only to ether ofthe age classes chat they are placed between indicates that dhe clas was not represented. P indicates tha afew fagmenes may posibly be present from this age cls 176 Fauna from the Neolithic BalkansiGreenfield Pp cont Temperate Lowland ond Som Uplond .D SHEEP Temperate Upland ¢ 3 Tee Mature Figure 5. Two-pole sarter plot of relative frequency (16) of immature versus mature ovicapines; Anza uses goats, Divestin ses sheep. For abbreviations and symbol, sce Figure 1 products exploitation (Bokinyi 1974b: 73-76). The sup- porting data are insufficient, however. At Divostin, the sheep:goat ratio is 8:1. Most male sheep are infants, juveniles, or subadults. Adults constitute 23% of the sample, based on the horn cores. Most goat remains are from juveniles and subadults. There are pro- portionately a few more adult goats than sheep, and there are a few very mature and senile goats (Bokényi 1988). This is an unlikely secondary-product harvest profile ‘At Anza, ovicaprines are the most common species. There is a 6:1 sheep:goat ratio among those Anza LIV ovicaprine bones that could be identified specifically as sheep or goat (less than 10% of the total ovicaprine sam- ple: 1377 out of 14,100 bones). Among the sheep, only males were slaughtered before their first winter. Most (80%) of the females and most of the remaining males were killed as subadults. Only 7.89% of the males and 20% Of the females survived into adulthood, a harvest profile approximating primary product exploitation. The high frequencies of crania at Anza made the identification of very immature ovicaprines to specific taxonomic levels possible, an otherwise extremely difficult task (BOkSnyi 1976). In contrast to sheep, goats have slightly higher adult frequencies (how much higher is unclear), This dif ference may be interpreted as exploitation for both pri- mary and secondary products. Differential survival of sheep versus goat remains is an unlikely explanation for these differences (BokOnyi 1976: 329-330). ‘The ovicaprine sample size from Petnica is very small (17, oF 6.2%), with only four fragments identified to the species level (two goat and two sheep). The specifically identified taxa all come from the Vinéa B levels. In the later Vinéa layers (C and D), only indeterminate ovica- prine fragments are identified. Adults (87.5%) dominate the assemblage when age data are aggregated from all Vinéa layers. This pattern could indicate that secondary products exploitation strategies were emphasized, but is probably due to differential attrition and small sample size. Otherwise Petnica conforms to the general pattern of an- imal exploitation found at the other upland localities such as Divostin, whenever Petnica has larger samples (FIGS. 4, 5). The greater emphasis on ovicaprines at Gomolava (13.0%) than Opovo (6.1%), if not simply attributable to sample size variance, may be explained by the moister (swampy) conditions around the later site. At the former, the soil is slightly better drained, with fewer standing bodies of water. Otherwise the Gomolava and Opovo profiles are remarkably similar, even though separate sheep and goat patterns could not be distinguished (A:T. Clason, personal communication 1981; Greenfield 1986). The majority of mandibles from Gomolava and all of the age- able bones from Opovo are from individuals slaughtered before adulthood. There are relatively few subadults and ‘more juveniles. The Gomolava harvest profile is reminis- cent of secondary product exploitation, while Opovo trends more toward the use of primary products. The different ovicaprine production emphasis (secondary rather than primary products) may be linked to the higher frequencies of goat at Gomolava (3:2 goat:sheep, Clason 1979) than at Opovo (1:4). Although the samples are too small to be considered statistically reliable, they are inter- esting in light of the possiblity of secondary products exploitation among goats at Anza. ‘A negative linear relationship (similar to that for cattle) is produced when ovicaprine age distributions are plotted in two dimensions (immature-mature: F1G. 6). As the per- centage of immature specimens increases, the percentage of mature specimens decreases (irrespective of environ- ‘mental context). The different age groups composing the ‘combined immature classes (very immature and subadult) are limited in the variability that can be expressed. Also, the different patterns in the ovicaprine distributions con- fuse the analysis. AA clearer picture of the interrelationship between ovi- caprine harvest profiles and environment emerges in the three pole analysis (F1G. 6). Three groups of sites can be distinguished: semi-arid upland sheep (Anza LIV); tem- perate lowland sheep/goat (Gomolava and Opovo); and temperate upland sheep/goat (Petnica)> There are higher 5. See note 3 100 % \Temperale \towlond &/ \'o a * Very Immature Journal of Field Archacology/Vol. 18, 1991 177 Figure 6, Thrce pole scarter-plor of relative fequency (%) of 3 major ovcaprine age groups to ilueate how closely the age curves approximate those from ideal herds managed mos for mest, ‘wool, oF milk For abbreviations and symbols, see Figure 1 percentages of very immature (40-47%) ovicaprine re- ‘mains in the temperate lowlands (Opovo, Gomolava) and. semi-arid uplands (Anza I-IV) than in the temperate up- lands (Petnica: 12.5%). Petnica is strongly skewed toward adults (87.5%), probably a result of sample size bias since the sample is very small (eight aged specimens). If Petnica is ignored and only the three larger samples are consid cred, there is a consistent pattern of high very-immature values for both upland and lowland sites. interest- ing in light of herd production strategies. Opovo and ‘Anza fall closest to the meat node, Gomolova between milk and wool, and Petnica far from all nodes, even wool. ‘There are several reasons why litle direct correspondence exists between the observed and expected harvest profiles First, the lack of clustering may reflect the differing en- vironmental contexts of the sites (Mediterranean upland Anza, temperate lowland Gomolava and Opovo, and up- land Petnica). Second is the difficulty of distinguishing sheep and goat exploitation patterns. Sheep at Anza seem. to be exploited more for primary than secondary products. A parallel can be seen at Divostin and Obre, where sheep and goats have different harvest profiles. If sheep and goat distributions could be separated at Gomolava and Opovo, sheep might tend more toward primary and goats toward secondary products. Third, the Anza data may be affected by temporal mixing, Fourth, Petnica’s anomalous distri- bution may be the result of several processes (e.g. limited area of excavation, small sample size, differing nature of site function, etc.). It is interesting that more very-im- mature specimens are found in lowland than in upland, sites. If greater attrition of very-immature remains oc- curred in upland sites, this would raise the percentage of the very immature and decrease that of the adults in the uplands. But there is no evidence that the Anza data (with a high very-immature percentage) are more biased than the lowland samples. Pics Domestic pigs are systematically underrepresented rel- ative to cattle in most temperate zone samples. The un-

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