Alba Regia. Annales Musei Stephani Regis. – Alba Regia. Az István Király Múzeum Évkönyve. 20. 1980 – Szent István Király Múzeum közleményei: C sorozat (1983)
Tanulmányok – Abhandlungen - Bartosiewicz László – Choyke, A. M.: Numerical classification of cattle astragali from pit 55 at Lovasberény-Mihályvár. p. 37–42.
NUMERICAL CLASSIFICATION OF CATTLE ASTRAGALI FROM PIT 55 AT LO VASBERÉNY-MIHÁLY VÁR This paper is an attempt to develop a zoological framework for the interpretation of a special feature which, as is characterictic for settlement material, contained some fragmented long bones (Olsen 1967) in addition to an unusually large number of complete short bones. The direct aim, which is to establish existential relationships, is not beyond the scope of statistical evaluation which may help in understanding further causal-deterministic relationships (CHANG 1967). The middle Bronze age hill-fortress of Lovasbereny — Mihályvár is located in the eastern section of central Transdanubia. Various excavators have identified it as largely belonging to the Vatya culture group which occupied much of northeastern Transdanubia around 1400 B.C. (Bandi—Petres 1969). Aside from the houses and pits of this settlement a shallow, round pit of approximately three meters diameter was also excavated in the smaller section of the two part hillfortress. Although the pit was only half a meter deep the excavators report that due to erosion it is likely that the top levels are missing. The function of this pit (No. 55) could not definitely be identified on the basis of the few archaeological artifacts found in it, thus a descriptive system was developed for cattle astragali independently of external evidence (Neustupny 1978) provided by the excavations but designed to be synthetised with it during subsequent interdisciplinary teamwork. Pit 55 at Lovasberény—Mihályvár contained 337 animal bones, the most important of which are summarized in Table 1. (1) The authors gratefully acknowledge É. F. Petres for kindly allowing access to research materials in the King Stephen Museum at Székesfehérvár. This study is the completed version of the paper delivered at the Fourth International Conference of ICAZ in .London, April 1982. on?) There were two practical considerations which directed attention to the 44 cattle astragali of this pit : 1. The composition of this assemblage (chiefly short bones from the least valuable meat bearing parts of the legs) suggests that the feature was different from average kitchen refuse pits. This possibility is also supported by its somewhat separate location at one edge of a large empty area on the highest part of the site. 2. Although the most numerous bones (phalanges of artiodactyls) in this sample can hardly be accurately identified as to precise location in the body (left, right, hind, fore, lateral, medial) and the number of easily measurable complete bones is insignificant, there were 44 cattle astragali offering a compromise between measurability and sample size, both of which limited the use of other bones in the analysis of this assemblage. Hypothesis and test implications It was hoped that a number of measurements would increase the descriptive power of this otherwise relatively large sample (44 identical, measurable bones from the same feature) and thus allow testing the following hypotheses: 1. Was there a continuity within the sample ie. do the individual bones represent variability within a single group? 2. Is it possible to distinguish between various groups within the sample (as age, sex or breed) on the basis of the variables chosen? Coefficients of correlation exceeding 0.8 were regarded high, and the minimum value for latent roots was 1. It is suggested that either of these hypotheses would be accepted onap^ 0.05 level of significante and this should contribute to the interpretation of the pit's possible function. 3.7
