A Debreceni Déri Múzeum Évkönyve 1982 (Debrecen, 1984)

Régészet - Bökönyi Sándor: Animal Remains from the Sarmation Settlement of Biharkeresztes–Ártánd-Kis and Nagyfarkasdomb

Sándor Bökönyi ANIMAL REMAINS FROM THE SARMATIAN SETTLEMENT OF BIHARKERESZTES—ÁRTÁND—KIS- AND NAGYFARKASDOMB In the Sarmiatian (2nd to 3rd cent. A. D.) site mentioned in the title and consisting of two connected parts (Kisfarkasdomb and Nagyfarkasdomb) a small, but interesting animal bone sample was unearthed. In fact the domestic fauna of the site was conspicuous being rich in species and breeds as well. Among the domestic species, there was one which was completely new in Sarmatian territory and this as the ass whose origin can be follow back either to the northern coastline of the Black Sea or to the Roman province of Pannónia. The other one was the mule a crossing between horse and donkey, and if this supposition is true, this will be the first evidence for the occurrence of mules in the Oarpatian Basin. The remaining ones were the usual species — cattle, sheep, goat, pig, dog and hen — that practically occur in every Sarmatian site. The wild fauna was very poor in species, red deer, badger and brown hare were only unearthed. This is no surprise at all, the Sarmatians were not particularly great hunters. Among the domestic animals cattle and caprovines are the most fregment and this fact connected with the comparatively high ratio of the horse suggests a certain mobile character of the animal keeping of the inhabitanst. At the same time, the rather high ratio of the pig points to a certain settled way of life, consequently, one has to suppose a mixed economy of the inhabitants. Cattle, pig, sheep, goat and hen were represented by usual primitive breeds, however, among cattle a bone of a Romian import ox also appeared, and greyhounds of Roman origin (with probably some local crossings) were found too. The ass and mule can be originated from the northern coastal area of the Black Sea or — more probably — from the Roman province of Pannónia. (In fact, the mule remain of the site is the first one in Hungary, and the ass metacarpal fragment is the first evidence of ass in a Sarmatian site in Hungary). Regarding the remains of the wild species, the shed antler fragment of the red deer does not come from a killed stag but it is nothing but collected raw material for tool making. As such it represents a middle-size trophy with its burr circumference of 215 mm according our modern standards. The badger humerus and the four brown hare vertebrae come from each a subadult animal, thus the determination of their size is senseless. 265