Vadas Ferenc (szerk.): A Szekszárdi Béri Balogh Ádám Múzeum Évkönyve 13. (Szekszárd, 1986)

Sándor Bökönyi: Environmental and cultural effects on the faunal assemblages of four large 4th mill. B. C. sites

uses (milk, wool, draught power) are mainly killed in their adult or mature (sometimes also subadult) age because they can develop these uses only then. If one looks at the age group proportions of pig, a species without secondary uses, one can immediately see the very high ratio of newborn, juvenile and subadult individuals (Table 4). In Obre II, Aszód and Herpály, more than 80% of pigs were killed before reaching their second winter and to 45 to 56% out of them before their first winter. This means that 11,3 to 17,9% were only kept as breeding stock. In Poljanitza, the ratio of immature pigs is a little lower (65%) and the breeding stock higher (34%). Thus all of the four sites show a typical breeding strategy for a domestic species with only one use. In cattle and caprovines, the above ratios are quite different. In cattle, the ratio of immature to mature animals is between 46:54 and 50:50% the same in caprovines is between 48:52 and 60:40% respectively. This high ratio of mature animals proves the existence of some kind of secondary uses in these species. The age group proportions reveal little about the nature of these secondary uses too on the basis that certain secondary uses can excellently be exploited already in subadult age (e. g. wool), but others only reach their top in adult age (milk, draught power). In Table 4 one can observe that among cattle the adult & mature & senile ratio is much higher than of the subadult ones. Among caprovines, however, the frequency of the adult ones is only a little higher than the subadult ones, and in Obre II it even lags behind it. These all mean that the main and important secondary use of cattle was their milk (and draught power ifit was used at all) and that of the caprovines was their wool (obviously sheep), goats were milked. How secondary exploitation(s) surpassed the primary one (meat), the sequence of Poljanitza is a good example (Table 5). Here, the percentage of the subadult cattle grew from 29,1 to 34,0% (with undulations), and that of adult cattle increased in an unbroken line from 36,2 to 55%. In this way, the joint ratio of subadult & adult & mature & senile cattle increased from 65,4 to 89,5% proving that cattle's main exploitation was almost totally shifted toward milking and possibly draught power. I could talk a lot more about animal keeping practices and strategies, e. g. about sex proportions in the herds, castration, meat quantities of the different species, but my time is limited. When I finish my talk now I hope I have been able to give you an idea about animal husbandry and hunting of these four sites pointing out their similarities and differences as well.