Somogyvári Ágnes et al. (szerk.): Településtörténeti kutatások - Archaelogia Cumanica 3. (Kecskemét, 2014)
Castrum Tétel program (Solt–Tételhegy) eredmények és perspektívák - Biller Anna Zsófia: Solt–Tételhegy feltárásának állatcsont leletei
ARCHAEOLOGIA CUMANICA 3 middle Árpádian Age. The reason for this might have been a change in dietary tastes or customs, while a direct climatic cause seems less likely. Meat consumption patterns at Solt during this period do not correspond to the Hungarian meat eating habits typical for the Árpádian Age. The meat consumption patterns at Solt-Tételhegy in the early and late Árpádian Age share more similarities with those in the Danube Bend-Buda region. There were few bird and wild animal remains. The graves of the Árpádian Age contained animal bones too (24 inhumation burials yielded animal bones). Cattle remains occurred most commonly, in about one-half of the graves, followed by pig and small ruminants, in about one-quarter of the graves (Table III). Pig, followed by small ruminants, cattle and horse (in this order) was characteristic in the settlement features. Most remains were found inside the houses (Table IV). The number of animal species and the high proportion of bones from meat-rich body regions were similar in pits and houses. The pig, small ruminants and cattle ranking could be observed in these two feature types. The pits contained food refuse, indicating that the litter was not discarded on the ground. The bone remains from the houses originated from secondary deposits after the buildings had been abandoned (Table V). Aside from the dominance of pig, the animals show the typical picture of the period; at the same time, there were prisca type goat horn-cores, very rare in this period, and the dogs were small-bodied species, which is not typical for the Árpádian Age. Bones of wild fur animals were common in this period too. The rest of the wild animal fauna indicates an open environment with trees and bushes. The fish remains reflect riverine environments, while partridge indicates cultivated areas with bushes. In the Middle Ages, small ruminant remains were the most common, followed by cattle, pig and horse. There were more poultry remains than in the Árpádian Age. The number of wild animal remains is low and mainly comes from wild fur animals such as fox, hare and badger. Of the large wild mammals, only wild pig was present. Pigeon bones suggest possible pigeon breeding. Cattle were of the brachyceros type, while the goat horn-cores indicate the raising of the prisca type. The horses were medium- and large-sized. The dogs were represented by small-, medium- and large-sized breeds. Most bone remains were recovered from pits and ovens. The refuse pits and a cereal storage pit contained the highest number of animal species, and at least eight species were represented in the samples recovered from ditches and ovens. The small ruminant, pig, cattle, horse ranking could be noted in the refuse pits and the ditches. The bone remains in the ditches and the cereal storage pit were probably deposited after the destruction of these features (Table VI). The wild animal fauna indicates an open area with trees and bushes. The presence of wild pig implies the proximity of marshland. The bones of partridge, quail and pigeon reflect a cultivated plainland area, while fish and common pochard remains a wet environment. Overall, the wild animal remains are characteristic of a similar environment in all archaeological periods. Forests, fields and marshland lay near the settlement. There were only a few pathological bones, meaning that the animals were well kept and that sick animals were killed before bone mutations would have evolved. However, there was a dog whose leg had broken and healed with a dislocation suggesting that somebody had looked after this dog after the accident. A bone outgrowth on a horse vertebra in the medieval material shows that this animal was of very high value and was therefore kept alive. The bone tools were worn, reflecting their use for a long time. There were ad hoc bone tools in the medieval material. This might raise the question that the material from the layers had somehow become mixed up; however, we know that simpler bone implements remained in opportunistic use even after the appearance of metal tools. Translated by Anna Zsófia Biller 218
