Nagy Emese Gyöngyvér - Dani János - Hajdú Zsigmond szerk.: MÓMOSZ II. (Debrecen, 2004)

Bartosiewicz László: A Tihany-Óváron feltárt szarvascsontváz előzetes vizsgálata

208 LÁSZLÓ BARTOSIEWICZ THE PRELIMINARY STUDY OF A RED DEER (CERVUSELAPHUS) SKELETON FROM TLHANY-ÓVÁRON, HUNGARY SUMMARY This preliminary report on a complete red deer skeleton recovered from a probably Celtic pit at the Iron Age hill-fort of Tihany-Ovár is concerned with the zoological reconstruction of the individual. The remains of this stag came to light in several layers of a c.a. 2 m deep pit, whose diameters also varied between 2-2.3 m. Based on the number of points in the antler, this young stag was killed in the 4

th year of his life. Using modern antler measurements, however, only the proportion between the burr and pedicle gives realistic age estimates: Independent variable (X) Equations used in estimation Coefficient of determination Age (year) Pedicle d, mm y = -O.OOlx

3 + 0.0804X

2 - 2.339x + 22.579 R

2 = 0.995 11.7 Lower beam d, mm y = -0.003x

3 + 0.093x

2

+ 0.141x+ 1.462 R

2 = 0.998 8.4 Pedicle d/burr d, % y = -0.002X

3 + 0.426X

2 - 31

.705x + 772.9 R

2 = 0.995 3.3 The pedicle and lower beam diameters, on the other hand, give higher age estimates, indicative of their unusually large dimensions when compared to modern individuals (Fig. 1). The same holds true for the greatest width of skull, which far exceeds the mean value of 2001 modern stag skulls from Hungary (Fig. 2). Owing to the differential growth of limb bones, on the other hand, the 128 cm withers height estimate calculated from the length of metatarsal bones is probably characteristic of the animal's potential stature, rather than the actual withers height of this young individual. Diachronie comparisons of other long bone dimensions (Figs. 3-5) also reflect the large size of this Iron Age individual, that fits the overall decline of red deer size between the Neolithic and Modern Age. Eventual deviations from this main trend can be explained with the young age of the animal under discussion here. Late-maturing, transversal extremity measurements keep increasing along with the bone's robusticity, long after the ossification of the epiphyseal plates that terminates longitudinal growth. The complete antler rack suggests that the animal was hunted during the winter half of the year. Should it have been killed in an ambush, the likelihood of a fall death is more likely, before fawns, does and young stags form herds after the mating season. Such groups are more alert than solitary individuals and therefore better protected. BARTOSIEWICZ LÁSZLÓ ELTE BTK RÉGÉSZETTUDOMÁNYI INTÉZET 1088 BUDAPEST, MÚZEUM KÖRÚT 4/B