A Nyíregyházi Jósa András Múzeum évkönyve 36. - 1994 (Nyíregyháza, 1995)

István Vörös: Animal husbandry and hunting in the Middle Neolithic settlement at Tiszavasvári-Deákhalmi dűlő (Upper Tisza region)

István VOROS A total of 984 vertebrate remains were collected from the ALPC settlement of Tiszavasvári-Deákhalmi dűlő. Of these 930 pieces could be properly identified from the point of view of anatomy and species (Table 1,2). The following species were unearthed from the features of this settlement. Remains of five domestic animals: cattle (Bos taurus L.), sheep (Ovis aries L.), goat (Capra hircus L.), pig (Sus scrofa domestica Gray) and dog (Canis familiáris L.). Five hunted animals: wild horse (Equus ferus gmelini Antonius), aurochs (Bos primigenius Bop, wild boar (Sus scrofa ferus L.), beaver (Castor fiber L.) and brown hare (Lepus europaeus Pall.). Remains of fishing: European catfish (Silurus glanis L.), pike (Esox lucius L.) and a small fish (Pisces sp. indet). As a result of thorough and professional collection of the material, remains were found of a pond tortoise (Emys orbicularis L.), great crested grebe (Podiceps eristatus L.). Remains of two small mammals, rarely recovered from archaeological excavations, the water vole (Arvicola terrestris L.) and lesser mole-rat (Spalax hungaricus Nehring) enrich our knowledge of the vertebrate fauna of the Hungarian Plain during the Neolithic. From the view-point of accumulation of bones, the more intensively inhabited part of the settlement is a house on the western part of surface A (A.

40) and in the features and habitation surfaces north and west from there (Table 1). The 14 features of surface A, contained all together 832 pieces, 89-47 % of the animal bone material. Only 10.53% of the material, 98 pieces, were found in 5 features and habitation surface of surface B. The non-identifiable 54 pieces of bone splinter and bone cortex-plate fragments are the consequence of a characteristic way of butchering. Due to the method of defleshing and marrow processing, or because of imperfections of cutting instruments (?) limbs and bodies of the meat animals were actually cut into small pieces. The settlements excavated section yielded altogether 905 bone remains of four domestic and three meat purpose wild animal species. Within this assemblage only two complete bones were found (aside from the carpals/tarsals as well as phalanges). These included a scapula and a sheep metacarpus. The preservation of the animal bone material of the settlement is consistent. On the basis of their very fragmented character they must be considered to be the remains of the so-called kitchen garbage except for the bone instruments. The distribution of the kitchen garbage of the Tiszavasvári settlement is asymmetrical: 61.2% of the bone material, 569 pieces, were found in five features (A.40, 3, 15/ab, 5; B.17) and on one habitation surface (A. section XV). In these features the frequency of the animal bone material ranges between 7.4 - 11.9%. The 36l pieces, 38.8.% came from 14 features and habitation surface over 12 sectors. Here the relative frequency of the bone material ranges from 0.1 - 4.8 %. Burned animal bones were found in features A.35 and B.17 and 20. Shells (Unio sp.) were found in features A.23, 40, 3, 35, in sector III and „south from the profile wall". Snail (Planorbis sp.) was in feature A.3. A so-called stray find of human bone was found north of section A.VIII; above features 3,15b and 34; in section XV („earth of the barrow"), „south of the profile wall"; and above features B.l and 13. 2. The keeping and using domestic farm animals The proportion between the domestic - to wild animal bone remains at the Tiszavasvári Neolithic settlement is 94.62% (880 pieces): 5.38% (50 pieces). This proportion is similar to that of the ALPC material of Nyíri Mezőség (VÖRÖS 1989.), and LPC material from Bohemian (CLASON 1970.) and Moravian sites (KRATOCHVIL 1973.) (Table 7, its analysis see later). Among the domestic farm animals' bones the most numerous (423 pieces, 48.07%) are the bones of small ruminants. Sheep remains were absolutely dominant among these as only two bone remains of goat could be identified. The proportional occurrence of cattle remains is only 5% (43.18%, 380 pieces). The number and proportion of pig remains (75 pieces, 8.53%) are very low. The presence of dogs is marked only by two pieces of bone. 2.1. Cattle In the settlement, 380 pieces of bone remains of 28 individuals of cattle were found. Thirty-two of them could be measured (Table 1,4,5). The distribution of cattle remains by anatomical (Table 2) and body regions (Table 3) is asymmetric: in the bone sample bones of the trunk (37.2%) and the so-called meat bearing limb segments dominate (31.8%). They are followed by the bones of the head (14.6%), the so-called dry limb (8.6%) and the tendon bones- as well as phalanges

(7.8%). However, the accumulation quota (AQ) clearly shows, that mainly the headbones (55 pieces, 14.6%; 2 Using Miklós Kretzoi's method the examination of the bone material can yield information on the following: 1. body regions of the animal that can be used differently from the view point of meat exploitation; 2. the quantity and proportion of bone remains belonging to certain body regions: 3. the so-called accumulation quotient (AQ), that compares the proportion between the distribution of the found (collected) bones in comparison to a theoretical (a standard determined for a whole skeleton) distribution. This proportion 168 Jósa András Múzeum Évkönyve 1994