Animal remains from Iron Age and Roman Odemira, Portugal

Bibliographic Data

ID12480339
AuthorsSimon J M Davis (corresponding author), JORGE COSTA VILHENA
Year2017
Volume26
Pages199-217
Publication date2017-01-29
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueArchaeofauna (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1132-6891
PublisherServicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.15366/archaeofauna2017.26.013
OpenAlexW2642589321
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited6

Animal remains from excavations of the Iron Age II (end IVth century - early IIIrd century BC) and Roman Republican (Ist century BC) part of a defensive ditch of Odemira hillfort in SW Portugal are described. Most derive from domesticated animals like cattle, goats and pigs, and a hunted animal, red deer. There are two substantial changes between Iron Age and Roman times. The first is a huge increase in the frequency of red deer. This may reflect a rise in the status of the inhabitants. The second is a change in the age-at-slaughter of the cattle: most Iron Age cattle were slaughtered quite young while those in Roman times were not slaughtered until old. This probably reflects a change in the management strategy of cattle. In the Iron Age the emphasis in cattle production was for meat while the Romans kept cattle more for their power and milk. Other animals present include birds, dog, fox, horse, rabbit, and in the Roman period, some marine shells

Ancient history · Archaeology · Biology · Geography · Iron Age · Zoology · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Archaeological and Historical Studies · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · History

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