Size Ranges of Prehistoric Cattle and Pig at Schela Cladovei (Iron Gates Region, Romania)

Abstract

This paper summarizes osteometric data for cattle and pig from Late Mesolithic and Early Neolithic contexts at Schela Cladovei in an attempt to distinguish between the wild and domestic forms of these animals. The data are compared to empirical size ranges published by Bökönyi for aurochs (Bos primigenius) and wild pig (Sus scrofa). The results suggest the overwhelming majority of the bones measured fall below the median values of the wild forms. No cattle bones were recovered from secure Mesolithic contexts and the size-range data are congruent with the view that most of the cattle from the site were domestic. There is a clear overlap between the size-ranges of the pig bones from Mesolithic and Neolithic contexts, which does not contradict the idea of interbreeding between wild and domestic populations put forward in previous studies.