A Review of Animal Remains from the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age of Southern Britain
Dale Serjeantson, 2011. https://doi.org/10.5284/1000396. How to cite using this DOI
Data copyright © Dale Serjeantson unless otherwise stated
This work is licensed under the ADS Terms of Use and Access.
Primary contact
Dale
Serjeantson
Research Fellow
Archaeology
University of Southampton
Avenue Campus
Highfield
Southampton
SO17 1BJ
England
Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 1066
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1000396
- How to cite using this DOI
Overview
This review of animal bone evidence from the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age periods in southern Britain comprises a synthesis of data from animal bone assemblages and other scientific analyses based on published and unpublished animal bone reports and research papers.
It is the third in the series of regional reviews of environmental archaeology commissioned and funded by English Heritage which covers animal remains. The other two reviews available are 'A Review of Animal Bone Evidence from Central England' (Albarella & Pirnie 2008) and 'A Review of Animal Bone Evidence from Southern England (Hambleton & Baker 2009) which covers the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age.
Scope of the review
The database includes quantified assemblages and also placed and possibly placed deposits. Some sites have multiple animal bone assemblages because they were subdivided either by period or by site area.
Assemblages were assigned to six time periods: Early Neolithic, Early-Middle Neolithic, Middle Neolithic, Late Neolithic (mainly sites with Grooved Ware), Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age (sites with Beaker pottery), and Early Bronze Age.
The geographical area covered is the counties of southern England - see figures 1 and 2. Hampshire includes the Isle of Wight. The majority of bone assemblages are from Dorset, Wiltshire and the Upper and Middle Thames, all areas with alkaline geology and soils where bone is well preserved.
The topics to be covered in the published review are domestic animals and husbandry; wild animals and hunting; meat eating and feasting; deposition and ritual activity; and animals as environmental indicators. The account of animal husbandry covers the relative numbers of the three main domestic species, the relationship between the wild and domestic forms of cattle and pigs, the status of horses, and the roles which each of the domestic animal played in Neolithic life based on relative numbers, age at death and pathology.
The data which can be accessed via the Downloads page are assemblage name, site name, bibliographical details, period, county and NISP of mammals, birds, fish and micro-vertebrates.
Tooth eruption and wear of cattle and pig are given from assemblages where the data were recorded with reference to the illustrations of Grant (1982, figs. 1 and 3).
Placed and possible placed deposits are listed showing site type, feature, bone deposit type, species and details of elements present. A comment field lists associated material if known. The deposit types included are skeletons, part-skeletons and skulls. Articulated bones and individual elements are included where these were identified by the excavator or the bone analyst as placed or probably placed.
References
Albarella, U. & T. Pirnie, 2008. A Review of Animal Bone Evidence from Central England.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5284/1000317
Grant, A., (1982). The use of tooth wear as a guide to the age of domestic ungulates., in Ageing and Sexing Animal Bones from Archaeological Sites. British Series 109, eds. B. Wilson, C. Grigson & S. Payne. Oxford: BAR, 91-108.
Hambleton, E. 2009. A Review of Animal Bone Evidence from Southern England.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5284/1000102
