Animal Exploitation and Community Behavior at a Middle Bronze Age Village on Cyprus

Abstract

Analysis of faunal remains from the Bronze Age village of Politiko-Troullia in central Cyprus offers the opportunity to add detail to the ongoing effort to characterize societal changes during the Middle Bronze Age, prior to the emergence of Late Bronze urbanism on the island. Politiko-Troullia, located in the northern foothills of the Troodos Mountains, has a radiocarbon chronology that indicates an occupation around 2100–1900 cal BC. Sheep and goat bones dominate the faunal assemblage, with bones from Mesopotamian fallow deer (Dama mesopotamica), cattle, and pigs following in de- scending frequency. Excavated architectural remains include a household compound, two large open courtyards and an adjacent alley with bone-rich trash deposits. Analysis of the bone assemblages from these spaces reveals consistencies about butchering as well as patterns of animal exploitation and consumption, which distinguish household subsistence and communal feasting behaviors. These lines of evidence can augment a developing understanding of village social identity and reflect larger patterns of social change prior to the first urbanism on Cyprus.

Herd management and subsistence practices as inferred from isotopic analysis of animals and plants at Bronze Age Politiko-Troullia, Cyprus

“…Deer Bone Database, Zooarchaeology at Nottingham, https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/zooarchaeology/deer_bone/) shows a post-Neolithic gap in deer remains on Cyprus followed by osteometric data for larger animals in the Bronze Age, possibly suggesting the introduction of a new deer population. Though the fallow deer at Politiko-Troullia are relatively larger than would be expected for an endemic population (similar in size to those found at Pre-Pottery Neolithic B Shillourokambos; see [16]), there is no support for the argument that the deer at Politiko-Troullia themselves were imported since their isotopic signature appears "local" based on comparison with values for modern and ancient vegetation. The Troullia deer values agree with patterns of geographic variation reported by previous studies, in which fallow deer in northern and western Europe had more negative δ 13 C (below -22‰) and higher δ 15 N values (5-8‰) than in Turkey, which had average values of over -20.5‰ δ 13 C and 4.5‰ δ 15 N [58][59][60].…”

“…The δ 13 C data suggest that pig exploitation at Politiko-Troullia included both domestic and feral individuals, who may have consumed some forage similar to that eaten by domesticates, as well as woodland vegetation. This conclusion is bolstered by osteometric and long bone fusion evidence of large body sizes and a predominance of older adult individuals in the assemblage [16]. Thus, the evidence for swine suggests a dual strategy of hunting as well as husbandry at Politiko-Troullia.…”

“…Demographic profiles were generated previously from analysis of Ovis/Capra and Dama teeth excavated at Politiko-Troullia [16]. Survivorship curves for these taxa are based on established criteria for tooth eruption and wear [53,54].…”

“…In contrast, the more constrained δ 13 C range of cattle may indicate that these animals were penned and therefore accessed more limited vegetation sources and/or were provisioned with hay, an argument supported by the δ 15 N data (discussed below). Survivorship curves for these taxa at Politiko-Troullia affirm their domestic status (cf., [16]), though each species was managed differently. The striking spread of δ 15 N values across multiple herbivorous taxa may reflect a combination of wild and domesticated individuals, as well as mixed methods of husbandry for the domesticates.…”

PREHISTORIC BRONZE AGE RADIOCARBON CHRONOLOGY AT POLITIKO-TROULLIA, CYPRUS

“…In concert, this evidence reflects intensive premodern management of the local landscape, including agricultural and copper ore processing (Fall et al 2012;Galletti et al 2013;Ridder et al 2017). Spatial analyses of these agrarian features, and rich excavated evidence of seeds, charcoal and animal bones document a mixed Bronze Age subsistence regime of grape and olive arboriculture, sheep/goat and cattle husbandry, plus hunting of wild deer and feral pigs by villagers living on the verge of oak and pine woodlands (Klinge and Fall 2010;Falconer and Fall 2013;Fall et al 2015;Ridder et al 2017;Metzger et al 2021;Pilaar Birch et al 2022).…”