Dogs and foxes in Early-Middle Bronze Age funerary structures in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula: human control of canid diet at the sites of Can Roqueta (Barcelona) and Minferri (Lleida)

Abstract

Findings of canid remains in graves at different sites in the northeast of the Iberian 2 Peninsula are evidence of a widespread funerary practice that proliferated between the end 3 of the 3 rd and the 2 nd millennium BC, in particular, in the Early-Middle Bronze Age 4 contexts. The discovery of four foxes and a large number of dogs at the sites of Can 5 Roqueta (Barcelona) and Minferri (Lleida) respectively, stand out among the many 6 examples of these types of grave goods. In this work, we have made an approximation of 7 the relationship between humans and canids through the study of their diet by analysis of 8 stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in bone collagen. These analyses were 9 complemented by archaeozoological, anthropological and archaeobotanical studies. The 10 comparison of human and animal diets comprised a total of 37 canids, 19 domestic 11 ungulates and 64 humans. The results indicate that the diet of the dogs was similar to that 12 of humans, although, δ 15 N values of dogs in Can Roqueta and Minferri are, on the average, 13 1.4‰ and 1.1‰, respectively, lower than those of humans. The offset between canids and 14 the herbivorous ungulates of each site is not up to the established minimum for a trophic 15 level, which implies an input of C3 plants and human intervention in the feeding of dogs 16 and some of the foxes. Some particular cases in Can Roqueta suggest a specific food 17 preparation, richer in cereals, for larger dogs (probably devoted to carrying loads), and 18 possibly for at least one of the foxes.

Reconstructing Bronze Age diets and farming strategies at the early Bronze Age sites of La Bastida and Gatas (southeast Iberia) using stable isotope analysis

“…Moreover, more humid and forested habitats explain the even lower δ 13 C of the deer forage [49,83]. Remarkably, the δ 13 C and δ 15 N values of the collagen of the omnivorous dogs are similar to those of the domestic herbivores, which indicates that crops contributed significantly to the diet of both the dogs and the domestic herbivores [84].…”

Pastures and fodder for feeding equids 3000 years ago: The Can Roqueta site (Barcelona, Spain) as a model of equine herd management

“…This conspicuous difference makes it possible to identify the contribution of C4 plants, such as millets, to an animal's diet. At Can Roqueta, millets had been grown since at least the LBA (Albizuri et al, in press), although the use of millet for animal feed can be traced back to the Early‐Middle Bronze Age in some juvenile canids (Grandal‐d'Anglade et al, 2019). Several Group 2b equids, mainly from the EIA but also two from the LBA, received a significant input of millet (Table 3 and Figure 5), whereas in Group 2a , the proportion of millet was low and in Groups 1a and 1b , it was entirely absent from the diet.…”

“…The isotopic study was performed on bone collagen extracted from bone powder following Longin (1971), with the modifications proposed by Bocherens et al (1997) and described in detail in Grandal‐d'Anglade et al (2019) and Grandal‐d'Anglade et al (2021a). The determination of δ 15 N and δ 13 C was made in the Instrumental Analysis Techniques Unit (UTIA) of the Research Support Services of the University of A Coruña.…”

Los depósitos faunísticos de Can Feu (Sant Quirze del Vallès, Barcelona). Un reflejo del imagin.

“…Los signos de manipulación observados en el zorro de la estructura C9, añadidos a su significación desde el Neolítico Medio, y especialmente durante el Bronce Inicial en el noreste peninsular (Grandal et al, 2019;Albizuri et al, 2015), nos llevan a clasificar este ejemplar como un claro depósito intencionado. Las evidencias de manipulación detectadas en el cráneo y las mandíbulas, la integridad esquelética, la conexión anatómica y el hecho de no encontrar fracturas ni marcas de corte en sus huesos indican que, probablemente, este animal no fue consumido, sino que debió ser depositado como ofrenda.…”