First Introduction and Early Exploitation of the Persian Fallow Deer on Cyprus (8000–6000 cal. bc)

Abstract

The Persian fallow deer (Dama dama mesopotamica) is currently a threatened species. However, it played an important role in many Late Glacial and Early Holocene human societies in the Near and Middle East. This is especially true of the island of Cyprus, where it was introduced at the beginning of the Neolithic and held a predominant place in human subsistence throughout Cypriot prehistory until the Bronze Age. The earliest levels of the extensive Cypriot Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site of Shillourokambos, occupied between 8400 and 7000 cal. BC, provided 3036 identified remains of this deer. It was possible to measure or determine the age-at-death for 1361 and 1444 remains, respectively. Analyses allow for discussions on when the fallow deer was introduced to the island of Cyprus, its origin and how populations were managed. These studies also lead to the reconstruction of acquisition and butchery techniques, as well as culinary practices, and the morphological evolution of males and females throughout time. The Persian fallow deer was introduced to Cyprus later than suids, dogs, cats, goats and cattle, and at nearly the same time as sheep, towards ca 8000 cal. BC. Despite the absence of any skeletal changes, this introduction may reflect an attempt to domesticate the fallow deer on the nearby continental mainland. However, after being introduced to the island, deer appear to have been released into the wild and hunted.

The introduction of the European fallow deer to the northern provinces of the Roman Empire: a multi-proxy approach to the Herstal skeleton (Belgium)

“…Fallow deer ( Dama dama ) are native to the western Iranian plateau, the Eastern Mediterranean (Chapman & Chapman 1975, 1980; Uerpmann 1987; Masseti 1996; Vigne et al 2016), Turkey and probably the Balkan Peninsula (Figure 1). Small numbers of fallow deer bones, however, have been recovered from north-west Roman sites in Switzerland, France, the Netherlands and Britain (Sykes et al 2011; Davis & MacKinnon 2013).…”

“…Indeed, previous articulated remains from the apparently secure Roman villa contexts at Binchester and Sparsholt have been radiocarbon-dated to the medieval period (Sykes et al 2016).

Figure 1.Map showing the location area of the Herstal site in Belgium (black rectangle) and the Early Holocene distribution of: 1) European fallow deer ( Dama dama dama ); 2) Persian fallow deer ( Dama dama mesopotamica ), according to Chapman and Chapman (1980); Uerpmann (1987); Vigne et al (2016) (© creative commons, modified by F. Pigière).

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“…Map showing the location area of the Herstal site in Belgium (black rectangle) and the Early Holocene distribution of: 1) European fallow deer ( Dama dama dama ); 2) Persian fallow deer ( Dama dama mesopotamica ), according to Chapman and Chapman (1980); Uerpmann (1987); Vigne et al (2016) (© creative commons, modified by F. Pigière).…”

Dama Dentition: A New Tooth Eruption and Wear Method for Assessing the Age of Fallow Deer (Dama dama)

“…They are abundant in Neolithic and Bronze Age assemblage from Turkey (Fabiš, ) as well as those from Crete (Harris, ) and Cyprus (e.g. Vigne, ; Daujat, ; Vigne et al, ). Fallow deer also make up substantial components of the zooarchaeological assemblages from Roman period sites on Sicily (Wilson, ; Sykes et al, in prep) and Mallorca (Valenzuela et al, in prep.)…”

Fair game: exploring the dynamics, perception and environmental impact of ‘surplus’ wild foods in England 10kya–present

“…The same is true for many wild animal species: they are given short shrift in archaeological discussions of food even though in the past they made a significant contribution to human diet and were often translocated and managed alongside animals that became the true 'domesticates' (e.g. Vigne, Daujat and Monchot 2015;Carden et al 2012;Carden 2012;Stanton, Mulville and Bruford 2016).…”