La sucesión de ocupaciones entre el Calcolítico y la Edad Media en el yacimiento de Cornia Nou (Menorca, Islas Baleares) = The succession of occupations between the Chalcolithic and Middle Ages in the site of Cornia Nou (Minorca, Balearic Islands)

Fontestad, Montserrat Anglada; Rotger, Antoni Ferrer; Massanet, Lluís Plantalamor; Bernad, Damià Ramis; Strydonck, Mark Van

doi:10.5944/etfi.6.2013.10773

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“…The archaeofaunal records indicate that the main domestic species widespread across the Mediterranean, sheep (Ovis aries), goat (Capra hircus), cattle (Bos taurus), pig (Sus domesticus), as well as other domestic species such as dog (Canis familiaris) and rodents (house mice, rats), were introduced to the island along with the first human populations during the III millennium cal BC [30][31][32][33][34]. The faunal assemblages from later Talayotic Iron Age sites such as Cornia Nou in Mahon, located in our research area on the eastern side of Menorca (Figure 1), have revealed insights into ovicaprine herding (Ovis, Capra), and to a lesser extent from cattle (Bos taurus) and suids (Sus domesticus), as well as pollen assemblages indicative of herbaceous ruderal and nitrophilous vegetation related to husbandry [35,36]. Further direct evidence from dung remains come from the Talayotic settlement of Torre d'en Galmés (Alaior), in the southern portion of the island, where the identification through soil micromorphology of spherulithic ashes within domestic contexts from building areas points to the use of animal dung a source of fuel [37,38].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Phytolith and Calcitic Spherulite Indicators from Modern Reference Animal Dung from Mediterranean Island Ecosystems: Menorca, Balearic Islands

Portillo

Dudgeon

Anglada³

et al. 2021

Applied Sciences

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This study illustrates the contribution of plant and faecal microfossil records to interdisciplinary approaches on the identification, composition, taphonomy and seasonality of livestock dung materials. The focus is on the taphonomy of opal phytoliths and calcitic dung spherulites embedded within modern faecal pellets collected from pasture grounds and pens from a range of animals, including cattle, sheep and pigs from three different farms and seasons of the year in Menorca (Balearic Islands, Spain) declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. Modern reference materials provide comparative plant and dung microfossil indicators on factors affecting the formation, composition, preservation and decay of animal faeces, as well as on the diverse environmental and anthropogenic aspects influencing these. The reported results show relevant changes in phytolith and spherulite composition according to animal species and age, livestock management, seasonality, and grazing and foddering regimes. Both microfossil records provide fundamental information on taphonomic issues that are understudied, such as the variation in the digestibility among different species, including under investigated animals such as pigs, as well on the seasonality of plant and faecal microfossils that are excreted with dung as an important material for reconstructing human-environment interactions which is commonly overlooked in archaeology.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%