Pigs and humans in Early Neolithic South-eastern Europe

The Bulgarian site Džuljunica-Smărdeš, dating to 6205-5529 cal. BC, is one of the oldest Neolithic sites in Europe. Both domestic cattle and caprines are present in the zooarchaeological assemblage, but Sus, in contrast, is extremely rare. It is not known if the earliest Neolithic people in Europe...

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Main Authors: Donna de Groene, Petar Zidarov, Nedko Elenski, Youri van den Hurk, Thijs van Kolfschoten, Canan Çakirlar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani) 2018-12-01
Series:Documenta Praehistorica
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.uni-lj.si/DocumentaPraehistorica/article/view/8049
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author Donna de Groene
Petar Zidarov
Nedko Elenski
Youri van den Hurk
Thijs van Kolfschoten
Canan Çakirlar
author_facet Donna de Groene
Petar Zidarov
Nedko Elenski
Youri van den Hurk
Thijs van Kolfschoten
Canan Çakirlar
author_sort Donna de Groene
collection DOAJ
description The Bulgarian site Džuljunica-Smărdeš, dating to 6205-5529 cal. BC, is one of the oldest Neolithic sites in Europe. Both domestic cattle and caprines are present in the zooarchaeological assemblage, but Sus, in contrast, is extremely rare. It is not known if the earliest Neolithic people in Europe did rear domestic pigs, practised some form of pig management, or only hunted wild boar. This research investigates the human pig relationships, using biometry, kill-off patterns and isotopic dietary analysis. With this integrated methodological approach, it might be possible to characterize human-suid relationships in this pivotal Early Neolithic site with greater accuracy. Understanding this relationship at this site contributes to the broader debate on how Neolithisation and domesticates spread through Europe, and which bio-cultural mechanisms were responsible for differential patterns of animal exploitation.
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spelling doaj.art-fe46024169d44abbaf3406e3f65656552023-01-18T09:19:58ZengUniversity of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani)Documenta Praehistorica1408-967X1854-24922018-12-014510.4312/dp.45.4Pigs and humans in Early Neolithic South-eastern EuropeDonna de Groene0Petar Zidarov1Nedko Elenski2Youri van den Hurk3Thijs van Kolfschoten4Canan Çakirlar5Leiden UniversityNew Bulgarian UniversityRegional Museum of History, Veliko TarnovoUniversity College London; University of GroningenLeiden UniversityUniversity of Groningen The Bulgarian site Džuljunica-Smărdeš, dating to 6205-5529 cal. BC, is one of the oldest Neolithic sites in Europe. Both domestic cattle and caprines are present in the zooarchaeological assemblage, but Sus, in contrast, is extremely rare. It is not known if the earliest Neolithic people in Europe did rear domestic pigs, practised some form of pig management, or only hunted wild boar. This research investigates the human pig relationships, using biometry, kill-off patterns and isotopic dietary analysis. With this integrated methodological approach, it might be possible to characterize human-suid relationships in this pivotal Early Neolithic site with greater accuracy. Understanding this relationship at this site contributes to the broader debate on how Neolithisation and domesticates spread through Europe, and which bio-cultural mechanisms were responsible for differential patterns of animal exploitation. https://journals.uni-lj.si/DocumentaPraehistorica/article/view/8049Neolithic, Bulgaria, zooarchaeology, pig domestication, stable isotopic analysis
spellingShingle Donna de Groene
Petar Zidarov
Nedko Elenski
Youri van den Hurk
Thijs van Kolfschoten
Canan Çakirlar
Pigs and humans in Early Neolithic South-eastern Europe
Documenta Praehistorica
Neolithic, Bulgaria, zooarchaeology, pig domestication, stable isotopic analysis
title Pigs and humans in Early Neolithic South-eastern Europe
title_full Pigs and humans in Early Neolithic South-eastern Europe
title_fullStr Pigs and humans in Early Neolithic South-eastern Europe
title_full_unstemmed Pigs and humans in Early Neolithic South-eastern Europe
title_short Pigs and humans in Early Neolithic South-eastern Europe
title_sort pigs and humans in early neolithic south eastern europe
topic Neolithic, Bulgaria, zooarchaeology, pig domestication, stable isotopic analysis
url https://journals.uni-lj.si/DocumentaPraehistorica/article/view/8049
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AT yourivandenhurk pigsandhumansinearlyneolithicsoutheasterneurope
AT thijsvankolfschoten pigsandhumansinearlyneolithicsoutheasterneurope
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