Variability in 4th Millennium BC Livestock Management Practices in the Bronocice Region, Southeastern Poland

• Authors: Pipes Marie-Loraine , Kruk Janusz , Milisauskas Sarunas
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Livestock management systems are complex refl ections of economic practices. During the mid-fourth millennium BC in southeastern Poland distinct economic activities were revealed using portable x-ray fl uorescence (herein pXRF). Portable X-ray fl uorescence was used to measure elemental levels of strontium in the teeth of cattle, sheep and pig. Strontium is fi xed in dental enamel after a tooth has formed. By comparing strontium in teeth of different developmental ages it was possible to segregate individuals into local and non-local animals from three sites. The patterns observed reveal two levels of stock-herding in the Bronocice region. One pattern of low strontium diversity revealed the existence of unique localized management strategies for each species indicating they were managed separately. Another pattern of high strontium variability confi rmed the importation of non-local animals on an increasing scale over time revealing another aspect of Bronocice’s involvement in long distance trade.

Keywords

EN

Neolithic; Funnel-Beaker; livestock management practices; Bronocice; X-ray fluorescence; strontium; southeastern Poland

• Publisher: Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Sprawozdania Archeologiczne
• Year: 2017
• Volume: 69
• Pages: 55-69

Contributors

author

Pipes Marie-Loraine

• Department of Anthropology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Ellicott Complex, Buffalo, NY 14261- 0026, USA

author

Kruk Janusz

• Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sławkowska 17, 31-016 Kraków, Poland

author

Milisauskas Sarunas

• Department of Anthropology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Ellicott Complex, Buffalo, NY 14261- 0026, USA