Cattle husbandry and aurochs hunting in the Neolithic of northern Central Europe and southern Scandinavia. A statistical approach to distinguish between domestic and wild forms

It is a well-known and geographically widespread problem in archaeozoology that the discrimination between remains of domesticated animals and their wild ancestors is not always possible. Due to an overlap in size as well as other features, substantial parts of bone and teeth assemblages sometimes cannot be assigned either to the wild or the domestic form. In this paper, we apply the logarithmic size index (LSI) method as a tool for discrimination between aurochs (Bos primigenius) and domestic cattle (Bos primigeniusf. taurus). By comparing LSI data from definite aurochs with data from Neolithic bovids within a limited geographical area, we show that the overlap of both groups is larger than previously thought. Our analysis also shows that the LSI width values are suited for both differentiating domesticated versus wild animals and sexes within the single groups. For future studies but also for correcting known results, we present division lines between LSI values of aurochs and cattle. The analysed data indicate that female and male aurochs had comparable heights, whereas the latter had a generally more sturdy physique in southern Scandinavia. We consequently expect that the investigated Middle Neolithic assemblages contain a significantly higher number of aurochs bones than previously assumed.

Automated summary

This paper explores the difficulty in distinguishing between remains of aurochs and domestic cattle using the logarithmic size index (LSI) method, finding a larger overlap than previously believed. The LSI width values are effective in differentiating between domesticated and wild animals, as well as sexes within the groups. Analysis suggests that in southern Scandinavia, male and female aurochs had similar heights but males had a more robust physique, indicating that Middle Neolithic assemblages may contain a higher number of aurochs bones than previously assumed.