Date arheozoologice inedite asupra locuirii Tiszapolgár de la Uivar (judeţul Timiş) / Unpublished Archaeozoological Data on the Tiszapolgár Habitation in Uivar, Timiş County

Authors
Georgeta El Susi
Pages
265-288
Abstract

This article analyses archaeozoological finds from the fortified tell-type settlement “Gomilă”, in Uivar, located on the Banat plain, approximately 35 km southwest of Timișoara, and uses the data to develop a profile of animal-rearing and slaughter practices in the early Eneolithic. The site was investigated between 1999 and 2009 by a Romanian-German project. The tell was occupied from the late Neolithic to the Middle Ages; however, the most numerous materials found originate from the late Neolithic (Vinča culture, stage C) and early Eneolithic (Tiszapolgár culture). Around 40,000 animal bones fragments were found, of which 2,105 originated from the Tiszapolgár layer. Among these, wild species prevail with 50.77%, with domestic mammal finds at 49.23%. Cattle dominate the domestic group (25.18%), followed by pigs (11.95%), small ruminants (10.65%), and dogs (4.46%). There were no finds of elderly domestic animals, only young adults and adults. Slaughter patterns suggest these animals (excluding dogs) were reared for meat and, in case of cattle, milk. The cattle remains indicate that the majority of those slaughtered (38.9%) were males between 2 and 4 years of age, while pigs were typically killed aged 1-2 years old (50% of remains), and sheep and goats were typically slaughtered between 2 and 6 months of age (41.18% of remains). In the case of red deer and wild swine, adult-mature specimens were the most common (66-67%), although this was the case in only 46% roe deer remains.

Keywords
Eneolithic, Uivar, Tiszapolgár culture, faunal remains, domestic mammals, hunting.