Animal management in the early iron age and the period of roman influence in the region of the Kościanska Plain and the Barycz Valley

Abstract

The article reports the results of archaeozoological analyses from settlements located in the Kościan Plain and the Barycz Valley, which are Płoski 3, Wąsosz, Kietlów and Psary (Table 1, Fig. 1). Based on zoological data, biological features and the cultural context, an assessment of the principles of animal management in the early Iron Age and the period of Roman influence in the above-mentioned regions was made, and a comparative analysis was carried out for both zones.

In settlements of the the Kościan Plain, remains of lifestock, wild mammals, and birds were identified. In all assamblages, domestic animals clearly dominate over other zoological groups, constituting approximately 97–98% of all identified bones (Fig. 2). Among livestock, cattle rank first, followed by pigs second, sheep/goats third, and horses fourth (Table 2). In the oldest, late La Tène site, Szczodrów, the share of cattle and pig bones is almost the same, 45.8% and 43.0%, respectively, with a four-fold smaller share of sheep/goats (Fig. 3). The greatest predominance of cattle remains over pigs was recorded in Koszanów, during the Roman period (phases B2/C1–C3). Here, cattle constitute 90% of the assemblage, while pigs constitute only 5.6%, sheep/goats 3.4%, and horse bones constitute less than 1% (Fig. 3). A relatively high predominance of cattle over pigs is visible in Kiełczewo. In the aforementioned settlement, bones of the former species constitute 61.3%, and of the latter 18.4%. A similar percentage of remains was recorded for horses and sheep/goats. These species constitute approximately 10% of the assemblage of domestic mammals used for consumption.

Among the Kościan Plain sites, only Kiełczewo contained several species of wild mammals. Koszanów contained three roe deer bones, and Szczodrów contained no representatives of this group. In the former settlement, the most abundant wild mammal is the red deer, whose remains constitute nearly half of this group. Wild boar ranks second, accounting for approximately 30%, a significant proportion – 15.3% – of aurochs, with only a few bones from roe deer, hare, and bear (Fig. 4).

At sites of the Barych Valley, from the lusatian culture (KŁ) to the younger phase of the Late Pre-Roman period, livestock bone remains dominated over other faunal groups, such as wild mammals, birds, fish, and bivalves (Tables 3, 4). The share of domestic species ranged from 96% to 100%. The highest percentage of game bones occurred during the Pomeranian culture, generally during the La Tène period and the La Tène and Early Roman Periods (Fig. 5). In the above-mentioned chronological/cultural units, the frequency ranges from 2.8% to 3.8%.

Among livestock, the highest percentage is cattle bones. However, this percentage varies across the "phases" identified here (Fig. 6). Beginning with the Lusatian culture (KŁ), the share of cattle increases from 27.6% to 44.9% during the Pomeranian culture. In subsequent periods, it exceeds 50%, even reaching 70% in Kietlów, reaching 63.9% and 67.6% during the Roman period. The second largest species in terms of the number of bones identified in the group of domestic mammals used for consumption in most phases is the pig. Only in the assemblage assigned to the Lusatian culture are sheep/goat remains more abundant, by nearly 7%, and in the La Tène Period, the share of pigs and small ruminants is almost the same (Fig. 6).

The general trend observed for sheep/goat bones is a decrease from 29.3% in the KŁ to below 10%, or even 5%, during the Roman period. The share of horses is generally relatively high. For the Lusatian phase, horse bone remains constitute 20.7% of the total, while in the Pomeranian culture, they account for 9.9%. During the period roughly corresponding to the late La Tène subperiod and early Roman period, their share is 13.3%, gradually decreasing to 6.5% in the late Roman period.

The species of wild animals hunted in the Barycz zone included hares, wild boars, red deer, roe deer, and aurochs (Tables 3, 4). Red deer bones were the most numerous, followed by wild boar and roe deer.

In addition to hunting wild mammals, material from this zone also attests to fishing and mussel harvesting. The fish vertebra identified at Psary belonged to an unspecified species from the Cyprinidae family. These fish were most likely caught most frequently by the Przeworsk Culture people.

In area surrounding the grain granary in Płoski, site 3, were recorded small mammals, amphibians, and fish. The mammal bones belonged to the order Rodentia, the family Muridae, and the family Arvicolidae. In the case of murine mice, considering the size of the remains, it can be concluded that the identified bones could represent species such as the house mouse (Mus musculus), the harvest mouse (Micromys minutus), the field mouse (Apodemus agrarius), the wood mouse (Apodemus falvicolis), and the wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus). The common or northern vole (Microtus arvalis/M. oeconomus) has been identified from the vole family. The water vole (Arvicola terrestris) has also been identified from the same family.

Amphibians included frogs, whose species are not clearly defined. The species affiliation of several fish scales also remained elusive.