Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Method
Author(s): Hans-Peter Uerpmann
Reviewed work(s):
Source: World Archaeology, Vol. 4, No. 3, Theories and Assumptions (Feb., 1973), pp. 307-322
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/124190 .
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Animal
a critical
bone
study
finds
and
of
economic
archaeology:
method
'osteo-archaeological'
Hans-Peter Uerpmann
i Introduction
Prehistoric archaeology and Quaternary palaeontology were originally closely related, but
in time they diverged from their common origin and interest was lost by those working in
prehistoric archaeology in the results of palaeontological studies, and vice versa. This
situation has changed since I950: prehistorians have become interested in the background
to archaeological phenomena, and advances have been made in the methods and content
of palaeontology, with particular emphasis placed on the study of domesticated animals.
The first serious attempts to extract socio-economic information from archaeological
finds were made in Eastern Europe and most of the methodology of modern 'osteoarchaeology' stems from this initial period (e.g. Kubasiewicz 1956; Paaver 1958). Today,
the potential of these studies is appreciated in Western Europe too, and recent work on
domesticated animals deals with both cultural and economic history. In Britain in particular, specialised palaeo-economic studies have been published (e.g. Higham I967;
I969; Jarman I97I), but so far, these only cover some aspects of the subject's potential.
This paper will describe how the study of animal bones from archaeological sites may
contribute to our knowledge of cultural and economic history. The theory and methodology of 'osteo-archaeology' will be examined critically so that archaeologists can assess
the reliability of analyses of a material with which they are basically unfamiliar.
2 Reconstructing economic
theoretical basis
Although all animal bones recovered in excavation may be used for palaeontology, only
those found under certain conditions can be used for studies of palaeo-economy. The
obvious condition is that the material must be the result of human activity, i.e. not the
work of predators or simply the remains of dead animals. If the results of analysis are to
be meaningful the material must also meet the following requirements:
Context
It is vital that the bones should be from primary deposits. Bones which have been
redeposited or are found on the surface should not be included in the material to be
analysed. Another difficulty which all excavators must face is to distinguish between
'living floor' deposits and levels which accumulated over a long period of time. Clearly,
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Hans-Peter Uerpmann
any palaeo-economic interpretation will only reflect the mean economic activities carried
out during the whole period of accumulation of a deposit.
Excavations
Since the material must be assignable to narrow time horizons, bones must be treated
with at least as much attention as other finds during excavation. Since palaeo-economic
studies are based on quantitative analysis, they will not be meaningful if the material
studied has been selected.
The nature of the excavation may also limit the usefulness of the bone material, for
example if excavation is restricted to those areas where a single complex of material is to
be expected. This applies to most sites. The partial excavation of a site does not provide,
in a statistical sense, a representative sample. However, such a sample may be approximated by including material from trenches laid out beyond the main excavation area.
The size of the sample must also be examined in order to decide whether a quantitative
analysis is worth while. The study of the extensive bone material from the Celtic
oppidum of Manching summarized by Boessneck et al. (I97I) showed that if the bone
material from each season's work was treated as a separate sample, differences in the
composition of their material were greater than would be expected for this sample size
on statistical grounds alone. This shows that absolute sample size by itself is of less
importance in osteo-archaeology than in some other statistical studies because of archaeological sampling procedures. Using statistical methods, several attempts have been made
to calculate the error likely in relating a sample of a given size to the total material, but
this is only applicable to representative samples. A simple example illustrates how difficult this calculation can be in osteo-archaeology: on a prehistoric site, the bone debris in
living areas will consist of small, inconspicuous fragments, whereas larger remains will
be found in refuse dumping areas. If, therefore, the excavation is limited to the living
area, bones of small animals will predominate, if limited to refuse areas, those of large
animals. These errors cannot be estimated by mathematical procedures. The calculation
of the 'statistical error' of a sample will confuse the reader into thinking that all economic
activities of the inhabitants of the site were carried out within the excavated area.
Excavators intending to study the animal bone material from their sites in terms of
economy must consider these factors when laying out the area to be excavated.
Zoological identification
This is the only stage of the osteologist's work which the archaeologist cannot control
(unless specially trained). Errors in identification - e.g. failing to distinguish between
deer and domesticated cattle - are found in the literature and have resulted in false
interpretations. After their initial analysis the bones should therefore be accessible for
re-examination by other specialists. This applies to pure palaeontological studies too, but
in palaeo-economy, there is far greater incentive to identify the maximum number of
bones. The portion of the material identified, which can be called its 'degree of identification', is an important indication of the likely accuracy of the results of any study. For
example, of the I2,000 pieces of bone recovered in excavation from the cave of Haua
Fteah, North Africa, 5,000 were identified according to species (Higgs i967). The degree
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3 Osteo-archaeological
As described in the previous section, the analysis of animal bones for economic history
consists of dividing the material into inter-relatable parts. The first division, on the basis
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3IO
Hans-Peter Uerpmann
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312
Hans-Peter Uerpmann
The use of the minimum number of individuals for calculating meat quantities is
permissible but every error will be cumulative. The relative meat quantities can be more
directly calculated by the weighing method previously discussed. It would be useful to
check one method against the other, but, because the units of measurement involved are
not the same, cross-checking is, in fact, difficult. A conversion could be calculated as
described above, using an empirical value for the meat quantity per individual of a
species. However, empirical values taken from modern domestic animals cannot accommodate variations in the size and meat yield of prehistoric animals which are often
considerable.
Recent attempts to determine the weight of an animal from its skeletal build are very
promising (Matolcsi 1970; Noddle 1971). Noddle's method - based on bone measurements - is more useful in osteo-archaeology than Matolcsi's. This is based on the
absolute weight of metapodia and so is sensitive to alterations in the weight of buried
bones. Studies carried out to date suggest that it will be possible to calculate the weight
of an animal, using only measurements of its bones, as soon as the necessary empirical
investigations of all species of interest are completed. It will then be possible to convert
the proportions of meat weights - obtained by using the weighing method - into proportions of individuals (Uerpmann I97ib).
(b) The age and sex determinationof animals chosenfor slaughter
Methods for determining the age of the animals represented by different bones are fully
described in the literature, both basic techniques (e.g. Habermehl 1961; Silver I969),
and special procedures (e.g. Klevesal and Kleinenberg 1967; Hatting 1969). Habermehl's
work is particularly important for palaeo-economic analyses since he deals with both
domesticated and wild animals.
Two methods of age determination are particularly relevant to osteo-archaeology. The
first is based on jaw-bones, the second, on the state of the epiphyses of certain bones. A
fairly accurate determination is only possible if the jaw-bones are well preserved, or if the
fusion of the epiphyses can be seen to be under way. In all other cases, the bones can
only be said to be from animals above or below a certain age. The problems of applying
quantitative analysis are illustrated by this example: Fusion of the epiphyses of extremity
bones of domesticated pigs occurs in three main stages at i, 2 and 32 years of age (e.g.
Silver I969: 285, table A), at i year: the shoulder and pelvic bones, distal extremity of
humerus, proximal extremity of radius and second phalange; at 2 years: distal extremity
of tibia and metapodia, proximal extremity of first phalanges; at 3-1 years: proximal
extremity of humerus, femur, ulna and tibia; distal extremity of radius, ulna and femur.
Extremity bones with these epiphyses therefore indicate whether the animal represented
had passed the above stages. In classifying the bones according to age the minimum
number of individuals is determined for each extremity bone with (A) open epiphyses or
(B) fused epiphyses. One can then relate A and B (the minimum number of individuals
below and above the age in consideration), e.g. A x I00: A + B. This equation gives the
percentage of animals slaughtered before reaching that particular age. The proportions
should be similar for bones at the same fusion stage from different parts of the skeleton:
for minor differences, an average can be calculated. Major differences, possibly due to
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314
Hans-Peter Uerpmann
these bones is that preservation is equal for both sexes. The minimum number of
individuals is then readily calculated for both sexes and can be related. The criteria for
the sex determination of the sacral bone of the smaller central European ruminants are
to be found in Boessneck and Meyer-Lemppenau (I966).
The differences between male and female horn-cores and pelvic bones are secondary
sexual characteristics but those recognized in the metapodia of ruminants are tertiary,
related to the greater body weight of male animals. The former develop with the reproductive functions of the animals, the latter appear later. It is therefore extremely difficult
to determine the sex of animals on the basis of metapodia. In domesticated ruminants
the distal epiphyses fuse between 2 and 2z years and no further objective age determination of metapodia is possible. Thus, sub-adults (i.e. animals of 2-4 years), are not distinguishable. This is the stage at which sexual dimorphism is not completely developed,
especially with prehistoric cattle which were slow to mature, so that broadening of the
metapodia of bulls occured mainly in the fourth year. There is therefore no adequate
basis for distinguishing between male and female metapodia even without the admixture
of bones of castrated animals (see Mennerich 1968). Higham and Message's successful
sex determination of metacarpals of cattle from Troldebjerg is an exceptional case
(Higham and Message I969). Their study was favoured by the small number of identified
bones, the uniformity of the isolated island cattle population (see Uerpmann 197Ia), and
the large size of the cattle. (It is known that considerable size reduction of domesticated
cattle involves a decrease in sexual dimorphism.) However, on many European mainland
sites, sex determination of many of the metapodia and consequently the quantification of
identified bones has presented problems. Studies of the metapodia of modern cattle (e.g.
Boessneck I956; Zalkin I960; Fock I966; Mennerich i968; Higham I969; Matolcsi
I970) have not solved this problem but have confirmed the feasibility of determining the
sex of the animals represented by metapodia. Similarly many sheep bones must remain
undetermined due to the overlapping variation of male and female metapodia. Zalkin
(196I) and Haak (I965) have published studies on modern sheep material. Clear sexual
dimorphism is seen in the metapodia of goats by the time the epiphyses fuse and identification is therefore usually possible. A study of modern material - with a different bias has been published by Schramm (I967). The metapodia of wild ruminants can usually be
identified according to sex: the basis of identification is the work of Bosold (i968).
(c) The correlationof archaeological bonefinds with prehistoric stock-breedingpractices
Osteo-archaeology is expected to contribute to economic history because animal bone
debris can indicate both the species of slaughtered animals and the stock-breeding
practices of prehistoric people. So far, the latter has received little attention.
There is definitely no absolutely direct relationship between stock-breeding practices
and bone remains. There are at least two processes by which herded animals become bone
debris: firstly, living, breeding populations are slaughtered; second, the skeletons become
debris (in several stages). As shown above, under favourable conditions the second
process can be followed; but is it possible to recognize the first? Higham, who has studied
prehistoric stock-breeding very thoroughly, apparently denies the existence of the
primary transition and relates the results of the second process (viz. bone debris) directly
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316
Hans-Peter Uerpmann
In central and Western Europe, the optimal slaughter ages for animals reared for their
meat were approximately: pigs IX years, cattle 2-3? years, small ruminants I-2 years.
Thus if the bones representing these ages are dominant, the animals were probably bred
for meat. Any variation from the above slaughter ages indicates some other, more
obscure use to which the animals were put. The large-scale slaughter of young animals is
the most difficult to interpret: it could be due to the scarcity or over-abundance of meat,
or ignorance of stock-breeding principles, but most often it can be taken to indicate
variation in the nature or intensity of occupation. Should the major part of the material
represent a slaughter age above that quoted here, the living animals were probably used
for milk or wool production, for labour or as items of social or cult significance. The
determination of the sex of bones is important if these functions are to be considered.
Living animals are often exploited differentially according to their sex. Where use is
connected with reproduction, more females are needed than males, e.g. for milk production. Adult males are not needed since sub-adult males are at the best age for providing meat and can ensure continued breeding. When bred for milk production, females
will have a high slaughter age while most males of the same species will be slaughtered at
a lower age to provide meat. The value of male animals is often limited even for functions
independent of sex, e.g. wool production. This is due to the aggression shown by male
animals to each other and to humans; many males are consequently slaughtered or
castrated. Evidence of castration therefore indicates the use of living animals for purposes
not determined by their sex, for example for wool production, as prestige possessions or
as a measure of value. This does not apply to pig, since the meat of uncastrated males has
a poor flavour. Low numbers of young animals of both sexes and evidence of castration
characterize these uses. Theoretically it should be possible to recognize the use of animals
for labour from bone remains, since adult males (sometimes castrated) are more highly
valued than females. In practice, however, this age/sex composition rarely occurs, since
labour is often subsidiary to other uses. Bone material from highly developed military
installations would perhaps be of this composition.
(d) The meat value of bones and bone distributionin excavated areas
Osteo-archaeology has not made full use of the spatial distribution of bone material
within an excavated site. The analysis of the distribution would be in the form of maps,
on which all material can be located. A subdivision of the material according to the
quantity of meat that bones carry could be useful in this context.
The quantity and quality of meat on different bones will vary. In order to estimate their
meat value, bones can be classified in three grades:
A: the vertebral column (excluding the tail), upper leg bones, and bones of the shoulder
and pelvic girdle: these are muscular parts of the body with high value meat;
B: the lower leg bones and skull (with brain and jaw musculature) and mandible (jaw
musculature and tongue), ribs and sternum: medium value meat;
C: face bones, tail, feet (including ankle joints): lowest value meat.
In order to be able to compare grades the bones of each species are classified according
to this system within the excavated areas. Recognition is therefore possible of areas with
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Hans-Peter Uerpmann
indication of the considerable freedom for man to decide on the type of animals he kept.
Another argument against environmental determinism is the fact that stock-breeders
have voluntarily chosen most of the areas that they now occupy. It is true, therefore, that
their animals had to adapt time and again to the environmental conditions of new areas,
and if economic difficulties were to be avoided, the adaptation process would have had
to be completed before the move. Changes in prehistoric domesticated animals due to
environmental conditions should not be considered as direct results of environmental
influences but as responses to the new environments into which the animals were
introduced by man. The main influences on the development of domesticated animals are
therefore always cultural and economic. The changes which domesticated animals have
undergone in the past and the mechanisms of these changes have been studied by
palaeontologists and zoologists and are fairly well understood. Nevertheless, much more
basic palaeo-zoological work is still needed for the gaps in our picture of the economic
history of stock-breeding cultures to be filled. The techniques of palaeo-zoology should
also be applied to the study of the morphology of wild animals, which will have been
affected in the past by man's alteration of their environments. In the context of palaeoeconomy, however, this reflection of man's influence may be a disadvantage since, when
analysing wild animal bones with palaeo-zoological methods, one is trying to obtain
information on the nature and potential of the environment in which they and their
hunters lived.
4 Osteo-archaeological
perspectives
Any paper on the potential and limitations of osteo-archaeology must also deal with
unsolved methodological problems. These are found at both the beginning and the end of
the procedure (described above) for analysing animal bones in palaeo-economy.
The first problem is that it is never possible to recover all of the bone debris from a site:
no matter how careful and how extensive the excavation may be, there is always an
unknown missing quantity. Even in more or less completely excavated sites, the quantity
of animal bones which could be expected from the calculation of the minimum number of
individual animals is never found. For example, at Burgaschisee-Siid, about forty-five
bone fragments per animal were found. The original number of bones would have been
more than 200 (see table 2, p. I2 in Boessneck, Jequier and Stampfli 1963). The various
bones of the skeleton are consistently represented in different proportions to their natural
occurrence (see table i, p. io in Boessneck, Jequier and Stampfli I963). Some parts of
a particular bone are more frequently found than others, e.g. the distal extremity of the
humerus and tibia, the proximal extremity of the radius of ungulates. What has become
of the missing bones or parts of bones?
The usual answer is that they have 'disappeared into the earth'. This is not a satisfactory answer because it does not explain, for example, the occurrence within a uniform
deposit of only one extremity of a bone, or of some fragile bones, such as vertebrae,
which have not deteriorated more than others. Therefore in order to justify the study of
animal bones for economic history, a better answer to this question must be found.
It is preferable to concentrate on the disappearance of bone remains before rather than
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320
Hans-Peter Uerpmann
this can be calculated, absolute quantities will be available for study. However, their
archaeological use will still be limited since the relative contribution of vegetable and
animal matter to human diet varies considerably. It is known that an adult relying on a
meat source for protein would require a minimum of o00 gm. of meat per day; the calorie
intake would have to come from vegetable matter. If meat were to provide the calorific
content of the diet, c. 2,000 gm. of lean meat would be required per adult per day. The
minimum and maximum requirements are thus seen to vary by a factor of 20. Any
estimations of length or density of settlement based on the quantity of meat consumed
would have to take this factor into account. One would therefore have to say that a
prehistoric village had 10-200 inhabitants or was occupied for 50-I,000 years: statements of very little value.
Nevertheless, the hope of achieving useful results should not be abandoned: the
investigation of plant remains for palaeo-economy has only just begun and its potential is
still unknown. Quite independently the chemical analysis of human remains may one
day provide us with information on the animal and plant content of prehistoric peoples'
diet. In fact the methodology for the entire field of palaeo-economic studies has still to be
developed. Computers will help to make accessible data from archaeology that is still
unused. Perhaps osteo-archaeology, with its easily coded data, will lead the way for
archaeology in general.
Acknowledgement
This paper was translated from the German by Susan Frankenstein.
30.v. 972
Institutfiir Urgeschichte,
University of Tiibingen
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