Management of animal resources by Precucutenian communities and their impact on the environment based on recent research in sites from eastern Roman
Management of animal resources by Precucutenian communities and their impact on the environment based on recent research in sites from eastern Roman

Summary/Abstract: Based on 33,693 animal bones from seven Precucutenian settlements (tab. 1, 2) the main features of the animal management and its impact on the environment have been established. A large scale of animal resources as cattle, sheep, goat, pig, small and big game, fish, mollusks would have been exploited. Considering the wild/domestic species report, relative to biotope, the statistics reveal some interesting aspects. The sample from Costişa individualizes by its high percentage of hunting, about 70.1%, of which 41.1% is assigned to red deer. Târpeşti site is placed on the opposite, with a rate of hunting of 5.34%. The settlements from Isaiia, Andrieşeni, Mândrişca and Târgu Frumos occupy an intermediate position with 14-30% participation of game. Related to domestic segment, a higher cattle rate is registered at Traian “Dealul Viei” - 79.89%, Andrieşeni - 71.92%, and a reduced one, around 55-66% at Târpeşti, Târgu Frumos and Isaiia. Costişa registers the lowest percentage of 20.6%. The Precucutenian communities were cattle breeders, less clear to Costişa. To mention that in all the above sites, management of sheep, goats and pigs was practiced on a small scale, their weight ranging from 0.4-11% for small ruminants and pigs 0.4-13%. Insignificant differences were recorded between sites about the strategy of mammals exploitation. Specifically, a similar cattle management, with an emphasis on meat and byproducts is evident in almost all cases. In small ruminants, published data are not sufficient for a proper statistical processing.

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