Animal Husbandry in the Iron Age in southern Poland. An example of archaeozoological analysis of bone remains from Zagórzyce Settlement, Świętokrzyskie Province

This paper covers a number of issues related to animal farming in the Przeworsk culture on the loess upland situated in the western part of Małopolskie province (Poland). The analysis was based on animal bone material excavated from a Przeworsk culture settlement in Zagórzyce (municipality of Kazimierza Wielka), dated to the early Roman period.

The collected bone material provided some data about the species of farmed animals, methods of carcass exploitation, slaughter age, gender and morphology.

An analysis of species suggests that there was two dominating species, that is cattle and small ruminants. The method of carving carcasses is typical for poor communities, consuming all parts of animals, even those of questionable taste qualities. Age profiles of cattle and small ruminants (two main species) suggest that a balance was maintained between animals to be slaughtered and those to be further farmed. Because of that we can suppose that farming was done for economic purposes. A morphological analysis of farming animals confirmed the presence of typically local varieties as well as other varieties, probably imported (sheep; Pannonia). The collected bone material includes a number of interesting bone tools, e.g. blades made probably of ivory.

Investigation results were analyzed in the economic context and then compared to other sites of similar chronology, situated on the loess upland in the western part of Małopolska.