Of Shepherds and Flocks: Developments in sheep and goat animal husbandry Late Neolithic Tell Sabi Abyad (Anna Russell)

Of Shepherds and Flocks: Developments in sheep and goat animal husbandry Late Neolithic Tell Sabi Abyad (Anna Russell)

Sheep and goats are the dominant species in the majority of Late Neolithic sites across the Fertile Crescent. These hardy medium ungulates form the basis of the animal husbandry at these sites and they are the staple food source together with domestic crops. In this presentation I will discuss the ovicaprids of Tell Sabi Abyad, a site located in the Balikh valley of northern Syria. Over 15,000 fragments ovicaprid bones were recorded and analysed from levels dated to 6900-5900 cal BC. Their role in the subsistence economy, the development of secondary product production and the possibility that semi-nomadic pastoralism took place in this period will be discussed.

Anna Russell, Leiden University

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