Atici L. 2009. — Implications of Age Structures for Epipaleolithic Hunting Strategies in the Western Taurus Mountains, Southwest Turkey. Anthropozoologica 44(1): 13-39.

This paper investigates hunter-gatherer behavioral strategies during the Epipaleolithic period in the western Taurus Mountains of Mediterranean Turkey. Seven archaeofaunal assemblages excavated from Karain B and Öküzini caves were analyzed and interpreted with a special emphasis on age structures and their implications for general hunting strategies, site function and use, and seasonality. A detailed analysis of age structures based on dental wear and epiphyseal fusion data combined with other zooarchaeological evidence has revealed that hunter-gatherers in the Western Taurus Mountains intensively hunted wild sheep and goat, mostly targeted prime-age animals, shifted from seasonally restricted site use and hunting to unrestricted multiseasonal site use and hunting pattern, and progressively hunted larger number of juvenile caprines throughout the Epipaleolithic.

Starkovich B.M. & Stiner M.C. 2009. — Hallan Cemi Tepesi: High-ranked Game Exploitation alongside Intensive Seed Processing at the Epipaleolithic-Neolithic Transition in Southeastern Turkey. Anthropozoologica 44(1): 41-61.

Faunal evidence from Hallan Çemi Tepesi in southeastern Turkey reveals important similarities and differences in subsistence patterns when compared to the Levant at the time of the Epipaleolithic-Neolithic transition. Possible diet breadth expansion is examined at Hallan Çemi based on prey species and biomass composition, body part analysis, age profiles, and carcass processing patterns. The occupants of Hallan Çemi hunted a wide range of animals, including wild sheep and goats, pigs, red deer, and tortoises. Low-ranked, fast-moving small game animals such as hares and avian fauna are comparatively rare. Small game use at Hallan Çemi resembles patterns observed in some late Natufian sites, but there is focused exploitation of ungulates at Hallan Çemi. The site presents a seemingly contradictory pairing of a meat diet composed of high-ranked animal resources and intensive plant seed processing. Also supporting the overall picture of high-ranked animal exploitation are transport biases that favored the meatiest portions of ungulate carcasses, particularly the upper front limb region. Potential explanations for the contrasting meat and plant diet patterns must consider expanding diet breadth in response to demographic packing (expressed mainly in terms of plant exploitation) and display behaviors that emphasized large game but not other parts of the food supply.

Hongo H., Pearson J., Öksüz B. & Igezdi G. 2009. — The Process of Ungulate Domestication at Çayönü, Southeastern Turkey: A Multidisciplinary Approach focusing on Bos sp. and Cervus elaphus. Anthropozoologica 44(1): 63-78.

Bos and Cervus remains from Prepottery and Pottery Neolithic levels at Çayönü Tepesi are examined employing a multidisciplinary approach, combining the analysis of morphology, age profiles, and stable isotopes in bone collagen. The results show that the process of cattle domestication started at about the same time as three other ungulate taxa (sheep, goats and pigs), by the Channelled Building Subphase (end of Early PPNB/ beginning of Middle PPNB). Two stages are evident in the process of domestication: the initial appearance of domestic animals could be detected in the faunal remains by the appearance of some small-sized individuals and subtle changes in the kill-off patterns, as well as in the changes in stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen. While hunting of wild progenitors continued, there was an overall decrease in the proportion of miscellaneous wild taxa in the assemblage. The second stage of the domestication process begins in the late-final PPNB, suggested by marked size reduction and demographic change, namely the increase of females in the assemblage, as well as dramatic increase in sheep and goats.

Makarewicz C.A. 2009. — Complex caprine harvesting practices and diversified hunting strategies: Integrated animal exploitation systems at Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B 'Ain Jamman. >Anthropozoologica 44(1): 79-101.

Sheep and goat herding formed the central component of the animal-based portion of Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic subsistence economies in the southern Levant, but a detailed understanding of the diversity of animal exploitation systems and the array of caprine management practices employed during the Late PPNB, a dynamic cultural period distinguished by dramatic shifts in settlement systems and social organization, is remarkably lacking. New species abundance, metrical, and demographic data from ‘Ain Jammam, a large Late PPNB settlement located in southern Jordan, indicate a complex animal exploitation system was in use at the site and entailed intensive management of domestic caprines, sustained exploitation of wild ungulates, and use of new animal technologies. The variety of complementary caprine harvesting strategies employed at ‘Ain Jammam, including moderate kill-off of young male sheep and delayed, but extensive, harvesting of male goats while promoting female survivorship, suggest scheduled use and extraction of ante- and post-mortem animal resources. The relatively high abundance of gazelle in the ‘Ain Jammam assemblage indicates that the animal served as an important, perhaps seasonal, meat resource that supplemented foodstuffs obtained from domesticated caprines. High variation in cattle body size and represented demographic groups, as well as over-representation of low-utility body parts, suggests exploitation of both wild and managed taurines at the site. These zooarchaeological data from ‘Ain Jammam suggest that Late PPNB herding and hunting activities comprised a completely new animal subsistence package that integrated new developments in caprine and taurine management strategies with pre-existing animal husbandry and hunting systems in order to meet increased demand for animal resources spurred by shifts in human settlement patterns toward dense inhabitation of aggregate settlements.

Russell N., Martin L. & Twiss K.C. 2009. — Building memories: commemorative deposits at Çatalhöyük. Anthropozoologica 44(1): 103-128.

Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey, is well known for its incorporation of animal parts into architecture: bucrania, horns in benches, etc. We examine the less visible placement of items in pits or built into remodeling inside houses to commemorate particular events. Animal parts feature prominently in these deposits, typically found under platforms on the south and west of the house, while human burials are usually in the north and east. We examine the range of contents of these commemorative deposits in relation to other lines of evidence regarding the consumption and meanings of animals at Çatalhöyük.

Arbuckle B.S., Öztan A. & Gülçur S. 2009. — The evolution of sheep and goat husbandry in central Anatolia. Anthropozoologica 44(1): 129-157.

This paper explores the evolution of sheep and goat husbandry in central Anatolia through the analysis of new and published faunal data from Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Bronze Age sites in the region. The major patterns of change over time in the pastoral system are discussed including the beginnings of herding, the appearance of the practice of young male kill-off and the timing of the onset of the intensive use of secondary products. Results, including the discovery of longstanding differences in the management of sheep and goats as well as synchronic differences in herding strategies, have important implications for understanding the role of animal husbandry in central Anatolian communities and indicate that the history of pastoral production in the region is complex and multi-faceted.

Kansa S.W., Gauld S.C., Campbell S. & Carter E. 2009. — Whose Bones are those? Preliminary Comparative Analysis of Fragmented Human and Animal Bones in the “Death Pit” at Domuztepe, a Late Neolithic Settlement in Southeastern Turkey. Anthropozoologica 44(1): 159-172.

A unique feature at the mid-6th millennium BCE settlement at Domuztepe, Turkey, is a large pit filled predominantly with fragmented human and animal bones. Previous studies have established that the “Death Pit” animal bone assemblage is characterized by specific features not found in the daily refuse from the rest of the site. The present study seeks further understanding of the Death Pit through a preliminary comparison of the animal and human bone assemblages, including element preservation, degree of fragmentation and breakage patterns. Spatial models of animal and human bones in the Death Pit provide insight into depositional sequencing and the nature of the probable feasting activities that produced this assemblage. Our initial osteological results show that the near identical processing of humans and animals suggests of cannibalism. However, a lower occurrence of fragmentation on human skulls, together with depositional differences between animals and humans, also suggests that conceptual differences between human and animal were maintained.

Patel A.K. 2009. — Occupational Histories, Settlements, and Subsistence in Western India: What Bones and Genes can tell us about the Origins and Spread of Pastoralism. Anthropozoologica 44(1): 173-188.

By at least 7000 calBC, hunter-gatherers were encamped upon stabilized sand dunes in steppic and semi-arid areas of northwestern South Asia. Within 4500 years, pastoral camps, agricultural settlements, and even the occasional urban complex could be found over parts of this same landscape. Investigation of animal bone remains from a few of these sites, together with consideration of recent studies of animal genetics, provide a basis for understanding some of the processes involved in this prehistoric transformation. Discussion in this paper focuses on the dune-top site of Loteshwar in North Gujarat, for which a strategic dating program has generated a series of AMS C14 determinations spanning five millennia of first hunter-gatherer and then pastoral occupations. Archaeofaunal remains demonstrate a change in animal use from an exclusive focus on wild animals to the exploitation of domestic cattle. The evidence for both wild and domestic cattle at Loteshwar indicates that North Gujarat is an important area to investigate as one of the multiple centers for zebu (Bos indicus) domestication that are suggested by genetic research on modern forms. In contrast, because of the absence of any evidence for their wild relatives having been in the region, it is clear that domestic sheep and goat were brought into the North Gujarat region, probably from areas to the Northwest.

Battini L. 2009. — Une inscription sur brique d'Enannatum I : un nouveau regard sur les lions gardiens des portes en Mésopotamie. Anthropozoologica 44(1): 189-209.

An Enannatum's inscription over brick: a new look over lions gardians of Mesopotamian doors

About sixty lions' statues were discovered in Mesopotamia at the gateways of the temples from the 3^rd to the 1^st millennium and at the gateways of the palace in the 1^st millennium.

This continuity proves a Mesopotamian origin of this subject. In the archaeological excavations were discovered lions in clay, stone and copper but in the texts are mentioned also lions in wood as well as other animals which guard the entry. These animals served to protect gateways because as passage between divine and human world they are considered as dangerous.If lion is the most common animal to protect gateways in the three millennia of Mesopotamian history and for so many different divinities, this is for its intimate character, its strength and its ambiguity. People are afraid by lion for attacking cities and animals, but they used it for magical potions to keep away dangers from men. Even today there are lions at the gateways of some European houses.