Differences in the Body Size of Cattle in the Archaeozoological Materials in the Polish Territories

ill. ; 29 cm

il. ; 29 cm

The changes taking place in cattle from the middle Neolithic to early Middle Ages have been studied determining the withers height and the circumference of the horn-core using a scoring system in points common to both these features. This ensured conditions for their comparability. The determination of withers height in points has not yet been used, and the present report is the first quantitative and graphic approach to this problem. On the basis of the obtained results it may be said that in middle and younger Neolithic the prevailing type was that of primigenous cattle, with large withers height and large circumference of the horn-core. A part of the cattle were, however, already of low height, but still with large horn-core, that is these animals constituted a transitional form between the primigenous cattle and the brachycerous cattle. The Neolithic may be thus regarded as the beginning of the time ofevolution of this latter type. In the Bronze Age and in the early Iron Age the primigenous cattle was replaced by the brachycerous type, and this has spread widely having already a more stabilized morphological type. However, intermediate forms between these twotypes kept occurring. In Early Middle Ages the brachycerous type has been definitely stabilized and the intermediate forms disappeared probably