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The La Tène period in Western and Central Slovakia from the archaeozoological perspective

Publication at Faculty of Arts |
2019

Abstract

The study of animal husbandry, subsistence and relationship between man and fauna in the early historical periods is inextricably linked to archaeozoology. Trom the first published paper on faunal remains from the Celtic cemetery in the southwest Slovakia through the reports on bones from the Púchov Culture settlements in the north till now, archaeozoological data were scattered among various, at some point hardly accessible, literary sources.

This entry provides a condensed history of domestic La Tène archaeozoological research and summarizes its most prominent results and trends for Western and Central Slovakia suggesting different husbandry strategies (pig versus sheep) dependent on natural and/or socio-cultural background to the sites, increased consumption of game and fish (Devín-Záhrady) and dogs (Liptovská Sielnica-Liptovská Mara/Rybníky) or pigs being the most important animal at funeral and other ritual ceremonies. Presented limited archaeozoological data calls for verification with the help of new in-depth analysis of large and representative assemblages as well as use of modern analytical techniques.