Red Deer

description

CERVUS ELAPHUS SUPPLIER AS RAW MATERIAL FOR THE OSSEOUS INDUSTRY BONE GumelniŢa A 2 An astragalus from Hârșova has marks of abrasion on the lateral side, which have led to the attenuation of the anatomical protuberances. Under the microscope, a well-demarcated area with striations is visible, arranged obliquely to the axis of the bone, with an invasive extension. A mandible (Fig. 3 A) fragment from the tell settlement of Cunești, found in the GumelniŢa A 2 context (Ștefan 2011), was longitudinally broken by percussion without the full arrangement of the debitage edges. Therefore, some of the impact points are visible, with the fractures specific to the use of direct percussion. To create the active end, abrasion (Fig. 3 C) was applied distally, only on the inferior side. The abrasion striations are superficial, rare and parallel between, partly overlapped by the use-wear and can be seen especially on the periphery of the active end, being arranged perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the piece. The use-wear developed on distal end, being characterized by the presence of small superimposed fractures (Fig. 3 B). We can assume that it was an intermediate piece, used for indirect

Economic significance of Cervus elaphus Linnaeus, 1758 in the Gumelnița culture (5 th mill. BC): from food to technical resources

discussion

With the appearance of the first farmers north of the Danube (c. 6200 BC) during the Early and Middle Neolithic, the percentage of domestic taxa (mainly ovicaprids and cattle) in the faunal assemblages surpasses 70 % (Bălășescu et al. 2005 a; Bălășescu & Mărgărit 2014). Later on, during the GumelniŢa culture (Table 1; Fig. 2), we note the direct and tight connection between the interest of the populations for hunting, fishing, gathering, and the existence of a rich wild faunal spectrum. For example, at the tell settlement of GumelniŢa, stable isotope analyses point to the existence of an agrarian community, with half of the diet consisting of cereals and legumes, supplemented by freshwater resources and hunting. Domestic animals were exploited mostly for by-products and less for meat as shown by García Vázquez et al. (2023). During the development of the GumelniŢa culture, the type of economy changes and hunting reaches unexpectedly high frequencies in certain places. The animals hunted were mainly red deer, wild boar, aurochs (Bos primigenius Bojanus, 1827) and to a lesser extent wild horse (Equus ferus Linnaeus, 1758) or carnivores: wolf (Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758), fox (Vulpes

Economic significance of Cervus elaphus Linnaeus, 1758 in the Gumelnița culture (5 th mill. BC): from food to technical resources

description

Between 600 000 and 500 000 years ago, European red deer began to evolve a multiaxial antler crown. The initial simple antler crown consisted of three tines. This evolutionary stage of red deer was identified as C. elaphus antiqui Pohlig, 1892. In France, evidence of early crowned deer dates back to around 400 000 years ago at the site of La Caune de l’Arago (Pyrénées Orientales) (Magniez et al. 2013). The evolution of C. elaphus angulatus Beninde, 1937 (occurring at the end of the Middle Pleistocene in Germany, approximately 250 000 years ago) is marked by further complication of the distal portion of the antler. The primary evolutionary development of C. elaphus angulatus is the emergence of a third extremely hypermorphous posterior crown tine, in addition to a transversal fork (Fig. 4 B). This additional tine is directed backward and forms an angle with the antler beam, often flattens and bears additional digitations. This peculiar variant of antlers with flattened distal portion instead of multiaxial crown is still present in some modern red deer populations of Western Europe (Johnston 1903). Several endemic subspecies have been documented from the Pleistocene of Italy. C. elap

From continents to islands: tracking the red deer (Cervus elaphus Linnaeus, 1758) and its “ troublesome cousin ”, the wapiti (Cervus canadensis Erxleben, 1777), in Europe

description

Today, the red deer is represented by several subspecies and forms. The hypothesized area of its origin is the Tarim region in China (Ludt et al. 2004). Among the modern subspecies, the Bactrian deer (C. elaphus bactrianus) is one of the forms that retains the most primitive characteristics, inhabiting riparian forests of Central Asia. This subspecies is characterized by antlers that feature a bez tine and terminate in a simple transverse distal fork, typically exhibiting a total of six antler tines. According to some reports, primitive white spotting on their backs is retained even in some adults (Flerov 1952). Taxonomic interpretations based on mitochondrial cytochrome b and control region marker analyses of primitive red deer subspecies (Lorenzini & Garofalo 2015), merit closer examination. Lorenzini & Garofalo (2015) concluded that Central Asian red deer subspecies are genetically distinct from their Western counterparts, forming a regional monophyletic group. They proposed classifying this group as a separate species, Cervus hanglu Wagner, 1844, comprising the subspecies hanglu, bactrianus, and yarkandensis. However, this genetic study, which sought to redefine the taxonomic s

From continents to islands: tracking the red deer (Cervus elaphus Linnaeus, 1758) and its “ troublesome cousin ”, the wapiti (Cervus canadensis Erxleben, 1777), in Europe