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Animal and plant remains recovered from two archaeological sites in Iași city (NE Romania) were analyzed in this work. The aim of this study was to contribute to the economic and environmental evaluation of an old urban settlement. The analyzed sites, both of value in archaeological preventive research, are dated to the 18th–19th centuries. The archaeozoological analysis consisted of anatomical, taxonomic, and taphonomic identifications, quantification, estimations of age at slaughter and sex, and osteometry. The results revealed that the animal remains are of domestic origin, as indicated by traces of butchering, and can be mainly described in terms of their frequencies (i.e., number of identified specimens and minimum number of individuals), selection for slaughter, morphology, and size. The results show that animal husbandry (e.g., cattle, sheep/goat, pig, and horse) had significant importance in the economy of the settlement, and cattle were preferred for consumption. Few remains were identified for wild mammals (i.e., red deer, wild boar, and hare), birds, and mollusks. The phytolith analysis indicated that some plant resources were used in the economy of this settlement. The identification of opal silica bodies revealed the presence of grasses and cultivated cereals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The authors present results on animal resources in the economy of medieval Moldova as they are reflected by analyses of animal skeletal remains recovered from archaeological sites situated in northeastern Romania and the Republic of Moldova. This paper aims to statistically evaluate the data of previous studies, and to analyse the case of the urban settlement from Târgu Neamț in the context of medieval Moldova. The results indicate the great importance of animal breeding and the low interest in hunting and fishing. This study aims to contribute to the knowledge of the medieval Moldovan economy by evaluating animal resources (e.g., animal husbandry, hunting, fishing) based on the skeletal remains found in archaeologic sites from northeastern Romania and the Republic of Moldova. Animal remains, especially those from the urban settlement of the 14th–16th centuries from Târgu Neamţ (NE Romania), were described in terms of their frequencies (i.e., number of identified specimens and minimum number of individuals), morphometry, and livestock management (i.e., animal selection by age and sex). The results were compared with those obtained from other settlements—rural, urban, and fortress—from medieval Moldova. Correspondence analysis of the identified animals and settlements on the basis of the frequency values reveals associations between the two variables (animal species and settlement). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The paper analyses archaeozoological remains originating from the Noviodunum fortress in South-Eastern Romania, Tulcea County, where archaeological research indicates an extensive civil settlement with Roman and Medieval levels, but also few Getic discoveries. Animal remains are described in terms of their frequencies based on the number of identified specimens and on the minimum number of individuals. The archaeozoological data highlight a preference for domestic mammals (cattle, sheep/goat, pig), but also for wild mammals and fish. A summary of archaeozoological studies in different sites of Noviodunum fortress shows variation in the assemblages. The results of the Principal Component Analysis suggest that in the Roman period cattle was the preferred for consumption, and later, in Middle Ages, sheep/goat sheep was eaten more [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Archaeological Materials & Research / Materiale şi Cercetǎri Arheologice is the property of Institute of Archaeology "Vasile Parvan" and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The faunal remains were collected during the archaeological researches carried out in 1988 and 2000. The analysed assemblage consists of 902 remains, out of which four are human (Homo sapiens). The remains originate from fish, birds and mammals. The mammalian bones number 615 remains, out of which 397 were identified by species. The list of identified domestic mammal comprise cattle (Bos taurus), sheep (Ovis aries), goat (Capra hircus), horse (Equus caballus), and pig (Sus domesticus), with domestic cattle prevailing. Only three species of wild mammals were identified: red deer (Cervus elaphus), wild boar (Sus scrofa) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus); the largest number of remains belongs to red deer. There is a single fragment coming from birds and six fragments from reptiles (Testudo graeca and Emys orbicularis). Fish bones are numerous (276), and the identified species are pike (Esox lucius), common carp (Cyprinus carpio), tench (Tinca tinca), wels catfish (Silurus glanis), and zander (Sander lucioperca); the highest share is represented by the common carp. Archaeogenetic analyses were carried out for some swine remains from Romanian territory, dating from the Iron Age, in order to identify their genetic profile. The analysed samples presented two different ancient haplotypes, previously described in the literature, haplotypes that sustained the pattern of spread for the domestic pigs on the European continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper represents a synthesized archaeozoological approach to the Cucuteni site of Poduri–Dealul Ghindaru (Bacău County, Romania). This study explores various roles of animals in the economy and rituals of a Chalcolithic community. Animal remains are described in terms of frequencies, anatomy and taphonomy. Temporal analysis of several characteristics, including taxonomic frequency, indicates changes in the prehistoric local economy. Types of special animal deposits are described, as well as the interpretation of their ritual meaning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The present study deals with the morphological description of the animal remains in an Avar grave that contained the remnants of a horse burial, along with its owner, in a cemetery situated in Sâncraiu de Mures, Alba County, Romania, located geographically in the Transylvanian Plateau. The investigation of the grave and the data about the remains were published by archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology of Cluj Napoca, Romania. For analysis and study, the animal bone remains were sent to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca. After a careful analysis of the morphological characteristics of the bones, the conclusions showed that the bones belonged to one young horse of 2–2.5 years, with an average recalculated shoulder height as being situated in the 1300–1400 mm interval. The study provides a set of morphological data regarding the characteristics of the horses from this scantily represented history in Romania, and the results show that the data obtained are consistent with the similar Avar horse burials in the region. Archeozoological studies provide an insight into human–environment relations, bringing important information on the morphology of the animal and the role of the animal and its functions. The purpose of this study was to reveal the morphological characteristics of the horse identified in an 8th century BC Avar cemetery dated, as it resulted from the investigation carried out on the materials presented to the Anatomy Lab of Department of Comparative Anatomy. The cleaning and conditioning of the materials were performed in the lab, followed by anatomical and osteometrical study. The identification of the species, the osteometrical interpretation and the assessment of age at death constituted the basis of the main conclusions. Based on the morphological and metrical data, we concluded that the fragments originated from a single young horse individual (Equus caballus) no older than 2.5 (2–2.5 years age span) included into class 5 of height (Vitt scale) with slender extremities. An overview of the available data (horse morphology) from similar sites in Romania and neighboring territories (Hungary and Croatia) is presented, with the intention of a general framing for the characteristics of the horses used by the Avar populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews identification of the auroch (Bos primigenius) during the Holocene in Romania based on data from 190 archaeological sites, corresponding to Neolithic (including Chalcolithic), Bronze Age, Iron Age, Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The assemblages were analysed according to the geographical and historical regionalisation of the Romanian territory (i.e. Moldavia, Dobrudja, Wallachia, Banat, and Transylvania). The data reveal the rather low contribution of hunted aurochs to local economies, though with spatial and temporal variations. Although the species is currently extinct, aurochs still appear in the medieval samples from the 14–15th centuries, and the coincidence of the archaeozoological data with those from documentary sources is marked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Stratum Plus Journal is the property of P.P. Stratum plus and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the spring of 2008, with the occasion of a small building actions, in an inner yard in Veresmort (Unirea II) village, Alba County, the remains of an human and a horse were discovered. On the basis of the archaeological material, the grave was dated as early avar (567 - 670/680 BCh).The present paper deals with the identification and interpretation of the horse remains. In the grave only the lower parts of the limbs (starting from distal radius and distal tibia) and teeth were present. On the basis of the analyzed material one can mention the existence of an adult male, with a medium height of 142 cm. On the basis of the dental and fusion data we made the age estimation- 4-4,5 years. Starting from the existent data (singular in Romania for this period) one can make a comparative study with the data we have from similar sites from Hungary. Based on this, comparisons for metrical and composed data were performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]