Feeding practices and management of domestic mammals during the Neolithic in the Iberian Peninsula through dental microwear

Abstract

ABSTRACT The control of animal feeding was fundamental during the first stages of domestication and husbandry. Studies on the diets of domestic mammals from the Neolithic period onwards are essential to understand early livestock practices and animal productive and reproductive strategies. Among the existing methods, microwear has been the one least applied to Neolithic studies. This present paper assesses the potential and limitations of this method for the study of domestic animal feeding practices by analysing the dental microwear of three species of ruminants (Ovis aries, Capra hircus and Bos taurus). The samples of these species were obtained at Neolithic sites in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula. This method allows us to know the diet of the animals during the last weeks of their life. The results have shown the usefulness of microwear in the study of the diets of domestic mammals, as they have demonstrated the existence of different diets among species, herds, and animals in the same herd. It has also been possible to document differences in the diet of the animals by age and sex. Finally, it has shown that the impact of livestock grazing on the environment was still low in the Neolithic.