DOI: 10.33547/ODA-SAH.12.Kaz.15
Wyniki badań archeozoologicznych szczątków zwierząt kręgowych odkrytych na stanowisku 12 w Kazimierzy Wielkiej (Results of archaeozoological research on the remains of vertebrates discovered at site 12 in Kazimierza Wielka)
by Jarosław Wilczyński 
, Krzysztof Wertz
In: Marcin M. Przybyła, Anita Szczepanek, Joanna Zagórska-Telega (eds) 2024. Kazimierza Wielka, stanowisko 12. Od neolitycznej osady do cmentarzyska z okresu wpływów rzymskich (Ocalone Dziedzictwo Archeologiczne 12), pp. 315–328. Pękowice – Kraków: Wydawnictwo Profil-Archeo.
This study presents the results of archaeozoological research on animal remains discovered at site 12 in Kazimierza Wielka. A total of 519 bones and teeth of vertebrates excavated directly during archaeological excavations have been submitted for analysis. These remains came from fills of features of various chronologies and functions. All bone material collected during archaeological fieldwork has been processed according to the principles currently used in archaeozoological research. The research resulted in establishing a list of animal species present at the site, describing the type of bones and teeth represented here, and characterizing traces left by humans on animal remains. Due to the multicultural nature of the studied site, these remains were assigned to particular phases of its settlement, covering the period from the Neolithic to the Roman period. The separated collections are characterized by different numbers and species composition. These aspects affect the different information values of individual chronological phases. The most abundant osteological material was discovered within Malice culture features. It contains 166 animal bones and teeth, dominated by cattle remains, constituting over 80% of the material described. This assemblage is complemented by single bones of pigs and goats/sheep as well as the remains of wild mammals, such as aurochs and wild boar. The presence of all parts of the skeleton of domesticated animals and numerous traces of human activity in the form of cuts and burns indicate that most of this material is kitchen waste. From the Lesser Poland region, there is very little data on animal materials associated with the settlements of the Malice culture. Materials from three open settlements can be mentioned here, where the most abundant material – over 300 remains – was discovered at site 3 in Miechów. These sites are either slightly dominated by the remains of pigs and smaller ruminants, like in Ćmielów, site 2 and Michałowice, site 27, or, similarly to Kazimierza Wielka, they are dominated by cattle remains. Unfortunately, due to the small number of materials associated with this culture, it is difficult to draw conclusions about the share of individual breeding species or the role of hunting in the Neolithic communities inhabiting this site or, more broadly, the area of south-eastern Poland. A small assemblage of animal remains is associated with the settlement of the Funnel Beaker/Baden phase, consisting of only 15 bones, teeth, and antler fragments. This rather sparse collection is strange because numerous collections of animal osteological remains have been discovered at other Funnel Beaker/Baden sites in Lesser Poland. The animal bone material obtained from Early Bronze Age Mierzanowice culture features is numerous and consists mainly of bones and teeth of five species of domesticated animals: cattle, dogs, goats/sheep, and pigs. The animal spectrum of the Mierzanowice culture is well related to the model known from other Lesser Poland sites associated with this culture,
such as Iwanowice Babia Góra, where cattle remains predominate over goats/sheep with a low share of pig remains. There are almost no remains of wild animals – the exception is a fragment of the skeleton of a European pond turtle, also found at other Mierzanowice culture sites in Lesser Poland. There are also no horse remains here, recorded at some other sites. The presence of all parts of the skeleton of domesticated animals and traces of human activity in the form of cuts and burning within the examined group indicates that most of this material consists of post-consumption remains. It can be assumed that farm animals were slaughtered directly at the site (as evidenced by the presence of remains of low consumption value, such as distal parts of limbs). Similarly, animal carcass processing, i.e. skinning, carcass cutting (traces of human activity in the form of cutting marks) and consumption (marks of deboning, burns) also took place at the site. It should be noted that dog bones discovered at this site, as indicated by the traces of processing visible on them, should also be considered kitchen waste. Similar traces were described on materials from the site in Szarbia or site 39 in Kraków Nowa Huta-Krzesławice. Taking this into account, it can be assumed that such an approach to this species was the rule rather than an incidental behaviour. The animal remains associated with the settlement of Middle Bronze Age Trzciniec culture are distinguished by numerous elements of a horse skeleton within pit 135. They come from a single skeleton of a young individual, most likely incomplete as a result of post-depositional processes.
Among the materials associated with the Roman period, there are interesting assemblages found within
the burials. It can be easily noticed that within female burials, only the bones of domestic hens and goose are present. Comparing the above findings with observations from other Przeworsk culture cemeteries in
south-eastern Poland, one will notice that they do not differ from the visible tendency to furnish women’s graves with the remains of birds and men’s graves with mammals. Unfortunately, the data obtained during the osteological analysis from relatively small collections of animal remains do not allow us to trace changes in the breeding economy at this site. For the same reason, it was not possible or very challenging to reconstruct the age structure of individual species represented in the diverse fauna assemblages found at this site. However, it is possible to note a very low frequency of remains of wild animals, traces of dog consumption revealed among the materials of the Mierzanowice culture, the presence of a horse skeleton in the materials of the Trzciniec culture, and the regular presence of chicken
bones in women’s burials dating to the Roman period.