Zooarcheological evidence of livestock of the Neolithic-Bronze age in the prehistoric pile-dwelling settlements from Loewenberg, Switzerland

Abstract

Switzerland is home to many archaeological sites in Central Europe, many of which are found in wetlands, resulting in well-preserved macrofauna that can be labeled with precision using dendrochronology. This region is important for our knowledge of the spread of culture and innovation through Central Europe during the Neolithic and Bronze Ages, its topography results in a natural corridor through which influences traveled from both the East and West. Cattle were the most common livestock in central Europe since the Neolithic Age. The historical records of the past are well preserved in the Lake Murten sediments. Although Pile dwellers populated the region for several thousand years, the Celtic-Latians and Romans left the first traces in the sedimentary record, starting in 400 BCE. This study is the first to combine and focus on NISP% (Number of Identified Specimens) and biometric data to investigate how cattle farming began in the region and how it has changed over time. We have studied and identified an unprecedented wealth of evidence in the form of bones and horns of early livestock and some wild animals from the prehistoric records of pile-dwelling settlements from the Neolithic to Bronze Age from the Loewenberg in Lake Murten, Switzerland, which was recorded in the 19th century and is presented in this article. The recorded number of individual bones fell in percentage as follows; the domestic dog with (20%), followed by the domestic cattle with (14%), sheep/goats, red deer, roe deer, and brown bear each provide (12%). Domestic pigs (9%), domestic horses (6%), and the lynx (3%) were recorded.