Research Training Program

Anastasia Poulos
University of Maryland
College Park, MD

Melinda Zeder, Ph.D.
Supervising Scientist
Department of Anthropology

"My introduction to zooarchaeology was intense and fast forward…only at the Natural History Museum does one have the resources to start with so little knowledge and to come away with such excellent training."

The Hunting of Gazella subgutturosa by Early Domesticators in the Fertile Crescent: A Comparison of Wild and Domestic Animal Remains in the Archaeological Record

The ancient Near East was the birthplace of animal domestication and agriculture, in the form of wheat grain cultivation and goat and sheep herding. Alongside these life-altering activities, people continued to forage and hunt for other food resources. One of the principle alternate resources was wild gazelle. This study attempts to analyze the gazelle hunting by ancient peoples during a time when another primary and constant source of food was available. The study of domesticated remains has exciting potential for the analysis of wild, hunted remains. Dr. Zeder has developed a technique for perceiving domestication practices of ancient peoples. By using the remains of modern goat and sheep (caprines), she was able to recognize a consistent degree of size difference between males and females. The degree of size difference was then applied to the archaeological context, which allowed her to detect the early killing of younger males in the herd and a higher survival rate for females. The practice of killing off young males and keeping the breeders of the herd is consistent with the need to maintain the long life of the herd. A collection of modern gazelle was analyzed in an attempt to see if sexual size variation is also present among gazelles. As with the caprines, gazelles do vary in size depending upon their sex. Regional variation is also evident in the gazelle remains, which may be due to lack of good forage or to biological adaptations to increased temperatures. Measurements of gazelle remains, taken from archaeological sites ranging from lowland to highland, replicated this evident regional variation. The primary site of interest was the lowland village of Ali Kosh, dating to 7500-5600 B.C. The hunting strategy at Ali Kosh seems to have involved the killing of older, and therefore bigger, animals, as well as of young and females, which indicates a less selective kill-off. The kill profile of the domestic species at Ali Kosh is very different from that of hunted species, which lends support to the use of metric analysis of domestic remains.

This research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, Award number DBI-9820303.

Letter of Gratitude