just a quick note on this subject. I am working on sites
dealing with the introduction of red deer to the western
isles and the presence or not of a breeding population.
Naomis' question touches on a number of points I have to
wrestle with too - when can we firmly say there is a
breeding population present? Also when I find neonates on
site - what are they doing there? Does anyone have a handy
reference for neonatal deer on site as part of a hunted
population?
jacqui
----------------------
Jacqui Mulville,
EH Regional Science Advisor (E. Mids)
Oxford University Museum,
Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PW
Tel: 01865-272996 Fax: 01865-272970
Dear Jacqui,
Re. neonates on site. May I recommend:
Rowley-Conwy, P., 1994-5. Meat, Furs and Skins: Mesolithic Animal Bones from
Ringkloster, a Seasonal Hunting Camp in Jutland. Journal of Danish
Archaeology 12, 87-98.
There is also evidence of newly born red at Ertebølle and roe deer at
Mullerup Syd & Holmegaard IV which I am looking at. It very much depends on
how new born is 'new born' or indeed whether they are prenatal. There are
other more general papers which acknwledge the presence of neonates but do
not really confront it like PR-C.
A 'traditional' reason for killing calves is for their skins and I have some
papers which assesses the quality & value of such skins to modern deer
farming. There are of course other more behavioural explanations for their
presence on sites, for example calves/fawns are generally despatched when at
heel during modern culling of hinds/does. Very young deer only a few days
old and unable to walk would quickly become carrion in the absence of mother
or from disease and unlikely to be found by humans.
Re. Breeding pop.: There are many papers by modern biologists on red deer
fecundity and the factors regulating it (e.g. Ratcliffe, Mitchell, Lincoln,
Clutton-Brock, etc. - I can let you have some refs. if required).
Sorry this is all a bit 'Mesolithicy'! Hope it helps.
Richard Carter
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|