That enquiry may be starting from the wrong place. 'Crofters', whether
needing 50 sheep or not, were paying some form of rent, so had to
produce a surplus beyond subsistence needs. Was that the case in the
Neolithic? Who knows. But not knowing that, we should beware of using
ethnohistorical examples that may not be good analogues.
Better, perhaps, would be to estimate some figures for extended family
subsistence needs, then model livestock numbers based on best- and
worst-likely yields.
Terry
***********************************
Prof Terry O'Connor
Department of Archaeology
University of York
Kings Manor
York YO1 7EP
http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/arch/staff/OConnor.htm
Editor, International Journal of Osteoarchaeology
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jhome/5488
-----Original Message-----
From: Analysis of animal remains from archaeological sites
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jacqui Mulville
Sent: 10 November 2008 11:52
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [ZOOARCH] how many cattle does a farmer need.....
Another general query.....any suggestions?
Dear Jacqui,
A collegue has asked me to enquire from you if you know the source of a
quote that crofters would need 50 sheep in order to survive a year. If
you have any figures on how many sheep, cows and bulls were consderd the
minimum by such farming groups that would be appreciated. He is trying
to work out how much livestock Neolithic farmers might have needed in
order to survive a year.
Many thanks.
Best wishes,
Paul.
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