Dear Colleagues,
In recent years I have been investigating the question of the generally
high frequency of pig remains in British sites of the late Neolithic
period (particularly those associated with Grooved ware and Beaker
pottery). This is quite unusual for Britain, as both in the early
Neolithic (dominated by cattle) and in the Bronze Age (dominated by
sheep and cattle), pigs tend not to be abundant (admittedly we know very
little about the mid Neolithic).
I would like to understand to what extent this phenomenon is noticeable
outside the British Isles. There are hints that a similar situation
occurs at least in some parts of France, Holland, Germany and
Switzerland, but my information regarding these regions is very
fragmentary. I would be very grateful for any suggestions and/or
references to works that could help me in understanding whether this
anomaly in the British faunal record is mirrored by a similar situation
in parts of the European mainland. Suggestions about references in
languages other than English or Italian are particularly welcome as
these are the ones that I am more likely to miss.
Cheers,
Umberto
--
Umberto Albarella
Dept. of Archaeology
University of Durham DH1 3LE
Durham, UK
Tel.0191-3741139
Fax 0191-3743619
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