Animal Bones from the Early Neolithic Settlement Brezhani-Raven
Petar Zidarov
The reconstruction of herding practices in Brezhani is difficult because the faunal remains are scarce. This unfortunate situation is mainly due to unclear taphonomic processes, and there are absolutely no animal remains left from the last (upper) phase of habitation. An assemblage totaling 54 fragments from 23 bones of three animal species were the only remains found during these excavations, and which are available for analysis. All of them originate from trench 2 and belong to the remains of the earliest settlement.
A total of six bones and three teeth from three species of animals — cattle, sheep, and red deer — were securely identified. Surprisingly the red deer was the best represented species in this group. This is curious, because most Early Neolithic faunal assemblages in the Balkans are dominated by the remains of domestic animals, and wild game is rather rare.
Given the scarcity of flat terrain suitable for agriculture around the settlement, the sheep and cattle husbandry must have been practiced in a distant, probably alpine zone, while deer hunting may have been related to the protection of cereal crops closer to the village. The hunting and consumption of large animals such as deer, as well as the consumption of beef, was likely carried out simultaneously by larger groups such as extended families or even the whole village and could have contributed to their cohesion at village festivals. In this sense, it is curious to consider the appearance of three left humerus bones of large male deer associated with one particular building in trench 2. It is interesting to ponder whether they are related to a single event (mass hunting, sacrifice, or feast) or whether the obligatory share for the inhabitants of this particular building was exactly this part of the body of this type of animals implying strict social rules and division.