On the possible use of the LSI scaling technique for stature analysis in cattle

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VOL. SPEC. - N° 10, 2005

1 Universität zu Köln, Forschungsstelle Afrika, SFB 389, Jennerstraße 8, D-50823 Köln, Germany. E-mail: [email protected]

2 Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Institut für Paläoanatomie und Geschichte der Tiermedizin, Kaulbachstr. 37, D-80539 München, Germany. E-mail: [email protected]

Revue de Paléobiologie, Genève (décembre 2005) Vol. spéc. 10: 225-235

On the possible use of the LSI scaling technique for stature analysis in cattle

Nadja PÖLLATH1 & Joris PETERS2

AbstractIn order to be able to evaluate cattle bone assemblages containing only smaller, compact skeletal elements in terms of body size and stature, the LSI technique has been applied using paired (length/breadth) measurements. Based on two case studies, it could be shown that the LSI-values obtained for such smaller elements, considered hitherto of limited value for stature analysis, overlap well with those obtained on the long bones, metapodials or talus, implying their potential for this kind of comparative analysis. In view of this result, cattle remains from sites in north-eastern Africa have been compared using the “LSI stature analysis”.

Key wordsLSI technique, cattle, stature analysis, north-east Africa.

Résumé Afin dʼévaluer la taille et la stature des bœufs à partir dʼun assemblage osseux exclusivement représentés par des éléments anatomiques compacts et de petite taille, les auteurs ont choisi la méthode des logratios (LSI) en tenant compte des mesures paires (longueur et largeur). A lʼaide de deux analyses de référence, il a été démontré que les valeurs LSI obtenues sur dʼaussi petits éléments – habituellement considérés comme sans valeur pour une analyse de la stature – recouvrent celles obtenues à partir dʼos longs, de métapodes et dʼastragales, prouvant ainsi leur potentiel pour ce type dʼanalyse comparative. Au vu de ces résultats, les restes de bœufs réco

Mots-clésMéthode des logratios LSI, bœuf, stature, Afrique du nord-est.

With our colleague and dear friend Louis CHAIX we share a particular interest, which can be characterised in three words: Sudan – Cattle – Osteometry. The following contribution is in honour of his work on this fascinating topic. Our study benefited considerably from discussions with Louis and from his generosity to provide unpublished data.

INTRODUCTION

When studying the development and dispersal of cattle pastoralism in the south-eastern part of the Libyan Desert, a major question arising is about the geographic origin of cattle : Do these animals show closer affinities to the type(s) of cattle recorded from the (pre)dynastic Egyptian Nile Valley or to the livestock kept and bred in the Central Sudanese Nile valley. Unfortunately, pictorial evidence documenting the early stages of cattle-keeping in regions of the present-day southern fringe of the Sahara and/or Sahel zone in the Sudan is poor. One therefore has to rely on cattle remains from well-dated

prehistoric sites in order to answer this question. Since ancient Egyptian Bos represents a long-horned, slender, medium-sized type of cattle, an inter-site comparison of horn core morphology and bone size and proportions would enable us to classify the type of cattle kept by the inhabitants of the south-eastern part of the Libyan desert. Unfortunately, finds of horn cores are very scarce in Sudanese prehistoric contexts, with the notable exception of Kerma. The Bos remains from this site, analysed by Louis CHAIX, represent the largest intentionally deposited assemblage of cattle bucrania ever found in a funerary context (CHAIX, 2000a, b ; 2001). Outside the Sudanese Nile valley, however, skulls of cattle with horn cores are almost non-existent. One specimen, excavated at Wadi Sahal and dating to the 3rd millennium BC, closely resembles the long-horned type of cattle known from ancient Egypt (VAN NEER & UERPMANN, 1989 : fig. 6). Hence this find would be indicative for a connection between the two regions.As said, animal breeds and/or types can also be characterised by morphometrical analyses of post-cranial remains, in particular of long bones. Unfortunately, the

ISSN 1661-5468

degree of fragmentation of these elements is very high at our sites. This leaves us with the more compact skeletal elements such as carpal and tarsal bones or phalanges, which generally survive intact in larger numbers. For the south-eastern Libyan desert, however, sample size of these elements is again too small for direct metrical comparison. These bones, moreover, are considered less suitable for size and stature analysis, but is this necessarily so ?

MATERIAL AND METHODS

To compare stature of livestock, different methods can be employed, but the most appropriate one is to compare element by element and measurement by measurement, since differences in proportions as well as age and sex related differences may then become obvious (e.g., HESSE, 1984 ; REICHSTEIN, 1991). Marked differences in size between domestic cattle from the Nile Valley and the Sahara compared to wild cattle from the Nile Valley, Portugal and Denmark already have been noted (CHENAL-VÉLARDÉ, 1998), sample size being too small to test (supra)regional differences in cattle size and stature. Admittedly, in case analytical units of interest contain only small numbers of measurable skeletal parts, size scaling techniques can be applied. Richard Meadow, who introduced the “Logarithmic size index” (LSI) technique1 (MEADOW, 1981), reviewed the different scaling techniques, particularly their assets and drawbacks, and made valuable recommendations regarding their use (MEADOW, 1999). According to this author, length dimensions should be separated from those of breadth and depth when employing size index scaling techniques, since bone breadths and depths reflect the economically important features of body mass, whereas bone lengths, taken together with breadths (index of slenderness), may be a useful reflection of both sex and differences in stature and phenotype (e.g., REICHSTEIN, 1991 ; PETERS, 1998). Using an element by element analysis to evaluate stature, however, requires samples of 30 specimens and more, but complete long bones are usually rare in cattle bone assemblages. Consequently, it would be useful if one could exploit in a single procedure length and breadth measurements obtained on different skeletal elements. In other words, is it possible to carry out a stature analysis on the basis of paired (length/breadth) measurements, converted into LSI-values in order to be able to include different skeletal elements in the analysis ? One of the

aims of this contribution, therefore, is to explore the meaningfulness of such an approach. In a first step, we applied the “LSI stature analysis” to two large and homogenous archaeofaunal assemblages. One assemblage originates from the site of Feddersen Wierde (Germany). It is an almost completely excavated Germanic village, situated north of Bremerhaven at the mouth of the river Weser into the North Sea. The site was inhabited from the first until the beginning of the fifth century AD. The fauna, analysed by REICHSTEIN (1991), comprised a large sample of Bos remains (n = 31'231). This assemblage appears particularly suitable for stature analysis, since it is very likely that we are dealing with an autochthonous breed of cattle, the phenotype of which was not influenced genetically by contemporaneous Roman breeds. Three groups of bone measurements were chosen for comparison, namely the meat-bearing long bones (humerus, radius, femur, tibia), the metapodials and the talus. For the first group, all GL/Bd measurements available had to be considered, since complete long bones are not very numerous. The number of metacarpi, metatarsi and tali measured by REICHSTEIN largely surpassed 100, from which a random sample of 50 specimens for each element was taken.Unfortunately, measurements of phalanges were omitted from the Feddersen Wierde publication, necessitating to consider a second set of data. The site of Büyükkaya (Central Anatolia, Turkey), part of the former Hittite capital Hattusha, produced a large assemblage of cattle remains dating to the Early Iron Age (VON DEN DRIESCH & PÖLLATH, 2005). The inhabitants of Büyükkaya were farmers without far-reaching trade connections. Their cattle represents an autochthonous breed as well, with no evidence for import of animals of different stature either.In a second step, this method will be applied to characterise prehistoric cattle from the south-eastern Libyan Desert (Fig. 1). The osteometrical data used in this study were obtained on cattle remains from prehistoric sites in the Central Sudanese and the southern Egyptian Nile Valley. Central Sudanese Bos originate from el Kadada (GAUTIER, 1986), el Kadero (GAUTIER, pers. comm.) and Esh Shaheinab (TIGANI EL-MAHI, 1982 ; PETERS, 1986). Cattle bones from the southern Egyptian Nile valley have been collected at Karnak North (VON DEN DRIESCH & BOESSNECK, unpubl.), Abydos (VON DEN DRIESCH & PETERS, 1996) and Elephantine Island (BOESSNECK & VON DEN DRIESCH, 1982). For the ʻdesert ̓cattle, focus will be upon the south-eastern part of the Libyan desert, more precisely the Wadi Howar region, where numerous sites have been surveyed and excavated by members of the University of Cologne in the frame of the B.O.S. and SFB 389 missions. To test the influence of castration on bone proportions we also chose three complete skeletons : (1) of an oxen from the Egyptian Nile Valley, dated to the Late Period (BOESSNECK & VON DEN DRIESCH, 1987) ; (2) of an oxen from the Roman cemetery outside the

1 LSI = log X - log standard, with ʻX ̓ being the measurement of the archaeological specimen and ʻstandard ̓ being the corresponding measurement of the standard individual. The measurements of the standard Bos individual used in this study have been published by MANHART (1998, Tab. 103).

226 N. PÖLLATH & J. PETERS

Fig. 1 : Map of north-east Africa, showing the sites mentioned in the text.

On the possible use of the LSI scaling technique for stature analysis in cattle 227

military camp at Künzing, Bavaria (VON DEN DRIESCH & CARTAJENA, 2001) ; (3) of a cow from the Neolithic site of Holmene, Denmark (DEGERBØL 1970 : 95ff).

LSI TECHNIQUE AND STATURE ANALYSIS

Figure 2 presents the results for the cattle measurements from Feddersen Wierde. In Fig. 2a all measurements have been combined, while in Figs. 2b-d the results for the three groups of elements are presented separately. From Fig. 2a it can be seen that the majority of LSI-values concentrate in the left-centre of the diagram and that the entire sample fits a virtual ellipse. If plotted separately, one notes that the inclined ellipses for the meat-bearing long bones (Fig. 2b) and talus (Fig. 2d) are more elongated compared to the ellipse for the metapodials (Fig. 2c). Apparently metapodials, in particular metacarpals, exhibit a higher variability in length/breadth proportions compared to the other skeletal elements. One possible explanation may be sexual dimorphism, but metacarpus proportions may also be influenced if cattle is used for traction power. Differences between the three groups are also observed if the upper right sector of Fig. 2a is considered. Most of the entries refer to long bones, a few others to tali. The latter represent comparably broad specimens, while

most long bones not only are absolutely longer but also relatively slender, as shown by their length-breadth proportions. This observation could be explained by assuming that among the cattle bones from Feddersen Wierde, there are also remains of oxen : castration causes a prolonged growth and hence will result in a comparably more slender habitus of late-fusing skeletal elements, which will not be visible in tarsals and carpals. To verify this explanation, we plotted the LSI-values obtained on the two skeletons from oxen. From Figs 3 and 4 it can be seen that also in these individuals, the LSI-values of the late-fusing bones (humerus, radius, femur, tibia) “cluster” in the upper range of the respective plots. No doubt, castration in juvenile cattle will cause skeletal elements to grow at different speeds, and this might explain the observed dispersion of the LSI-values. Conversely, the LSI-values of skeletons of cows and bulls should cluster more tightly, which is illustrated by the Neolithic cow skeleton from Holmene in Denmark (Fig. 5). From Figs 3 and 4, it also becomes obvious that not all long bones exhibit similar high LSI-values. Since epiphysional fusion in metapodials occurs earlier than in humerus, radius, femur, or tibia, this observation probably implies that castration may have taken place when growth of metapodials was (almost) finished. In Roman literature on cattle husbandry, the preferred age to castrate bulls

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Fig. 2 : Feddersen Wierde, Germany : LSI stature diagram. a) all measurements ; b) humerus, radius, femur, tibia ; c) metacarpus and metatarsus ; d) talus.


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Fig. 3 : Egyptian ox mummy : LSI stature diagram.


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Fig. 4 : Roman ox skeleton from Künzing, Germany : LSI stature diagram.

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Fig. 5 : Neolithic cow skeleton from Holmene, Denmark : LSI stature diagram.


is at the age of two years (PETERS, 1998 : 38), which coincides with the estimated fusion date of 24 months in distal metapodials (HABERMEHL, 1975 : 104).In general, phalanges are considered less useful for size and stature analyses, because they are relatively small and will fuse comparably early. Moreover, their proportions are affected by body weight and external factors, in particular if the animal has been exploited for traction power (BARTOSIEWICZ et al., 1997). However, when dealing with cattle remains from the south-eastern Libyan desert, phalanges are the most frequent measurable skeletal element, apart from the talus. It would, therefore, be interesting to know whether it is meaningful to include these rather compact elements in a “LSI stature analysis”. To test this, the LSI-values were calculated for the first and second phalanges, the long bones (radius, tibia, metapodials) and the talus of the Büyükkaya sample. Parallel to the results for Feddersen Wierde, it is observed that if the LSI-values of the Büyükkaya sample are plotted (Fig. 6), the virtual ellipse encompassing the talus values is relatively narrow. The ellipse grouping the long bones is much broader, but this is due to the high proportion of metapodials in the sample. The distribution of the LSI-values of most phalanges overlap rather well with that of the other two groups in the lower left part of the diagram,

whereas some LSI-values located in the upper right part of the diagram illustrates a wide dispersion. Apparently variability in breadth of phalanges augments with increasing length. Compared to other skeletal elements, phalanges are not particularly slender or sturdily built, considering their position in Figs 3 to 5 : in all three individuals, the LSI-values of phalanges are positioned in the central part of the scattergrams (first phalanges) or will be found even among the more gracile skeletal elements, as is the case with the second phalanges of the Neolithic cow (Fig. 5). On the contrary, the LSI-values for the metacarpals systematically occupy the outermost left position. Moreover, the “mean” LSI-value lies more distant from the metacarpals than from the first phalanges, hence it would be surprising if the latter really were totally unsuitable for stature and size analyses.Based on the foregoing observations, one could postulate that the approach taken here to evaluate the stature of animals produced meaningful results, as the bulk of the paired measurements, be it from long bones or from more compact skeletal elements, tends to cluster rather nicely. This can be explained by the fact that in both cases we are dealing with autochthonous breeds, with the majority of the measurements coming from female individuals. From Figs 2a-d and 6, each group (long bones, metapodials,

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Fig. 6 : Büyükkaya, Turkey : LSI stature diagram.


talus, phalanges) on its own as well as a combination of skeletal elements can be used for comparison with similar bones from other Bos populations, provided sample size is large enough and the ratio male to female in the samples grosso modo the same. But there might be limitations to the “LSI stature analysis” approach. The overall higher variability in metacarpals due to sexual dimorphism, for example, likely make them less suitable for this kind of metric analysis compared to the other long bones and talus. On the other hand, talus measurements do not seem very useful for recognising systematically castrated or very tall individuals in assemblages. Moreover, from REICHSTEINʼs in-depth study, we know that if size estimates based on different skeletal elements

of Bos are compared, the results will vary considerably, particularly when dealing with late-fusing long bones. In sum, it seems that the “LSI stature analysis” may produce interpretable results for Bos if the bulk of the bones pertains to small to medium sized animals (up to c. 1,30-1,35 m), while a preponderance of larger individuals, in particular castrated animals, will render matters more complicated.

“LSI STATURE ANALYSIS” AND NORTHEAST AFRICAN CATTLE

If the “LSI stature analysis” is applied to cattle remains

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Fig. 7 : North-east Africa : LSI stature diagram of cattle bones from several sites.


from sites in the Egyptian and Central Sudanese Nile Valley and in the south-western Libyan desert, an interesting pattern emerges (Fig. 7) : The LSI-values obtained on Bos phalanges from Egyptian and the Central Sudanese populations show no overlap. The two series fit virtual ellipses, their long axes running almost parallel. Thus, in prehistoric times, the Nile Valley obviously witnessed the presence of cattle breeds of different stature. From Fig. 7, it can be seen that LSI-values obtained on Bos from the south-western Libyan desert form a broad ellipse, which intersects with the other two ellipses. Besides, the LSI-values for Bos specimens collected in the south-western Libyan desert overlap only partly with the values calculated for cattle from the Nile Valley, while the remaining LSI-values document animals that are more gracile and eventually stood less at the withers compared to either Egyptian or Central Sudanese cattle. Thus, while some of the ʻdesert ̓cattle probably showed similarities to animals living either in the Egyptian or the Central Sudanese Nile valley, a third type of cattle, probably of smaller body mass, can be postulated (for details see PÖLLATH, in press). This diversity in phenotype may well have to do with the species ̓ adaptation to different environments and its mode of exploitation by man (transhumance ?), but this needs to be substantiated by further research Up to now, the presence/absence of Bos in the faunal record of a region has been a decisive criterion to reconstruct the spreading of cattle pastoralism on the African continent. In view of the possible diversity in cattle phenotype in prehistoric north-eastern Africa, however, it will be necessary to define which phenotype(s) of cattle made its/their way to sub-Saharan Africa, in order to unravel the pattern of diffusion of pastoralism into sub-Saharan Africa in sufficient detail. An important tool to evaluate this crucial aspect are the osteometrical data bases for African Bos, to which Louis CHAIX already contributed a lot and hopefully will for many years to come.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The financial support of the Deutsche Forschungsge-meinschaft for the “Sonderforschungsbereich 389” is gratefully acknowledged.

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On the possible use of the LSI scaling technique for stature analysis in cattle