‘Atiqot - Publications of the Israel Antiquities Authority

‘Atiqot 79 (2014) ISBN 2948-040X

Faunal Remains from the Early Bronze Age Site of Qiryat Ata—Area N (pp. 45–57)
Nuha Agha
Keywords: archaeozoology, osteology, economy, domestication, bones, horns, cutting marks, gnawing marks, skinning
The assemblage consists of animal remains recovered from clear stratigraphic EB IB (N = 64) and EB II (N = 66) contexts. The identified remains were of livestock—sheep, goats, cattle and pigs—and a few wild animals, such as mountain gazelle and fallow deer. The age of the cattle remains in the EB II phase attests that most animals reached maturity; hence, their value was in secondary products, such as milk and/or labor, rather than their meat. In both periods, hunting of wild animals played only a marginal role in the economy of the site. These finds revealed that the transition from the early EB IB village to the EB II urban settlement was gradual.