Abstract | U ovom doktorskom radu prezentirani su rezultati arheozoološke analize ostataka velikih sisavaca s neolitičkog lokaliteta Gorjani – Kremenjača i eneolitičkih slojeva lokaliteta Tomašanci – Palača. Uz to, prikazani su i rezultati analize stabilnih izotopa uzoraka životinjskih kosti te rezultati analize drevne DNK domaćeg goveda s više neolitičkih i eneolitičkih lokaliteta na prostoru istočne Hrvatske. Cilj istraživanja bio je upotpuniti naša saznanja o uzgoju i eksploataciji životinja u neolitiku i eneolitiku u istočnoj Hrvatskoj te o strategijama preživljavanja onodobnih zajednica, dok su analize stabilnih izotopa omogućile proučavanje strategije ispaše stada i njihovu mobilnost, a analiza drevne DNK domaćeg goveda pružila je uvid u populacijsku strukturu te vrste. Utvrđeno je da je upravo domaće govedo činilo osnovicu stočarske djelatnosti za neolitičke i eneolitičke populacije na ovom prostoru te da se uzgajalo primarno radi eksploatacije sekundarnih proizvoda, odnosno mlijeka, a djelomično i radi dobivanja mesa. Druge domaće (domaća svinja, ovikapridi, pas) i divlje životinje (pragovedo, jelen obični, srna, divlja svinja, divlji magarac) zastupljene su s vrlo malim brojem koštanih ostataka. Sveukupno, rezultati su pokazali da između neolitika i eneolitika istočne Hrvatske nema značajnijih razlika u eksploataciji životinjskih vrsta. |
Abstract (english) | One of the main features of the Neolithic way of life is the transition to sedentism, and within it the breeding of domestic animals, i.e. animal husbandry. The set of changes that followed this transition from hunting and gathering to agricultural production of food is one of the most important topics that archaeozoologists study. Determination of taxonomic and population differences within and between faunal assemblages, their quantification, as well as the application of biomolecular analyses are largely evolving precisely within this research area. Based on the available information, it is considered that the Eneolithic did not bring significant changes in the taxonomic composition of the animals that man kept and raised. Although innovations in ways of exploiting animals such as the use of milk, wool and labour were for a long time wrongly associated exclusively with the Eneolithic, the use of animals for these products or purposes truly flourished in Anatolia and the Balkans approximately during this period. Since modern research has confirmed the traditional theory of the spread of animal husbandry from the Middle East via Southeast Europe to the west and north of the continent, the reconstruction of human-animal relationships in eastern Croatia is extremely important in studying the creation of a network of permanent human settlements in prehistory. However, archaeozoological analyses, which more or less still represent the chief method of studying human-animal relationships, and publications thereof are relatively scarce when it comes to faunal assemblages from continental Croatia. Therefore, this doctoral thesis, whose topic is the reconstruction of subsistence strategies of the Neolithic and Eneolithic communities in eastern Croatia, based on the archaeozoological analysis of the remains of large mammals from the sites Gorjani – Kremenjača and Tomašanci - Palača, fills some gaps in our knowledge about breeding and exploitation of animals and the subsistence strategies of the local communities at that time. The thesis presents the results of the analysis of the faunal assemblages from the two sites, which included anatomical and taxonomical identification and the taphonomical analysis. Furthermore, it presents the results of the stable isotope analysis performed on a number of bone and tooth samples from several additional sites in the region, as well as the analysis of domestic cattle aDNA. All the results are discussed with regard to faunal composition, butchery practices and food preparation, herd management and seasonal occupation in order to determine whether the transition from Neolithic to Eneolithic brings any changes in terms of subsistence strategies at the two sites. The analysis indicated that domestic cattle formed the basis of the animal husbandry for Neolithic and Eneolithic populations in this area and that it was bred primarily for the exploitation of secondary products, i.e. milk, and partly for the purpose of obtaining meat. Other domestic (domestic pig, ovicaprids, dog) and wild animals (aurochs, red deer, roe deer, wild ass) are represented by a very small number of remains. Overall, the results showed that there are no significant differences in the exploitation of animal species between the Neolithic and Eneolithic of Eastern Croatia, suggesting that animal husbandry of this region corresponds to what we know about the subsistence strategies of the wider area at that time. |