Mesolithic deer hunting- Prey choice of red deer (Cervus elaphus) based on age and sex distibutions

The Mesolithic hunting on red deer (Cervus elaphus) has been examined by analysis of prey choice through theage and sex distributions based on dentition and morphometry of zooarchaeological remains from fiveMesolithic settlements in Sweden dating to 9000–6000 cal BP. The results indicate a general selection of individualsaged 2–5 years at most sites, while the sex distribution was skewed toward either stags or hinds. Thehunting was directed towards animals that provided high immediate and short-term returns of meat. Few observationspoint to hunting patterns that would have been associated to conservational perspectives of the reddeer populations. A comparison indicates that local and site-specific differences in hunting practise can bediscerned which probably was related to local conditions linked to environment, function of sites and huntingtraditions, but no distinct correlation of hunting pattern to chronology or different regions. The study shows thepotential to evaluate kill-off patterns in relation to optimal foraging perspectives restricted to one prey species.

Gummesson, Sara,1984-Stockholms universitet,Osteoarkeologiska forskningslaboratoriet(Swepub:su)sagu4039 (author)
Molin, Fredrik (author)
Zetterlund, Peter (author)
Storå, JanStockholms universitet,Institutionen för arkeologi och antikens kultur(Swepub:su)jstor (author)
Stockholms universitetOsteoarkeologiska forskningslaboratoriet (creator_code:org_t)

By the author/editor: Magnell, Ola; Gummesson, Sara, ...; Molin, Fredrik; Zetterlund, Pete ...; Storå, Jan

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