A Whole Range of Cattle—An Isotopic Perspective on Roman Animal Husbandry in Lower Austria and Burgenland (Austria)

TL;DR

This study uses bone measurements and isotope analysis to investigate whether small and large cattle in Roman Austria were different breeds or raised differently.

Contribution

The study combines archaeozoological biometry with stable isotope analysis to explore Roman cattle husbandry practices in Central Europe.

Findings

Isotope data showed no consistent differences between small and large cattle, suggesting they were raised together.

Isotope signals were site-specific and not related to bone size, indicating similar husbandry practices for both types.

Intra-site variability in isotope signals hints at potential differences that require larger sample sets for confirmation.

Abstract

Cattle remains from the Roman period often indicate both small and large individuals. This can be evidenced through the variability in bone measurements related to the stature of living animals. It is widely believed that these differences are too great to be related to the size pattern of cows and bulls from a single population, instead pointing to the presence of different types. The smaller one is usually conceived as autochthonous, while the larger one is interpreted as—originally—introduced Roman cattle. Apparently, for the first time in Central Europe, people would use two or more breeds of the same domestic species. To determine the background of this new production regime, we analysed four stable isotope ratios of bone collagen from small and large specimens from Roman sites, including urban, rural, civilian, military, and ritual. If the two types were raised differently, this should be visible by the isotope ratios providing information about nourishment and origin. The results produced no consistent differences between small and large cattle; rather, these were raised side by side. Apparently, Roman agriculture was complex enough to support various breeds simultaneously, but further research on intra-site variability is needed.

In this study, we try to combine traditional archaeozoological biometry, based on outer bone measurements, with stable isotope analyses of bone collagen. Right from the start of archaeozoological research in Central and Western Europe, the important size variability in Roman domestic cattle has puzzled scholars. According to an established view, these differences in bone size are attributed either to the simultaneous presence of different types or even breeds or to the result of crossbreeding of smaller, native, and larger Roman cattle. Likewise, the episodic import of large-sized animals has been considered. First, we selected thirty proximal phalanges of cattle from three sites including five archaeological contexts from eastern Austria (Roman provinces of Noricum and Pannonia). The bone sample comprised the whole hitherto observed metric variability in Roman provincial cattle, and we tried to include minimal and maximal specimens. The results from stable isotope analyses (δ15N, δ13C, δ18O, δ2H) carried out on thirty proximal phalanges indicated that isotope signals were rather site-specific and, generally, not related to bone size. Therefore, we conclude that at least in the area investigated, small and large cattle types were raised and herded in the same areas and not spatially separated. There are, however, uncertain indicators of intra-site differences in isotope signals related to bone size, which should be checked on much larger sample sets.

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