Danmarks Not-So-Oldest Sheep: An Update on Domestic Animals from the Femern Project

Daniel Groß; Samantha Presslee; Ulrich  Schmölcke; Elena Nikulina; Jessica Ruth Hendy

doi:10.7146/dja.v13i1.145009

Danmarks Not-So-Oldest Sheep: An Update on Domestic Animals from the Femern Project

Daniel Groß, Samantha Presslee, Ulrich Schmölcke, Elena Nikulina, Jessica Ruth Hendy

Archaeology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Sheep and goats are often considered to be the oldest livestock animals in Denmark. In this contribution, we present the results of ZooMS measurements from seven ovicaprid bones from the Femern project, an excavation in the area of the former Syltholm Fjord (Lolland, Denmark). The bones were morphologically identified as sheep or goats and represented the oldest dated remains of both species in Denmark. However, the ZooMS analysis showed that more than half of the morphological identifications were incorrect. For the other samples, we refined the identifications. Hence, our study confirms that indications of sheep and goat husbandry based on bone morphology alone should be treated with caution. The probability of misidentification in our case was high, even in the case of well-preserved bones

Original language	English
Article number	145009
Number of pages	10
Journal	Danish Journal of Archaeology
Volume	13
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.7146/dja.v13i1.145009
Publication status	Published - 26 Aug 2024

Bibliographical note

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10.7146/dja.v13i1.145009Licence: CC BY-NC-SA

Denmark’s Not-So-Oldest Sheep: An Update on Domestic Animals from the Femern Project
(c) 2024 Daniel Groß, Samantha Presslee, Ulrich Schmölcke, Elena A. Nikulina, Jessica Hendy
Final published version, 1.42 MBLicence: CC BY-NC-SA

Cite this

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abstract = "Sheep and goats are often considered to be the oldest livestock animals in Denmark. In this contribution, we present the results of ZooMS measurements from seven ovicaprid bones from the Femern project, an excavation in the area of the former Syltholm Fjord (Lolland, Denmark). The bones were morphologically identified as sheep or goats and represented the oldest dated remains of both species in Denmark. However, the ZooMS analysis showed that more than half of the morphological identifications were incorrect. For the other samples, we refined the identifications. Hence, our study confirms that indications of sheep and goat husbandry based on bone morphology alone should be treated with caution. The probability of misidentification in our case was high, even in the case of well-preserved bones",

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