Erika Gal. Fowling in Lowlands: Neolithic and Chalcolithic bird exploitation in South-East Romania and the Great Hungarian Plain.

Erika Gal. Fowling in Lowlands: Neolithic and Chalcolithic bird exploitation in South-East Romania and the Great Hungarian Plain. ERIKA GAL. Fowling in Lowlands: Neolithic and Chalcolithic birdexploitation in South-East Romania and the Great Hungarian Plain For the Great Plains region in the United States, see .The Great Hungarian Plain (also known as Great Alf?ld, Alf?ld, or Pannonian Plain) is a plain occupying the southern and eastern part of Hungary, some parts of eastern Slovakia ( (Archaeolingua Series Minor 24). 149 pages, b&w & colourillustrations. 2007. Budapest: Archaeolingua Alapitvany;978-963-8046-85-7 paperback 28 [euro]. Looking at a Neolithic or Chalcolithic settlement site in, say,southern Europe or Britain, one tends to encounter a familiar faunalassemblage. Usually, at the top of the menu are domestic cattle, sheepor pig, followed by red and roe deer and sometimes, if the site isearly, aurochs aurochs:see cattle. aurochsor aurochExtinct wild ox (Bos primigenius) of Europe, the species from which cattle are probably descended. The aurochs survived in central Poland until 1627. It was black, stood 6 ft (1. and wild boar. Carefully excavated sites sometimes revealfish and marine mammal remains. However, we tend to forget or ignorethat the Neolithic had a mixed economy where both domesticated do��mes��ti��cate?tr.v. do��mes��ti��cat��ed, do��mes��ti��cat��ing, do��mes��ti��cates1. To cause to feel comfortable at home; make domestic.2. To adopt or make fit for domestic use or life.3. a. and wildfoods were utilised. Apparently missing from this diverse and variedmenu are avian remains. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Based on the extensive and dedicated research of the author, thestudy of archaeo-ornithology (a subdiscipline sub��dis��ci��pline?n.A field of specialized study within a broader discipline; a subfield. of archaeozoology) inEastern Europe has recently come of age. In this study, Erika Gal hascollated the avian remains from 27 Neolithic and 15 Chalcolithic siteswithin eastern Romania and the Great Hungarian Plain. According to theauthor birds were not domesticated at this time. However, it is clearfrom archaeological and anthropological evidence that birds were notjust considered as a provider of food. Bones were made into tools, eggswere collected (sometimes made into items of jewellery) and the featherswere used as items of adornment and fletching. This concise and most informative book, although focusing on justtwo areas of Eastern Europe, contains many parallels with estuarine es��tu��a��rine?adj.1. Of, relating to, or found in an estuary.2. Geology Formed or deposited in an estuary.Adj. 1. estuarine - of or relating to or found in estuariesestuarial andlakeside environments elsewhere during this period. The book comprises10 chapters and useful appendices which provide an essential avianclassification list and a metrical analysis of individual speciesrecovered from the various sites. Chapter 1 sets the scene and provides the reader with a usefulreview of the literature. Chapter 2 deals with the data set from the twostudy areas and discusses their environmental and ecological context.This general introduction is limited and more could have been saidconcerning site morphology and distribution. Although this informationis spread over the following chapters, setting it out here would haveprovided a firm foundation for the rest of the book. Chapters 3 to 6discuss the regional distribution of avian remains from Gal'sselection of Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites. Within each chapter areuseful spreadsheets displaying the different species recovered. However,unless already familiar with the archaeology and cultural complexity ofthe region, the reader would have benefited from a simple table (maybein Chapter 1) displaying the chronological development and culturalperiods in the region. Chapter 7 is essential. Here, Gal discusses in detail thetaphonomic problems associated with the survival of bone, starting withquestioning the accuracy of bone identification from previous research.I would tend to support Gal on this issue, especially when inaccurateidentification can be so crucial to site interpretation. Despite theavian assemblages being relatively small (compared with other faunalremains) the issue of misidentification is clearly addressed. Theproblems of deposition, modification (post-treatment; burning, butcheryand gnawing) and distribution are covered fully and later discussed. Thelatter part of the chapter is devoted to birds of prey, perhaps anunusual assemblage to find on a settlement site? Gal suggests that these(arguably inedible) raptors were admired, probably revered for theirhunting skills. Interestingly, the philosophical and ethnographicrecords support this analogy (e.g. Levi-Strauss 1962; Flood 1995). Chapters 8 and 9 are concerned with pathology and the dramaticreduction in the natural habitat for birds that once graced the wateryenvironments of the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods. The concludingchapter emphasises the importance of this small assemblage within laterprehistoric society. Much of what Gal suggests is relevant to many othersites and the methodologies used and results gained by Gal shed newlight on a much ignored activity during this period. Despite my criticisms, I congratulate the publishers Archaeolinguafor taking on such a specialist subject; there are very few mainstreampublishers prepared to consider such a title. I also congratulate theauthor for tackling this crucial subject in this way. The book isextremely readable and informative and will be of great use outsideEastern Europe; I would recommend it to anyone interested inNeolithic--and earlier hunter/fisher/gatherer--sites that occupylakeside and riverine riv��er��ine?adj.1. Relating to or resembling a river.2. Located on or inhabiting the banks of a river; riparian: "Members of a riverine tribe ... environments. References FLOOD, J. 1995. Archaeology of the Dreamtime dream��timealso Dream��time ?n.The time of the creation of the world in Australian Aboriginal mythology: "Aboriginal myths tell of the legendary totemic beings who wandered across the country in the Dreamtime . . . (third revisededition). Sydney: Angus & Robertson. LEVI-STRAUSS, C. 1962. Totemism totemismComplex of ideas and practices based on the belief in kinship or mystical relationship between a group (or individual) and a natural object, such as an animal or plant. The term derives from the Ojibwa word ototeman, signifying a blood relationship. (trans. Rodney Needham).Harmondsworth: Penguin. GEORGE NASH Nash? , Ogden 1902-1971.American writer known for his droll epigrammatic verse, much of which appeared in the New Yorker.Noun 1. Nash - United States writer noted for his droll epigrams (1902-1971)Ogden Nash Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Bristol (Email: George.Nash@bristol.ac.uk)