A novel method for integrated age and sex determination from archaeological cattle mandibles

S. McGrory*, E. M. Svensson, A. Götherström, J. Mulville, A. J. Powell, M. J. Collins, T. P. O'Connor

*Corresponding author for this work
7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Analysis of ancient cattle husbandry is compromised by the need for conventional analysis of sex and age at death to use different elements of the skeleton, usually from different individuals. We demonstrate a technique using aDNA acquired from cattle mandibles and combined with age-at-death estimation based on dental eruption in the same specimens. Application to small sample groups from two sites in Na h-Eileanan Siar (the Scottish Western Isles) show a high success rate, and demonstrates the potential for a more nuanced interpretation of ancient cattle husbandry.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Archaeological Science
Volume39
Issue number10
Pages (from-to)3324-3330
Number of pages7
ISSN0305-4403
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2012

Keywords

  • Cattle
  • DNA
  • Husbandry
  • Mortality
  • Zooarchaeology

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