Man and Beast in Chalcolithic Cyprus

The range of animals exploited during the Cypriot Chalcolithic shows continuity from the preceding Aceramic and Ceramic Neolithic periods. For the most part, caprines and pigs were probably herded, domestic animals, but feral populations also may have been hunted. It is highly unlikely that fallow deer, also of great economic importance in Early Prehistoric Cyprus, were ever domesticated. The anachronistic importance of deer hunting in Cyprus is discussed in its ecological and economic context. Trends inferred from faunal remains are interpreted as representing increasingly intensive exploitation of animals during the Chalcolithic.