Janzekovic et al.

ARHEOLOŠKI VESTNIK

ARHEOLOŠKI VESTNIK 56, 2005

Franc JANŽEKOVIČ, Vesna MALEZ and Anton VELUŠČEK

Finds of bird bones at pile-dwelling settlements in the Ljubljansko barje

Abstract

The archaeozoological finds of avifauna discovered during the excavations of pile-dwelling settlements in the Ljubljansko barje are presented. The list contains 36 species of birds from 9 orders. These are suggested to represent bone accumulations from the kitchen refuse of pile-dwelling settlements from the Copper and early Bronze Age, i.e. from the period from the first half of the 4th to the first half of the 2nd millennia BC.

It is concluded that the composition of the avifauna primarily exhibits a preference of the settlers for individual species of prey. Hence the reconstruction of the paleo-environment is incomplete and is limited to the hunting habitat of the hunters from the pile-dwelling settlements. The ecological and habitation requirements of the birds lead to the conclusion that in the vicinity of the pile-dwelling settlements there was an extensive biotope with standing water and clearly distinguished pelagic (open water surface) and littoral (bank) areas. It can also be concluded that the depth of the water in the lake at the deepest point was several meters. The hypothesized extensive littoral aquatic biotope was composed of several zones: a region of shallow water with luxuriant submerged and floating macrophytic vegetation; extensive flats and shoals primarily overgrown with tall herbaceous plants; and marshy grassland with low vegetation. The land can be concluded to have had forested, open (non-forested), and mosaic or mixed regions.

Keywords: archaeozoology, birds (Aves), reconstruction of the paleoenvironment, pile-dwelling period, Ljubljansko barje, Slovenia

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