Measurements of bones of seven female Barrosãs and one male barrosão (Boy Taurus L. 1758): a baseline for zooarchaeologists with notes on the evolution of Portuguese aurochsen and cattle

Resumen

Measurements of the bones of 7? and 1? Barros. cattle from Portugal are presented. These may serve as a baseline for osteometrical studies of Bos in Iberia. Sexual dimorphism varies: shaft width measurements show considerable dimorphism while those of the M3 and metapodial lengths show little. An osteometrical survey of late Pleistocene to modern Portuguese Bos reveals Pleistocene-Holocene (Magdalenian-Early Mesolithic) size reduction that accords with Bergmann’s rule. During the Mesolithic aurochsen dwarfed slightly possibly due to overhunting. Some large Chalcolithic Bos, probably aurochsen, had increased in size after the Mesolithic. Neolithic to Muslim period Bos were smaller and probably therefore domestic. Predator pressure relaxed during the Neolithic with the arrival of domesticated livestock allowing aurochsen to recover some of their former size – a scenario with parallels in the Near East and Denmark. After the reconquista, cattle increased in size. Modern Barros. are even more robust – reflecting selection for meat and power.