Animal husbandry in Sicilian prehistory: The zooarchaeological perspective from Vallone Inferno (Scillato, Palermo)

Abstract

Starting in the mid-6th millennium cal BCE, Neolithic groups occupied the midlands of Sicily. The economy of these groups was based primarily on livestock farming. Archaeological and archaeobotanical data indicate an intensification of livestock practices during the Early Bronze Age, leading to a change in the landscape in the form of more open forests. The Vallone Inferno rockshelter in the Madonie massif is one of the few sites that has been systematically excavated in these midlands, and has yielded evidence of Middle Neolithic and Early Bronze Age occupations. This work focuses on the study of prehistoric husbandry in the Sicilian midlands and highlands through the analysis of the Vallone Inferno faunal remains. Although the Middle Neolithic and Early Bronze Age faunal assemblages of Vallone Inferno are mixed, the paucity of information from other sites in this area makes their study worthwhile. The faunal remains were analysed by means of a zooarchaeological and taphonomic study. Prehistoric Sicilian shepherds adapted to the conditions and resources of the Madonie massif midlands and highlands through husbandry and hunting practices. Husbandry was based on raising sheep and goats for meat and milk and exploiting their derivatives. Cattle, pigs and hunted animals were also exploited for their meat. The hunting of deer, leporids and, most probably, wild boar for meat and skins complemented livestock farming. Although mortality profiles should be interpreted with caution, the rockshelter was probably occupied seasonally as a sheepfold during the breeding months and most likely served as an intermediate settlement between herd movements across the Madonie massif. These occupations coincide with a period in which the forests were opened up in the Madonie mountains, which is related to the practice of livestock farming.