Egyptian Old Kingdom Patterns of Animal Use and the Value of Faunal Data in Modeling Socioeconomic Systems.

Abstract

Analysis of faunal remains from the Nile Delta site of Kom el-Hisn has yielded a model of Old Kingdom rural animal production tactics. Kom el-Hisn was a locus of specialized, centrally controlled cattle and sheep herding with pigs and goats reared for local consumption. This analysis generates predictions of the structure of a faunal sample from a site provisioned by a central authority. These predictions are tested with the faunal sample from the workers' village at the Giza pyramid complex. The success of the test indicates the potential of faunal data in socioeconomic structure in food societies.