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

Abstract

The archaeozoological finds of avifauna discovered duringthe excavations of pile-dwelling settlements in the Ljubljanskobarje are presented. The list contains 36 species of birds from9 orders. These are suggested to represent bone accumulationsfrom the kitchen refuse of pile-dwelling settlements from theCopper  and  early  Bronze  Age,  i.e.  from  the  period  from  thefirst half of the 4th to the first half of the 2nd millennia BC.It is concluded that the composition of the avifauna prima-rily exhibits a preference of the settlers for individual speciesof prey. Hence the reconstruction of the paleo-environment isincomplete and is limited to the hunting habitat of the hunt-ers  from  the  pile-dwelling  settlements.  The  ecological  andhabitation  requirements  of  the  birds  lead  to  the  conclusionthat in the vicinity of the pile-dwelling settlements there wasan  extensive  biotope  with  standing  water  and  clearly  distin-guished  pelagic  (open  water  surface)  and  littoral  (bank)  ar-eas. It can also be concluded that the depth of the water in thelake at the deepest point was several meters. The hypothesizedextensive littoral aquatic biotope was composed of several zones:a region of shallow water with luxuriant submerged and float-ing macrophytic vegetation; extensive flats and shoals prima-rily overgrown with tall herbaceous plants; and marshy grass-land with low vegetation. The land can be concluded to havehad forested, open (non-forested), and mosaic or mixed regions.