Archaeofauna from an Early Iron Age (900-500 BCE) village in Central Iberia: The role of meat consumption and secondary products in an extended household

This paper presents the results of an extensive systematic sampling of archaeofauna (>5,000 bone remains) in a domestic context in the village of Cerro de San Vicente (Salamanca, Spain). One of the objectives of the 2006, 2021 and 2022 excavation campaigns was to obtain a representative selection for inferring the use of domesticates and meat consumption in a multi-dwelling compound arranged around a central courtyard dating from c. 650-500 BCE and interpreted as the neighbourhood of a well-off virilocal corporate group, which yielded numerous indications of intensely ritualised maintenance, festive and commensal activities. The study of the fauna is approached here from a taxonomic, anatomical and taphonomic perspective, and the target depositional contexts were several middens and the occupation layers infilling domestic structures. The results indicate the predominance of the consumption of adult sheep and goats —kept until old age for the benefit of wool, in keeping with the region's long pastoral tradition— adult bovids —whose pulling power was exploited— and the slaughter of adult pigs. This investigation draws attention to the high proportion of bone remains from game species such as deer compared to domestic species, as well as the sporadic consumption of chelonians and equids —most likely domestic horses imbued with aristocratic values— and the ritual consumption of dogs associated with a domestic sanctuary.