ИСТИНА

This thesis investigates aspects of cattle breed development and introduction, characteristics of sex-function and age components using a modern reference collection and zooarchaeological specimens. The development of a modern reference collection of bones with individuals of known age, sex-function and breed allowed the establishment of a baseline against which zooarchaeological specimens were compared. For this, methods of geometric morphometrics were applied, which helped to identify size and shape similarities or differences in bone specimens. To date, extremely limited work has been done in Ireland to investigate Irish zooarchaeological material using geometric approaches. This thesis provides an opportunity to address Irish research questions regarding agricultural economies and husbandry from the Early Medieval through to the Post-Medieval periods using these techniques. This study was comprised of various modern breeds, and included females, males, castrates and oxen of different ages using 59 astragalus, 59 calcaneus, 165 metacarpal and 173 metatarsal bones. The zooarchaeological collection consisted of 97 astragalus, 49 calcaneus, 59 metacarpal and 92 metatarsal bones that came from various sites across Ireland. For the modern reference collection it was found that shape of the studied bones was more suitable than size for examining differences between the breed groups, breed groups by their purpose and sex-function groups. The age component was found to affect both size and shape variations of the bones in specimens under 48 months but no changes in bones were identified in cattle over 48 months. The results of the zooarchaeological studies determined that during the Early Medieval the primary aim of cattle husbandry was dairying, but from the beginning of the 1200s both specialised dairying and beef production began to be practiced. Beef was supplied not only by males and castrates but also by females. This new type of cattle husbandry first occurred on the east coast and may have been associated with the Anglo-Normans. Improvement of cattle was identified during the Later Medieval period and during the Post-Medieval this became much more pronounced.