Burnt animal rermains from Federmesser sites in the Netherlands

Abstract

During excavations at sites such as Doetinchem and Wierden assemblages of burnt animal remains from Late Palaeolithic camps belonging to the Federmesser tradition have been recovered, the first time that considerable amounts of burnt bone have been found in the sandy area of the Netherlands. In spite of the very limited possibilities for Identification and the uncertain degree of representativeness, this study of very fragmented material turned out to be of great significance due to its rarity and informational value. The diet of the Federmesser people certainly included the meat and fat of elk, horse, wild boar, hare, beaver, pike, salmonids and carp. Finds of primary slaughter refuse at Doetinchem show that the site was a camp where the catch of mammals and fish was slaughtered. Bone and antler may have been used for tools. The animal remains found suggest that the environment consisted of woods, alternated by open areas and stagnant or moderately flowing water.