Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
References for this paper are not available at this time. We will be adding them shortly, thank you for your patience.
Several assumptions on the size of the African aurochs have been tested primarily using measurements assembled from the literature. During the Holocene, the African aurochs was indeed smaller than its European and Near Eastern cousins and it appears also to have been more gracile. The available African aurochs measurements of this period probably derive mostly from male animals, since many females may have been misidentified as domestic cattle. Therefore, the degree of sexual dimorphism remains unknown, although iconographic evidence suggests that it may have been marked. Male Holocene aurochs probably reached a height of about 160 cm at the withers and is not taller than Pleistocene female aurochs, which grew to between 140 and 160 cm. The height at the withers of the Pleistocene male individuals is estimated at between 150 and 170 cm. As in Europe, the aurochs in Africa underwent a size decline between the Pleistocene and the Holocene. The Pleistocene African aurochs moreover seems to have been more robust than its Holocene successor.
Journal of African Archaeology – Brill
Published: Oct 25, 2004
Keywords: Archaeozoology; Bos primigenius; Quaternary
Read and print from thousands of top scholarly journals.
Already have an account? Log in
Bookmark this article. You can see your Bookmarks on your DeepDyve Library.
To save an article, log in first, or sign up for a DeepDyve account if you don’t already have one.
Copy and paste the desired citation format or use the link below to download a file formatted for EndNote
Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
All DeepDyve websites use cookies to improve your online experience. They were placed on your computer when you launched this website. You can change your cookie settings through your browser.