A preliminary investigation of cattle (Bos taurus) size and shape changes between the Copper Age and the Bronze Age in Northern Italy

The period spanning between the Late Neolithic and the Bronze Age in Northern Italy witnessed the introduction of a number of innovations, such as new settlement patterns and new husbandry strategies, which signalled a distinct break from previous Neolithic cultural and economic traditions. Previous zooarchaeological studies suggest that, until the late Copper Age, cattle were large, closer to their Neolithic counterparts in terms of size. In the Bronze Age, however, a significant reduction in body size was noted. Since that phenomenon has been mainly based on macroscopic observations, and the size reduction has never been confirmed in terms of biometry, this work aims to explore the presence (or absence) of size and shape variations in cattle throughout this period through the use of a variety of biometrical techniques. Our results appear to contradict what previous researchers had noted since postcranial measurements reveal no significant changes in body size and shape trends emerging between periods.