Dama Dentition: A New Tooth Eruption and Wear Method for Assessing the Age of Fallow Deer (Dama dama)

Authors

Frazer Bowen, University of Nottingham
Ruth F. Carden, National Museum of Ireland
Julie Daujat, University of Nottingham
Sandrine Grouard, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle
Holly Miller, University of Nottingham
Sophia Perdikaris, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Naomi Sykes, University of NottinghamFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2016

Citation

International Journal of Osteoarchaeology (2016) 26: 1,089–1,098.

doi: 10.1002/oa.2523

Comments

Copyright 2016, Wiley, Used by permission.

Abstract

Reliable aging techniques for wild animals are notoriously challenging to develop because of the scarcity of sizeable collections of known-age specimens. Without such techniques it is difficult to reconstruct hunting patterns, which is a significant problem for the examination of assemblages from pre-farming cultures. This paper presents a new method, based on mandibular tooth eruption and wear, for assessing the age of fallow deer. The method was developed from a large collection (n = 156) of known-age Dama dama specimens, has been blind tested by members of the zooarchaeological community and represents a user-friendly system with the potential to generate large compatible datasets through which the dynamics of human–Dama relationships can be examined.