Remarks on the faunal remains of some early farming communities in central Europe

Animal remains from six sites of the earliest Linear Pottery in Germany are evaluated for their taxonomie composition and compared to published sites of the same period. The conventional listing of taxonomie units does not provide any clear pattern of similarities between the sites. Grouping the animal remains into four units, however, makes a geographical pattern visible. These groups comprise: 1- wild and domestic cattle; 2 - wild ungulates except wild cattle; 3 - middle-sized domestic artiodactyles (pig, sheep, goat); 4 - others. The quantitative relationships between these groups show similarities between the sites in south Germany versus those in the Rhine-Main area. Sites in central Germany and Austria show differents patterns. Problems qf the interpretation of the relative proportion of wild and domestic animais at Neolithic sites are discussed. A final evaluation appears impossible at present.