De la chasse à l’élevage : problèmes d’interprétation en Sicile orientale

The work is based on more than 2600 identified bones from 7 archaeological sites. The sites are mainly situated in the south of Western Sicily and assigned to the Later Epigravettian and Middle Neolithic Periods. The archaeozoological analysis shows that the Epipaleolithical faunal remains are dominated by Red Deer. These results differ clearly with the faunal assemblages from settlements of Middle Neolithic date. These latter collections show only the presence of five domesticated species (Cattle, Goat, Sheep, Pig, Dog). Wild species are very rare. Without reflecting the possibility of local domestication (Cattle, Pig), the diffusionist component in current conceptions of the arrival of animal husbandry (goat, sheep, dog) in the Western Mediterranean is reinforced.