An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c6.s2.t2.8

v1.c6.s2.t2.8

*1.2.4 Ovis orientalis vignei* (sheep). The domesticated sheep is widely represented at most excavated sites. The animal appears to have been profusely slaughtered during the Mesolithic (65% of the total bone collection at TILWARA are of sheep), suggestive of a pastoral economy where they formed an important dietary item. Evidence from the lower Deccan Neolithic sites (cf. goat from HALLUR) indicates that only small herds were kept and the number of unworn teeth and unfused epiphyses suggests that animals between the ages of 2 to 3 years were butchered. Probably lambs were eaten, while ewes were kept for breeding and milk. The measurements of sheep bones from prehistoric sites generally tend to be larger than those of the modern sheep. At PIKLIHAL bones of the goat predominate over those of the sheep, the latter being similar to those of the modern domestic sheep of the Deccan.