Methods:
    Seven boxes of bone were examined, all of 2002 and most of 2001. It was not possible to complete the remaining two boxes from the 2001 season, as well as the single box from 2000. Cursory examination of the remaining materials indicates a similar range of fauna as well as similar conditions of the faunal material. Further examination may produce an additional rare species, but it is unlikely, given the range of species already encountered. When bone data has been entered into a computer database, it will be possible to develop richness and diversity indices, which will further illustrate this. Given preliminary analyses, it is unlikely that further statistical analyses will show that a sufficient sample was not reached; rare species were encountered early in the analysis, and further identification did not add additional rare species.
    Bone remains were rather degraded; therefore they were not washed, but dry-brushed. Many bones were badly broken, worn, or had calcium salts adhering to their surface, which made identification difficult, and the recognition of butchery marks nearly impossible in most cases. Bone was sorted into two categories, identifiable and unidentifiable. “Unidentifiable” bone, however, was still further sorted into gross categories, such as large or small mammal, fore- or hind limb, the specimens only being unidentifiable to taxa. These bones were recorded in bulk. Those bones that were identifiable were separated by taxa and recorded individually. When possible, measurements were taken, but again, the adherent salts and degradation of the bones made measurement difficult in all but a few cases.

Results:
    A number of mammalian taxa were present in the Tell Borg fauna. Among these were cattle, pig, ovicaprines (sheep and goat), donkey, small horse, dog, and a few wild specimens (i.e., rodents). Of the domesticates, cattle and pig were by far the most common, and most likely represent the majority of the food resources at Tell Borg. An interesting aspect of the cattle remains is that most of them come from young animals, teeth are not very worn, and in many cases, the bone epiphyses are not fused. Pigs show a greater range of ages. It is strange that young animals should dominate the cattle remains. Since cattle provide a number of secondary products, such as milk, traction, and even fertilizer, the animals are often kept for longer periods of time before they are slaughtered, in order to extract these secondary products. A herd structure like that of Tell Borg, one in which animals are slaughtered at relatively young ages, indicates a focus on meat, and therefore provisioning. It is possible that given the purpose of the site, a fort, that soldiers were provided with “provisions” in the form of cattle herded from the delta or elsewhere in the Nile valley.
    Pig, on the other hand, cannot be herded. They are heat sensitive, and much less docile than cattle, and their feet are not adapted to traveling long distances. Given this, it is likely that pig were produced on-site. There is evidence at Amarna that pigs were produced within urban contexts, as sties have been excavated in the residential areas of the city. Pigs would be quite easy to raise in urban settings, given sufficient shade and water. Their diets are flexible, they eat much of the leavings of the human table, as well as other types of human waste (feces); they may even provide a service in sanitation in urban settings. The prevalence of pig in Egyptian contexts is interesting, especially considering its lack in textual materials or other forms of record, such as tomb decoration. Cattle, on the other hand, are quite common in these settings.
    Besides the mammalian fauna, there are also a number of fish, reptile, and bird species present in the Tell Borg faunal assemblages. Fish are among the most abundant taxa. The presence of a branch of the Nile cutting through the site is further attested to by the presence of so many riverine resources. Fish taxa include catfish, perch, and drum fish; further study will be undertaken regarding the fish. Birds are mostly waterfowl, such as ducks and geese. These may have been hunted, but it is equally possible that they were kept as barnyard fowl. There is a large amount of ostrich eggshell at the site, but as yet, no ostrich bones. If ostrich were local, eggs could have been collected; otherwise the eggs were traded in. Eggs could have been used for a number of purposes, either as food or for decorative purposes (vessels), there is evidence in southern Africa as early as the Mesolithic that fragments of ostrich eggshell was drilled and then ground to form beads. A small amount of turtle and crocodile was also found, but whether these were food resources it is not possible to tell.
    A large amount of shell was also found, some of it freshwater, some saltwater. However, given the depositional history of the site, it is not possible to tell whether this is present due to natural or cultural processes.

Further Research:
    This report is preliminary, without the confirmation of statistical analysis; it is not possible to discuss the relative importance of any particular species, nor distributions of species throughout the site. That will only be possible once the data has been entered and examined via computer. Such manipulation of the data should provide clear patterns of faunal usage throughout the site, as well as information regarding herding and culling practices, and provisioning and distribution of animal carcass parts throughout the site.

Michelle A. Loyet  

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