Early bronze age fauna from qiryat ata-area o

Extensive salvage excavations at the site of Qiryat Ata exposed faunal remains dating to the three phases identified at the site: Phase 3, Early Bronze Age IB; Phase 2, Late Early Bronze Age IB; and Phase 1, Early Bronze Age II. The most common species in the Phase 3 assemblage is pig, followed by sheep/goat and cattle. For Phase 2, remains of cattle are the most numerous, followed by pig, with only scarce remains of sheep/goat. The largest proportion of identified bones from Area O was recovered from Phase 1: cattle predominate, with smaller numbers of pig and sheep/goat remains, and two bones tentatively attributed to wild boar. The animal economy of Qiryat Ata reflects the increasing social complexity, scale and specialization of Early Bronze Age society in the southern Levant from EB IA through EB II.