ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a summary of the findings presented in a recent doctoral dissertation on the faunal remains from Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) sites at the Cape. The Cape was first settled in 1652 when the Dutch East India Company or the VOC established a settlement on the beach in order to consolidate the provisioning of their ships trading between Europe and Asia. The VOC rapidly established its own herds through trade, theft, confiscation, and hybridization. The VOC wanted cattle for their meat as well as as for draught because horses were too weak to pull ploughs and wagons over the demanding Cape terrain. Domesticated European pigs were brought to the Cape with the first contingent of VOC settlers in 1652. They started to die within months of landing, and early records mention that few of the young survived more than a few days from birth.
