ABSTRACT
This chapter explores aspects of the economic, social and ontological relations between people and animals during the Early and Middle Neolithic of the European lowlands. It discusses the origin of domesticated animals in the North European Plain, the character of animal exploitation economies in the Early Neolithic, and their transformations in the Middle Neolithic. The chapter focuses on systematic studies of the animal bone assemblages and their multiscalar context that originate from ten Early and Middle Neolithic settlements from the Kujavia and the Wielkopolska regions which are both located in the central part of the Polish lowlands. It presents data from all available Early and Middle Neolithic faunal assemblages from the Polish part of the North European Plain and belonging to the Danubian tradition. The chapter collects the data with the specific aim of investigating the origin of stock-keeping and the social context of animal exploitation strategies in the Early and Middle Neolithic of the North European Plain.
