ABSTRACT
Archaeofaunas are one of the most important components of the archaeological record that can be utilized in the reconstruction of the economic life of ancient settlements and their hinterland. EB faunal remains of the southern Levant have been closely studied, thanks to the research of several scholars. For example, faunal evidence indicates that sheep were raised for their secondary products that could be traded or exchanged, reflecting a shift from subsistence to a ‘market’ economy (Grigson 1995:251). This is supported by texts from Syria and Mesopotamia from the fourth and third millennia BC (Heltzer 1976; Limet 1979; Pettinato 1981; Mudar 1982; Pinnock 1985; Zeder 1991; Steinkeller 1992) which record the movement of animals and agricultural products from the countryside to urban centers. However, the subject of reconstructing exchange patterns from the faunal assemblages, aside from special items such as marine shells, faces several methodological problems based on the interpretation of statistics (cf. Grayson 1979; Wapnish and Hesse 1988; Hesse and Wapnish 2001). Consequently, in this volume, we have chosen to narrow the focus of our subject, since we do not consider ourselves in a position to find an answer to these problems on the basis of the present data. Furthermore, the subject of donkeys will be treated in relation to the transportation and ritual aspect of these burden beasts and not as commodities (see Chapter 10). We will present here two sections in the study of exchange items within the field of archeozoological data where more or less secure statements can be made: marine shells and fish, and objects made of hippopotamus ivory.
