ABSTRACT
The procedure of data recording included the identification of specimens to species, skeletal element and side. The geographic context suggests that the camels from Tel Beer-Sheba are the dromedaries breed. It is possible that pigs were avoided in Iron Age Tel Beer-Sheba due to religious taboo. The majority of the faunal remains recovered from Stratum II consist of caprines with Number of Identified Specimens (NISP) value of 3512 and minimum number of individuals (MNI) value of 66. MNI was determined by the most frequent skeletal element, the right distal humerus. In order to refine the dental data and compare them with the epiphysial fusion results, Payne's stages were grouped into three age classes: 0-12 months; 12-36 months; and 36 months or older. Cattle bones were inspected for pathologies occurring as a result of hard labor. The perforation of metapodial bones, reported in the zoo archaeological literature, is normally associated with marrow extraction.
