The conundrum of castration in the archaeological record: An interpretation of Roman cattle horn‐cores from Chelmsford, Essex

Abstract

Current methods of sexing archaeological Cattle bones, in particular the metapodials, are based upon past research into contemporary breeds and this work embraces a limited sample size, spread across a vast geographical area. Although the separation of cows and bulls is not in question, there appears a great deal of subjectivity in the literature concerning the identification of castrated beasts.Living bone is in a dynamic state of equilibrium with the rest of the body and responds to increased loading, that is, an increase in weight of the beast or stresslstrain through strenuous movement, by remodelling. If cows and oxen are performing the same work, as for example in ploughing, then loading on the bones will be similar. These bones will thus respond by remodelling in corresponding fashion, and hence any morphological and metrical distinctions will be clouded. Horn-cores are less subject to these constraints, although in some cultures there may be loading on these bones, for example through attaching the harness to the horns for ploughing.The Chelmsford cattle horncores constitute waste from some industrial activity and it is argued in the text that horn-working is the most likely candidate, together with possibly tanning. Sexing of the bones strongly indicated male animals, with few females being present. A procedure for detecting castrated cattle (oxen) is presented, the results of which suggest an equivalent ratio of oxen to bulls.

Sexing cattle horn‐cores: problems and progress

“…Variations in curvature and torsion were equally erratic and no unambiguous links to sex could be made, although it might be argued, as did Grigson (1976: 132), that the horn-cores of cows were generally more curved and displayed a higher degree of torsion than those of bulls, which were generally straighter and exhibited lower levels of torsion. One claim that can be dismissed with greater confidence is Luff's (1994) suggestion that grooving on the surface of the core can be correlated with castration. We observed this trait on the horn-cores of both cows and bulls but not on either of the two specimens labelled as 'ox'.…”

“…Non-metrical traits such as curvature and torsion were also recorded, being defined and graded according to Figure 1. The presence of longitudinal grooving was given particular attention since Luff (1994) suggested this to be a characteristic of castration. The severity of grooving was graded on a scale of 0 to 4, those specimens recorded as '0' demonstrating no groves whilst specimens classified as '4' showing deep and well-defined striations on their ventral surface.…”

“…The usefulness of these morphological traits was reinforced in Armitage's 1982 paper, which also included his heavily modified system of type classification (Table 1) and a new method for determining age from horn-core texture. These techniques for classification, ageing and sexing have since been adopted widely by zooarchaeologists, and some researchers have even attempted to refine Armitage's methods for the detection of castrates on the basis of their own archaeological studies (Luff, 1994). Despite the frequent application of these methods, many researchers have found them problematic (e.g.…”

Beyond Castration and Culling: Should We Use Non-surgical, Pharmacological Methods to Control the Sexual Behavior and Reproduction of Animals?

“…Ease of handling is important for many uses of castrated animals. In Europe, from ancient times until around 1800, castrated bulls -so-called oxen -were the main source of power for ploughs, and were widely used to pull carriages (Clutton-Brock 1992;Luff 1994); they still serve these functions in some parts of the world. Castration of stallions has long been practiced, allowing them to be used more safely and kept alongside mares.…”

Using cattle for traction and transportduring the Neolithic period. Contribution of the study of the first and second phalanxes

“…Castration is difficult to observe and there are several ways of detecting it. It is perceptible, in particular, on horn cores and metapodials (Armitage and Clutton-Brock, 1976;Luff 1994;Bartosiewicz et al, 1997;Sykes and Simmons, 2007). The horns are sometimes deliberately deformed, and generally present flattening or constrictions due to the yoke and the cord securing the yoke to the horns.…”