Since the classic work of Rütimeyer (1) and others on the fauna of the Swiss lake villages was first undertaken nearly a century ago, a vast amount of information has been assembled about the livestock of the prehistoric farmers of north-western and central Europe. Interest at first centred on distinguishing breeds of the various species in the hope of defining the routes by which farming spread from its early homelands into the European continent. In recent years more attention has been paid to the light which can be thrown on the economy of prehistoric communities through a study of their livestock : among the chief points which it has been sought to establish are the age at which various species were normally slaughtered, the relative proportions of wild and domestic forms and the proportions in which the different species of livestock were maintained by the people under investigation.