This paper presents a new method for constructing demographic profiles of archaeological sheep skeletal assemblages drawing on a method developed for Sus scrofa (Zeder and Lemoine, 2020a) and, most recently, for goats (Zeder, 2024a). This method normalizes metric data using the Logarithm Size Index (LSI) scaling technique. LSI values of post-crania metric data of modern wild sheep from Iran and Iraq are shown to reflect strong sexual dimorphism in body size which is evident in animals over one year of age. After adjustments to account for the impacts of region and age on body size, along with differentials in the scaling of different elements, the mid-point of the range of LSI values is shown to be a reliable and accurate way of distinguishing between the elements of females and males that can then be used to construct sex-specific age profiles. This method is applied to metric data from thirteen archaeological sheep skeletal assemblages from the Zagros Mountains of Iran and Iraq spanning the period from the Middle Paleolithic to the Ceramic Neolithic. The resulting sex-specific demographic profiles indicate that during pre-ceramic periods hunters practiced varied prey strategies that targeted different segments of wild sheep populations. A clear signal of herding is detectable in Ceramic Neolithic assemblages despite limitations in the recovery of unfused elements. The paper concludes by offering recommendations, and caveats, to the use of this method for building sex-specific demographic profiles of ancient sheep assemblages.

中文翻译：

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一种使用对数大小指数标度构建侧方绵羊/O. aries 人口统计概况的方法

本文提出了一种构建考古绵羊骨骼组合人口统计概况的新方法，该方法借鉴了为 Sus scrofa（Zeder 和 Lemoine，2020a）和最近为山羊（Zeder，2024a）开发的方法。此方法使用对数大小指数 （LSI） 缩放技术对指标数据进行规范化。来自伊朗和伊拉克的现代野羊的颅后度量数据的 LSI 值显示反映了体型的强烈性别二态性，这在一岁以上的动物中很明显。在调整了地区和年龄对体型的影响以及不同元素缩放的差异后，LSI 值范围的中点被证明是区分女性和男性元素的可靠且准确的方法，然后可用于构建性别特异性年龄分布。此方法适用于来自伊朗和伊拉克扎格罗斯山脉的 13 个考古绵羊骨骼组合的公制数据，时间跨度从旧石器时代中期到新石器时代陶瓷。由此产生的性别特异性人口统计特征表明，在前陶瓷时期，猎人针对野羊种群的不同部分实施了不同的猎物策略。尽管未熔合元素的回收存在限制，但在陶瓷新石器时代组合中可以检测到明显的羊群信号。本文最后为使用这种方法构建古代绵羊组合的性别特异性人口统计概况提供了建议和注意事项。