Although they quantitatively only take a marginal place amongst domestic herbivores (only 0.4% of world domestic herbivores), the large camelids (dromedary and Bactrian) are present in almost all the arid lands of the old world (except in Southern Africa), a widespread area of over 35 millions km². They are overall remarkable enhancer of these spaces by their productive potential and by their role in the agro-ecosystemic balance of the arid lands, especially with the current climatic changes. Elsewhere, they are known for their physiological peculiarities linked to their adaptation ability to harsh conditions of the desert and of its margin. In consequence, they represent a fabulous biological model for the scientists from different disciplines. Their place in the “modern world” has to be re-evaluated by considering these trends and these particularities.

Work at Barāqish/Yathill in 2005–06 has produced sequences encompassing the Sabaean (13th-6th centuries BC) and Minaean/Arab (c. 550 BC-AD 1) occupations. Abundant animal remains were retrieved and contexts of use and discard were obtained. Camels and donkeys are studied together as pack animals, the camel being the domestic dromedary. Their zooarchaeological and contextual study at Yathill is justified from this city's location on the famous frankincense caravan route of the 1st millennium BC. An extramural stratigraphic sequence documenting the relationships between the city and the adjoining plain from c. 820 BC to the Islamic era was investigated to the northwest of the Minaean wall. Domestic camels were present by 800 BC, the earliest well-documented occurrence in Yemen; wild dromedary herds were still in the area during the 7th century and perhaps later. The study of the archaeological context links these Sabaean-age camels to campsites possibly formed by non-residents. This pattern greatly developed during the Minaean period, with trade-jar handling posts outside the walled city and frequent stationing of camels and donkeys on the upper talus. Such data directly support the role of Yathill in the overland caravan trade and suggest that the extramural area was functionally important in this respect.

By its extraordinary adaptability to live in a hyper arid environment, the camel (Camelus dromaderius) is certainly the animal that best characterizes the Arabian Peninsula. If a rich ethnographic literature exists showing the economic importance of this species through the last two millennia, few archaeozoological remains confirm this importance. This article presents preliminary archaeozoological data (skeletal representation, ageing and sexing bone, bone traces) from two archaeological assemblages from Saudi Arabia: Dûmat al-Jandal (Al-Jawf oasis) and al-Yamâma (Al-Kharj oasis).

Bone remains of camel (Camelus dromedarius) have been found in several sites of south-eastern Arabia, dating from the Late Holocene period to the Bronze Age, and generally attributed to wild animals. The new camel finds from the Early Bronze Age site of Ra's al-Hadd (HD-6) - dated with radiocarbon technique between 2890-2580 BC - are the oldest camel evidence in the Sultanate of Oman. This discovery represents an opportunity for a critical review of all available data in the Arabian Peninsula. These remains are important because widen our knowledge about camel spreading trajectory and raise an obvious question about its domestication or wild status. This study contributes to the debate about camel status and the relationship between late prehistoric communities and this animal.

The results obtained by the AMS laboratory in Oxford for the ‘Camel Bone Dating Project’ are summarized and discussed.

Hybrid camels, intentional crosses between dromedaries and bactrian camels, are prized for their robustness and endurance. They were the prime vehicles of short and long distance caravan trade in a large area between Greece and Mongolia until the whole-scale introduction of motorized transport. This paper proposes a model for the zooarchaeological study of camel hybridization as a culture-historical phenomenon based on ethnographic and ethnohistoric observations of camel wrestling. Camel wrestling spectacles involve large audiences who gather in large arenas to watch first generation male hybrid camels wrestle during the mating season. While Anatolia was chosen as a case region for testing the model, it can be applied to all regions where hybrids are expected to occur in the archaeological record.

A large number of animal remains (186 pieces) were accidentally discovered in 2008, during construction works on a private property in Agighiol village (Tulcea County), in an area previously unknown to have archaeological relevance. This material led to the identification of camel remains (155 bones), an exceptional result because camel material had been previously reported from only two other localities in Romania, both of them in Romano-Byzantine archaeological sites from Dobruja (9–12th centuries). Two 14C dates obtained on the camel remains from Agighiol place the animals in the Middle Ages, 17–18th centuries, thus relating the presence of camels to Ottoman Turk influences. We review the archaeological record of camels from Roman until Ottoman times, in Romania and surrounding countries. Camels were encountered in Dobruja up to the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, as proven by old photographs.

This paper is a brief review of camel bones recently discovered in the territory of modern-day Hungary. The goal of this paper is to provide an inventory of all known camel finds representing both the Roman Period province of Pannonia (1st–4th c.) and the northernmost outpost of the Ottoman Empire in Europe (16th–17th c.), historical periods when this exotic animal was present in Hungary. In spite of the fact that both occupying forces used camels, the camel discoveries cannot be linked exclusively to military functions. Morphological and metric information identifies the majority of these bones as originating from dromedaries. However, the list of 18 sites offers putative evidence that both dromedary and Bactrian camel were used in the central part of the Carpathian Basin.

This paper presents camel remains identified in Roman sites in Serbia. The remains originate from Viminacium, the capital of Roman province Moesia, and from the 3rd–4th century villa rustica in the locality of Vranj, in the province of Pannonia. In Viminacium, they were found in a 4th century dump, near the Eastern necropolis of the city, and in the 4th century layers in the area of the amphitheatre. In order to conclude whether these bones belonged to Camelus dromedarius or Camelus bactrianus, measurements and morphology of our specimens were compared with camel bones found at other Roman sites, and with modern specimens. We have identified two-humped camels and also hybrid individuals. The role of the camels is also discussed here: whether they were used in public games (ludi), for military purposes, or as transportation animals. As a conclusion, we acknowledge that camels were not rare animals in Roman provinces as it was considered before.

This paper is a short comment on the historical perception of camels in Europe with special regard to Ottoman Turkish occupation in the Carpathian Basin. Regardless of their varied functions ranging from tokens of royal selfrepresentation to mundane beasts of burden or war machinery, these animals always stood out as exotica without ever having been integrated into the local domestic fauna. The documentary and iconographic data cited complement known osteological evidence of camels in the study area.

Frog hunting: back to the origins of life in the lake Chad basin? (The case of Diamare, North Cameroon).

The lake Chad basin has always been nothing more than a huge swamp. Along its margins, a whole system of marshes and temporary ponds loosely connected to each other allowed a substantial batrachofauna to develop, providing a staple diet for the people living on its banks. The hunters of frogs (mostly digging species) in Diamare (North Cameroon) are now regarded as the last heirs of a long-standing tradition. Is it thus possible that their hunting techniques, conditioning procedure and recipes go back to immemorial times? Nowadays, the alimentary customs turns out to depend more and more on religious principles which tend to set aside both hunters and frog consumers.