Biographies of two draught oxen: supplementary data

The use of animal power in early cultures revolutionised agriculture and the relationships people had with animals. Attempts to identify draught animals in the archaeological record are one of the most common areas of investigation in zooarchaeological studies relating to pathological or sub-pathological deformations to bones. While such changes do affect the bones of draught animals, there are many other potential causative factors, rendering interpretation ambiguous. A recent opportunity to record the skeletons of two draught oxen with known life histories has provided new data that can be compared with archaeological material. This paper describes the skeletal modifications observed using widely accepted methods and compares findings with the biography of the animals. Results show relationships between the type of harness, persistent use of the animal on one side of a team and scale of pathological changes throughout the skeleton. Findings have the potential to refine how we identify and interpret draught animals in the archaeological record as well as informing aspects of welfare today.This dataset includes photographs of the skeletal elements of both cattle, a video of Mani walking and the raw data as recorded.