Bovine depictions in Maltese prehistoric art

Abstract

Maltese prehistoric art has several examples depicting bulls and cows. The earliest depictions appear as cave paintings and suggest a long-horned bull variety. These cave paintings have features suggestive of Palaeolithic art. Late Neolithic depictions of bulls and cows exist as bas-reliefs, pottery depictions, or models. These pictorial representations confirm the skeletal record and suggest the bull to have been a humped, long-horned variety showing close similarities to the modern day Ankole-Wattusi Cattle which originated in Africa. Measurement ratios of the Neolithic bovid depictions were compared to similar measurement taken from photographs of the modern day Maltese humped, short-horned breed of bull. These measurements confirm a statistically significant difference, probably resulting from subsequent evolution of the species and pictorial licence.