Since their domestication, dogs have adapted to a diverse portfolio of roles within human societies, and changes in dog size, shape, and behavior are often key indicators of these changes. Among pastoral and agropastoral societies dogs are almost ubiquitous as livestock guardians and herding aids. Archaeological data demonstrate that incoming Neolithic farmers brought with them their own morphologically distinct dogs when they spread into Europe, and that these dogs became larger in the Bronze and Iron Ages. Using archaeological data from the eastern Adriatic region we suggest that changes in the morphology and treatment of dog remains by these societies reflect, in part, the significance of dogs in livestock management including guarding herds kept at distances from villages. Bronze and Iron Age increases in body size, in particular, may track the increasing importance of seasonal transhumance.

自驯化以来，狗已经适应了人类社会中的多种角色，狗的大小、形状和行为的变化通常是这些变化的关键指标。在畜牧和农牧社会中，狗几乎无处不在，作为牲畜监护人和放牧辅助工具。考古数据表明，传入欧洲的新石器时代农民带来了他们自己的形态独特的狗，并且这些狗在青铜器和铁器时代变得更大。使用来自亚得里亚海东部地区的考古数据，我们认为这些社会对狗遗骸的形态和处理方式的变化部分反映了狗在牲畜管理中的重要性，包括守卫远离村庄的畜群。青铜器和铁器时代的体型增加，特别是，