Identifying specialized agricultural production in the archaeological record: A response to wells

The European Late Bronze Age is characterized by an increase in interregional trade that possibly included animal and plant products. In a recent article in this journal Peter Wells has suggested that the late Bronze Age villages of Altdorf and Hascherkeller may have produced surplus plant and animal products for exchange. It is suggested here that the recognition of specialized animal production requires larger faunal and floral samples than are typically recovered through excavation.