Cattle and small livestock in the economic structure of Roman Asia Minor during the Imperial Period, I-IV. centuries AD

Since their domestication in the Neolithic Age, cattle and small livestock have been among the essential foundations of sedentary life and the concept of civilization. As primary resources, their meat and milk constituted indispensable protein sources in human nutrition; as secondary resources, their wool, hair, and hides provided raw materials for textiles, tools, and various commodities that shaped material culture and daily life. From the earliest Mesopotamian city-states to the modern era, these animals supported a wide range of crafts and trade patterns, ensuring their enduring place within economic systems and highlighting their lasting significance in the history of economy. In Asia Minor, cattle and livestock likewise formed a fundamental element of economic activity. Following the Roman conquest in the 2nd century BC, the empire inherited longstanding traditions of animal husbandry, leatherworking, and wool production, whose roots reached back to the Bronze Age. Benefiting from the stability of the Pax Romana, the cities of Asia Minor entered an "age of opportunities," developing into vibrant centers of production and trade that exported goods across the Mediterranean. Cattle and small livestock, by supplying the raw materials necessary for industrial production, became a driving force behind both regional economies and overseas commerce, generating substantial revenues for the province. Monumental macella, regarded as showcase buildings of Roman civic life and serving as primary marketplaces for red meat, embodied the integration of urban demand with rural supply. Numerous studies on faunal remains have conveyed to the present day the evidence of the intensive consumption of these animals within the food economy of Roman Asia Minor.