In H. Buitenhuis–W. Prummel eds.

Animals and Man in the Past

ARC-Publicatie 41

Groningen, the Netherlands

Pp. 151-160.
 A LEOPARD (PANTHERA PARDUS L. 1758) FIND FROM THE LATE MIDDLE AGES IN HUNGARY
L. BARTOSIEWICZ
Institute ofArchaeological Sciences, Lorand Eotvos University, Budapest, Hungary
1. INTRODUCTION
Remains of large carni vores occur rather infre­
quently at archaeological sites in Hungary. This is
especially the case in later, historical times when the
significance of hunting in food procurement dra­
matically decreased, so that the likelihood of killing
other game, even opportunistcally, also declined. Of
the large felids, remains of lynx are most character­
istic of prehistoric faunal assemblages in Hungary
(Bokonyi, 1959: p. 54; 1974: p. 82) and other coun­
tries in Europe (van Bree & Clason, 1971: p. 134).
Bones of lion (Panthera leo L. 1758), including
postcranial skeletal elements, are known to have
occurred sporadically during the Late Neolithic and
Copper AgelAeneolithic both in Hungary and the
Balkans (e. g. Voros, 1983: Fig. 1; Ninov, 1989: Fig.
7). Even the remains of a lynx (Lynx lynx L. 1758)
from a 15th century pit at the urban settlement of
Vac should be considered an extreme rarity (Barto­
siewicz, 1995).
During the Middle Ages, brown bear (Ursus
arctos L. 1758) is the only large carnivore whose
remains are relatively common. It was for this rea­
son that the large but fragmented intermaxillary
fragment from a leopard (Panthera pardus L. 1758)
had been tentatively identified as that of bear (Bar­
tosiewicz, 1996: p. 185), before a large series of
over a hundred leopard skulls could be studied in
detail. In addition to revising that erroneous hypo­
thetical identification, the use of large reference
collections was indispensable in trying to understand
the status and origins of this very special archaeo­
zoological find.
2. MATERIAL AND METHODS
2.1. The species and its modern day distribution
The type specimen was described by Linnaeus as
Felis pardus in 1758 on the basis of a specimen
from India (Systema naturae 10th edition, I: p. 41).
The species was later affirmed by Thomas (1911) on
Egyptian animals while Allen (1924) carried out the
~ame work in Algeria (as cited by Meester et al.,
1986: p. 126). The status of the name Panthera was
validated in 1985 (Bull. Zool. Nom. 42/4: p. 365).
The currently used scientific name is Panthera par­
dus, Linnaeus 1758 (Ansell & Dowsett, 1988: p.
66). Today, the vernacular names leopard and pan­
ther are often used alternatingly. While the word
panther has attained a more generic meaning, in the
wake of the Middle Ages it was generally accepted
that, as it stands in a mid 13th century manuscript
(No. 764 in the Bodleyan Library, Oxford; Barber,
1993: p. 30),
"...the leopard is born of the adulterous match be­
tween a lioness and a pard. "
The same view was adopted by Gesner (1551) and
(Topsell, 1607). Following lion and tiger, leopard
(Panthera pardus L. 1758) is the third largest felid
in the Eastern Hemisphere. In terms of cranial mor­
phology, the upper surface of complete skulls is
arched, as in tiger, but the lower jaw is convex be­
low as in the lion (Blanford, 1888: p. 68).
Today leopards live in Africa as far north as the
Sahara and in Asia from Turkey to Korea and from
Siberia to Java. For present day leopards Kingdon
(1977: p. 353) reports a contiguous or continuous
geographical distribution in most of Africa (except
north) and southern Asia. His map, however, does
not extend to the Caspian sea thereby underestimat­
ing the northern extent of leopards in Asia (Siberia,
Vladivostok, Ciscaucasus etc.; Heptner and Sludskii,
1992: p. 268).
As far as Hungary is concerned, although this
species is lcnown from Lower Pleistocene deposits
(Janossy, 1986: p. 33), it is unlikely that it has ever
been present in the Holocene fauna, especially as
late as the Middle Ages.
2.2. Description of the archaeological specimen
This paper is devoted to the detailed analysis of a
single bone specimen which was brought to light in
a 14th century deposit in Square III at the site of
Segesd - pek6f61d. It is the oral part of a leopard's
viscerocranium that was cut off in a transversal
direction and includes the os incisivum, canine and
upper incisor teeth. The maxilla is represented
mostly by its oral section that forms the alveolus
dentis canini (Fig. la-b). The cut that forms a
straight plane severed the tip of the roots of both
canines (Fig. 2). This part of the skull seems to have
been removed by sawing, although characteristic
cutmarks have been obliterated by use wear in the
form of polish.
The left canine is broken, the small, medially
located 1st and 2nd incisors have fallen out on both
sides. The width measured between the buccai
points of the canine alveoli is well developed in
152 L. BARTOSIEWICZ

i
I (

a b c
Fig. I. a: Oral aspect of the 14th century leopard find from Segesd; b: Lateral aspect of the leopard find. Note the flat surface
on the left side of the specimen; c: Aboral aspect of the leopard find. Artificial surfaces show high polish, roots of the canine
teeth truncated by sawing are exposed. Scale in cm.

Fig. 2. Sketch showing the original anatomical position of the archaeological find in the animal's skull (n0I711iJ la/eraUs)

leopards whose skull is relatively longer than that of
Felis, while in the forepart the muzzle is stouter and
the nasals are shorter and broader (Roberts, 1951: p.
183). It is this oral section of the skull that is repre­
sented by the excavated fragment under discussion
here. Due to the special character of this zoological
find, numerous measurements were taken on the
fragment (Table I).
Of the measurements listed, the use of CC, the
buccal breadth between the canine alveoli (von den
Driesch, 1976) was most promising. It is the largest
and most widely available of all the measurements
that could be taken.
2.3. The archaeological context
The medieval queens' seat of Segesd - Civitas was
located half-way along a north-south line connecting
the southwestern tip of Lake Balaton and the Drava
river in southern Transdanubia, Hungary. During
both Roman times and the Middle Ages this area
was crossed by important military and trade routes
(Magyar, 1988: p. 6). While Segesd is a small and
quiet rural settlement today, its special geographical
position and royal status gave rise to a prosperous
market town during the Middle Ages.
 A Leopardfindfrom the Late MiddLe Ages in Hungary
Table I. Measurements taken on the 14th century leopard skull fragment from Segesd.
Measurement
breadth between the buccal edges of upper canine alveoli (CC)
breadth between the buccal edges of upper incisor alveoli
linguo-buccal breadth of left canine tooth at the alveolus
oro-aboral breadth of left canine tooth at the alveolus
linguo-buccal breadth of right canine tooth at the alveolus
oro-aboral breadth of right canine tooth at the alveolus
estimated crown length of right canine tooth
Table 2. The origins of leopard skulls used in the craniometric study.
Osteological collections
British Museum of Natural History, London
Hancock Collection, Newcastle Upon Tyne
urface Koninklijk Museum voor Midden-Afrika, Tervuren
::an.ine Musee du Histoire Naturelle, Geneve
Naturhistorisches Museum, Basel
Total:
2.4. Reference materials
Although there is a respectable historical record on
the medieval trade in and use of felid pelts (e.g.
DeLort, 1978), archaeozoo10gicalliterature on these
large predators is scarce. The age, sex and geo­
graphical affiliation of the Segesd leopard were
estimated using the craniometric analysis of a mod­
em reference material. Attempts of sexing a Roman
Period lynx skull find by van Bree and Clason
(1971: p. 131) yielded uncertain results, due to the
size overlap between the cranial dimensions of fe­
males and males. Similar difficulties were encoun­
;) tered in the case of the aforementioned medieval
female lynx skeleton from Hungary (Bartosiewicz,
1995).
, The reference material of leopard skulls used in
i this work included both Asian (especially in the
.s was i British Museum) and African (Royal Museum of
Central Africa, Tervuren) subspecies. The overall
ecting
Drava number of individuals is listed by collections in
luring Table 2.
, area A brief metric analysis of these skulls served as a
routes background for sex determination and size estima­
II and tions for the medieval specimen from Segesd. Cal­
phical culations were carried out using t-tests and simple
>erous regression analyses based on correlations significant
at the P ~ 0.05 level of probability. The results were
interpreted in light of both the zoological literature
and historical sources.
153
mm
67.8
27.8
14.2
20.1
1,4.6
20.3
40.0
Female Male
17 18
3 I
19 39
5 3
3 3
57 64
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1. Archaeological context
The leopard bone was found in Square III opened
outside the medieval city center. It was embedded in
a 14th century layer that contained fragments of
daub, sherds and food refuse in the form of domestic
animal bones. The number of identifiable bone
specimens was overwhelmingly dominated by the
remains of domesticates over the entire hand­
collected faunal assemblage. Beef seems to have
been especially important in the diet in all periods.
This falls in line with panems of medieval meat
provisioning established at other urban sites in Hun­
gary (Bartosiewicz, 1995).
The material may be divided into four chrono­
logical groups using the evidence of archaeological
stratigraphy (Fig. 3). These included the surround­
ings of a late 14th century house (NISP = 678),
quarters used during the subsequent Late Middle
Ages (NISP = 840), the city center inhabited con­
tinuously throughout the Middle Ages and the
Turkish Period (starting in 1526 in Hungary; NISP =
608). The fourth sub-sample may be entirely dated
to this latter, 16th-17th century occupation (NISP =
1051).
3.2. Geographical and intraspecific variability
The origins of this special archaeological find would
be of particular interest. Unfortunately, in spite of
the broad geographical distribution of this species,
all leopards are much alike in their appearance al­
though those that live in forests are darker than those
that live on open plains and desert scrub. Albinos
154 L. BARTOSIEWICZ

"
§"
100%

<U
80% o wild
~
o other domeslic
"
:E 60%
'il'"
I0 dom.sl.lc her,

""
.""3 40%
0pIg

"-' 'oca:pnne
...
0
20% &a'c&.tUr:
"
.D
E
:::l
Z 0%
C14 C15-16 CIty center TurkJsh

Fig. 3. The percentual composition of animal bone assemblages from Segesd.

v, 20
~

~
• Segesd
".:;
:.::I
v
15

• Asian male
.8
c....
0 10
o African male
....

OJ ma Asian female
-S~

5
• Afri can female
Z 0

I I I I I I I I
,-< ,-< ,-< ,-< ,-< ,-< ,-< ,-<
00 N I,() C> ~ 00 N I,()
0 C"1 C> ~ ~ ~ 00 l(l N l(l I,() l(l C> I,() ~ I,()
('<l ~ ~ ~ l(l l(l I,() I,()

CC size intervals, rom

Fig. 4. The position of the Segesd find relative to male and female leopards from Asia and Africa on the basis of the width between the
buccal points of canine alveoli.

are rare, but a black variety is found in Malaysia,
Java, and India.
Size variation is largely related to the immediate
environment. Large forms tend to live in hills and
forests, while smaller leopard are characteristic of
patches of grass and bush in cultivated areas (Blan­
ford, 1888: p. 68). Lydekker (1894: 77) concurringly
notes:
"that ... the larger Asiatic Leopard ... more gener­
ally frequents the damp forests. A large series of
specimens will, however, show a complete transition
between... types. "
Leopards often store their prey in tree roots, hollows
or in the tropics in trees (Heptner & Sludskii, 1992:
p. 258). Prey items weighing 36 to 68 kilograms
have been found in trees 4 to 6 meters above the
ground where a leopard had carried them. Among
other authors, Schouteden (1947: p. 185, Afb. 198)
published the carcass of a young buffalo weighing c.
60 kg and stored at a height of 4.5 m. This habit,
requiring great strength, would be less typical in
open grassland where, on the other hand, large indi­
viduals of this predator would not be sufficiently
concealed by the vegetation during hunting. Differ­
ences between environmentally determined popula­
tions make intercontinental comparisons hopeless as
is shown in Fig. 4 and by the results of t-tests listed
in Table 3.
The lack of significant differences between the
mean values of selected cranial measurements
(within sexes) taken on the reference material
clearly support the observation made over a century
ago by Blanford (1888: p. 69) wrote:
"These two varieties, the African and the Persian,
however, pass by insensible gradations into the
ordinary form; and I cannot find any difference in
the skulls or evidence to satisfy me that there is any
constant distinction between different races of leop­
ards, pards, or panthers".
 A leopardfindfrom the Late Middle Ages in Hungary 155

Table 3. Differences between the mean values of greatest skull length (AP) and width at the buccal edge of canine alveoli (eC) by geo­
graphical origins.

Measurement Mean values t-value Degree of P value

Africa Asia freedom
females
AP 190.5 190.0 0.10253 56 0.918716
CC 47.1 48.6 -1.39092 56 0.169954
males
AP 216.7 223.7 -0.73546 63 0.464786
CC 55.4 57.1 -1.21319 63 0.229587

Table 4. Sexual dimorphism in the mean values of greatest skull length (AP) and width at the buccal edge of canine alveoli (CC). Samples
pooled by geographical origins.

Measurement Mean values • t-value Degrees of P value

females males freedom
AP 186.9 220.8 -5.39899 117 0.00000
CC 47.9 56.4 -9.25343 117 0.00001
AP/CC ratio 3.902 3.915

both sexes. While t-tests calculated between ratio

Pocock (932) also reported:
t of variations of the absolute values involved (Atch­
"I cannot find any difference either in size, colour,
pattem, cranial or dental characters between the
leopards of India and Ceylon for which the oldest
name appears to be fusca and those of Kenya and
Tanganyika, known for the last quarter of a century
as suahelica. "
The subspecies whose geographical distribution may
have been the closest to medieval Hungary was P. p.
saxicolor, inhabiting the hilly regions of Southwest
n the
Asia or P. p. ciscaucasica, living in the temperate
zones of western Asia.
values may be biased depending on the coefficients
ley et a!., 1976), buccal breadth at the canine alveoli
corresponds to approximately one quarter of greatest
skull length. This seems evident for both females
and males even without the possibility of formal
statistical calculations. In this case, the lack of size
dependent change in the studied proportion typically
represents isometric growth.
Fortunately, the unusually large size of the
Segesd leopard skull fragment places it unambigu­
ously within the group of males. Its CC breadth is
actually the greatest of all the measurements avail­
able for study.

3.3. Sexing cranial characteristics 3.4. Size estimations

abit,

The reverse relationship between increasing skull

I
din
.ndi­ size and the concommittant decline in relati ve brain
mtly dimensions is shown by a pictorial comparison be­
ffer­ tween the skull of a small and a large felid published
lUla­ by Starck 0967: p. 529). It was assumed that this
;s as allometric relationship might prove a fundamental
isted obstacle in accurately sexing the majority of felid
skulls beyond the observation that males are larger.
I the
In light of the aforementioned great subspecific
tents Variability, a significant size overlap is characteristic
erial between randomly chosen males and females of this
ttur)' species. variation between the two measurements guarantees
In order to elucidate this possibility, the propor­
tion of two principal measurements, greatest skull
~ian, length (AP) and width at the buccal edge of canine
the alveoli (cq were compared between sexes (Table
:e in 4). Although a statistically significant difference
. any occurred between females and males in the case of
:eop­ both measurements, tlle proportion of greatest skull
length to canine breadth was basically the same in
Presuming that reasonably high correlations exist
between cranial dimensions, an attempt was made to
estimate the greatest length of the original medieval
skull from which the oral section was cut off. It was
at this point that the large series of reference speci­
mens was of greatest use. It provided a sufficiently
great sample to allow extrapolation (Tables 5-6).
The ratio of greatest skull length (AP) to the
width at the buccal edge of canine alveoli (cq is
the same as in the sub-samples broken down by
sexes (Table 4). The similarity in coefficients of
that no major distortion can be expected from using
these variables in skull length estimations. Data
points form a rather homogeneous set in Fig. 5.
Nevertheless, for the purposes of size estimations,
regression equations were calculated for boili sub­
samples broken down by sex and the total pooled
sample (Table 6). As is shown by the coefficients of
correlation, the 260.7 mm estimated greatest skull
156 L. BARTOSIEWICZ

Table 5. Univariate statistics of measurements in the pooled sample (n = 122).

Measurement Mean value Standard deviation Coefficient of variation AP/CC ratio

AP 204.9 38.4 0.187 3.910
CC 52.4 6.6 0.126

Table 6. Parameters of the regression equation used in the estimation of greatest skull length from the fragment found at Segesd (samples
pooled by geographical origins).

Samples Regression equation Coefficient of correlation

females AP = 4.231 CC - 15.802 0.786"**
males AP = 3.514 CC + 22.471 0.824***
IOtal pooled AP = 3.844 CC + 3.305 .­ 0.666***

75
1l • Afric an female
65 9-.~o 0
o (Q

~
9..,p 0
0 0 o African male
9, cP""'O 8 to GJ "tf 0 0
55 • ~ fCoc:@, OQ o.,fSJ 0 0 • Asian female
u o o Q.J LQ
u
45
35 ••
.........:l':'.~ () o Asian male
1l Segesd estimate

140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280

Ji.P, rnm

Fig. 5. The relationship between greatest skull length (AP) and the width between the buccal points of canine alveoli (CC) in the reference
material.

length obtained for the Segesd male laeopard is
reliable in statistical terms (P :::;; 0.05) in spite of its
unusually large size.
Only a more heterogeneous and smaller set of
body length data (TL: total length and H+B: head
and body length; mm) and greatest skull lengths
(AP; mm) published in the literature was available
for the reconstruction of the animal's live size. Sev­
enteen data (sometimes mean values), 10 character­
istic of females and 7 of males were pooled to esti­
mate the total body length of the Segesd specimen.
Since no reliable measures of dispersion could be
calculated for this data set, simple percentual pro­
portions between mean values were calculated to
provide a rough body size estimate. The list of these
measurements, however, clearly illustrates the
aforementioned subspecific/geographical variability
of leopards (Table 7).
The greatest cranial length (AP) calculated for
the Segesd specimen was the largest in the entire list
and resulted in a correspondingly high body length
esti mate. According to Shortridge (1934: p. 91) both
African and Indian leopards may be considered
above average when their total lengths (TL) exceed
230 em. In the list presented above, only the Segesd
specimen meets this criterion. Apparently, one is
dealing with the remains of an unusually large male
which, however, had not attained the size of lions or
tigers. Another similar, Asiatic species, snow leop­
ard (Panthera uncia L. 1758) only grows to a length
of about 1.8 to 2 meters, so that identification bias
may be excluded. The possibility that the fragment
originates from a New World felid such as jaguar,
must be ruled out for historical reasons.
There may be, on the other hand, a factor that led
to a moderate overestimation of body size. Accord­
ing to Ognev (1935), the skull is somewhat larger
and the interorbital region relatively broader in Cau­
casian leopard (P. p. ciscaucasica) than in Amur
leopard. Due to the high correlation between cranial
measurements within the same dimension, it is pos­
sible that such a robust skull would have a wider
muzzle as well. Consequently, the undoubtedly large
Segesd leopard would look even larger based on the
breadth measured between the buccal edges of ca­
nine alveoli.
 A leopard find from the Late Middle Ages in Hungary 157

Table 7. Data published in the literature (f: females, m: males) used in estimating the head and body length of the Segesd specimen.

Subspecies Sex AP TL H+B Source Region Note

chui f 213.0 2060 1220 Hollister 1918: p. 172 British East Africa
suahelica f 185.0 1730 1000 Hollister 1918: p. 172 British East Africa
shortridgei f 203.0 174D 1000 Roberts 1951: Table 35 Kovares
not specified f 200.0 1707 1030 Smithers 1983: p. 370 Cape Province n=8
not speci fied f 190.0 1590 950 Smithers 1983: p. 370 Cape Province JIlln.
pies
not specified f 210.0 1790 1050 Smithers 1983: p. 370 Cape Province max.
suahelica m 265.0 2300 1500 Frechkop 1983: p. 76 Belga Congo
leopardus m 208.0 2050 1200 Frechkop 1983: p. 76 Belga Congo
chui m 243.0 2080 1240 Hollister 1918: p. 172 Uganda
chui m 247.0 1935 1180 Hollister 1918: p. 172 Lado
suahelica m 220.0 2160 1250 Hollister 1918: p. 172 British East Africa
suahelica m 220.0 2100 1270 Hollister 1918: p. 172 British East Africa
suahelica m 218.0 2010 1180 Hollister 1918: p. 172 British East Africa
suahelica m 234.0 2160 1270 Hollister 19 I8: p. 17 British East Africa
shortridgei ill 233.0 2075 1260 Roberts 1951: Table 35 Diwai West Cape
shortridgei m 231.5 2125 1320 Roberts 195 I: Table 35 Gangango
shortridgei m 231.5 2050 1310 Roberts 1951: Table 35 Sandfontei
shortridgei m 206.0 1825 1080 Roberts 195 I: Table 35 Okorosave
not specified m 219.0 1785 1107 Smithers 1983: p. 370 Cape Province n=21
not specified m 195.0 1430 920 Smithers 1983: p. 370 Cape Province min.
,Dot specified m 248.0 2050 1250 Smithers 1983: p. 370 Cape province max.
Iorientalis m 213.0 2110 1250 Heptner & Sludskii 1992: p. 226 Amur-Ussuri n=6
orientalis m 204.0 1890 1070 Heptner & Sludskii 1992: p. 226 Amur-Ussuri min.
orien/alis ill 1232.0 2260 1360 Heptner & Sludskii 1992: p. 226 Amur-Ussuri max.
Mean value f 1
200 .2 1770 1042 iRelative skull length '" 11.3 % ofTL
Mean value ill 226.0 2022 1223 Relative skull length '" 11.2 % ofTL
le
Segesd ill 260.7 2332 14D9

3.5. Human modification 4. CONCLUSIONS

:renee As opposed to various methods of butchering for
meat, skinning has been rather highly standardized
throughout history. Although the use of metal tools
represents a major technical leap, skinning marks on
felid bones in typical locations have been identified
~ceed
even at very early sites, for example, on the distal
~gesd
metapodials of wild cat at the Danish Mesolithic site
Ileis
of Tybrind Vig (Trolle-Lassen, 1987: p. 101).
male
The leopard bone under discussion here shows
ns or
special signs of manufacturing and use.The flat and
leop­
worn surface produced by sawing at the fragment's
~ngth
aboral surface suggests that this piece of bone may
Ibias
indeed have served as decoration in the animal's
:ment
skin which was either used as a piece of garment or
19uar, as a rug. This latter assumption seems to be better
supported by the flat and polished bone surface. The
at led
:cord­ presence of large canine teeth would have added to
larger the decorative value of this leopard skin as a trophy
Cau­ and/or indicator of status.
Amur
The severed oral section of a lion mandible from
ranial Egypt, complete with canine and incisor teeth, may
) pos­ be considered a distant technical parallel to this find
wider (Boessneck & von den Driesch, 1982: p. 136, Abb.
. large 61 a, b). It came to light in the eastern Nile Delta,
:m the from the Ramesside Period palace at Quantir.
of ca-
The cranial fragment of a leopard from a 14th cen­
tury royal centre in Hungary provided a rare oppor­
tunity to analyse the biological characteristics and
the medieval culture-historical role of this animal.
As far as the Segesd leopard maxilla/intermaxilla
fragment is concerned, its breadth falls beyond the
value of all modem day males available for study.
Thus, it can be unequivocally assigned to the group
of mature males.
Topsell (1607: 579) lists little use of leopard
parts except for a few medicinal purposes and the
flaying of their skins which are
"oj diuers colors, yet bright and pleasant, the spots
standing like so many black eyes vpon it".
He also adds that footmen and soldiers of the Moors
not only wore them as garments but also slept upon
them. Such a hide was supposed to keep poisonous
serpents away.
During the Middle Ages the privilege of wearing
furs from mustelids and genet was limited to the
high nobility, while only lambskin or rabbit fur were
available to common people (Ewer, 1973: p. 72).
Although no direct reference to the actual value of
individual fur types is available from Vic, Turkish
customs records from 1563 and 1564 (Kaldy-Nagy,
158
Fig. 6. The 1520 depiction of a panther by 1an Van Doesborgh.
1968: p. 37) mention furs within the general frame­
work of hide trading at this important post.
Written sources reveal that the Order of Teutonic
Knights imported leopard skins from the east (Ges­
ner, 1551). It can only be hypothesized that Asian
leopard skins would have had a better opportunity to
be taken to the territory of medieval Hungary. Im­
ported archaeological artifacts in the medieval
Segesd material include pottery from Austria as well
as Venetian glass, but concrete evidence of long
distance trade is missing. Naturally, the skin of a
large predator is unlikely to have been a mundane
piece of merchandise, although Topsell (1607: p.
579) mentions that
"such skins are oftentimes sold in the marts of
Europe which are brought in bW1dles of twenty and
thirty togither".
Leopard skins have certainly been popular through­
out human history. According to Heptner & Sludskii
(1992: p. 268) world output of leopard skins in 1905
totalled 10,000, half of which originated from Asia.
Some 20,000 leopards fell victim annually to the
world fashion industry during the 1950's with 4000­
5000 skins originating from Kumming (Yunnan
Province) alone.
It is likely that medieval Hungary had closer
trade links with Asia than Aflica. Although it is not
possible to identify the geographical origins of the
specimen under discussion here, statistically speak­
ing it is more likely that it originated from an area
L. BARTOSIEWICZ
relatively close to Europe. Topsell (1607) mentions
that leopards came over all the mountains of Taurus
through Armenia and Cilicia. This comment neatly
coincides with the hypothesis that this relatively
robust, oral viscerocranium fragment originates
from the P. p. ciscaucasica subspecies. Extremely
large size would in and of itself be indicative of a
mountain or woodland form.
As is often the case with animal symbolism, the
attitude toward leopards was complex and dualistic
during the Middle Ages (Figs 6 and 7). The afore­
mentioned mid 13th century document (Barber,
1993: p. 30) contains the following opposite state­
ments within only a few pages distance:
"... our Lord Jesus Christ, the true panther, de­
scended from heaven to save us from the power of
the devil... Antichrist is known as a pard, spotted
with many kinds of evil. "
Unfortunately, aside from the obvious appreciation
for this special artifact, that most probably belonged
to a piece of imported precious fur, the deeper cul­
tural meaning of the medieval leopard bone from
Segesd cannot be directly appraised.
5. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Excavations at Segesd - Civitas were carried out
between 1982-1985 by Dr. Kalman Magyar whose
support must be ackowledged here. Additional
 f
1
1 A leopard find from the Late Middle Ages in Hungary 159

i
t
j
Fig. 7. Picture of a panther published by Topsell in 1607.
t
i

thanks are due to fellow zoologists Louis Chaix,

DELORT, R., 1978. Le commerce desfourrures ell occident a
Juliet Cluuon-Brock, Peter Davis, Wim Van Neer
lafin du rrwyen age. Vols. 1-2. Ecole Franc;:aise, Rorna.
I and Jorg Schibler who provided access to the refer­
DRIESCH, A. VON DEN, 1976. Das Vennessell von Tier­
IS r ence materials listed alphabetically in Table 1. The
fur Paliioanatomie, Domestikationsforschung und Geschichte
IS
y
1 photographs were taken by Karoly Kozma. The
presentation of this specimen was partially funded
y t by Grant No. 247/6678 of the Soros Foundation.
:s
Iy
a 1 6. REFERENCES
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