The bone element also indicates a denser outer cortex of the medial diaphysis in comparison to the inner medulla. Asymmetry in male metatarsals such as distal broadening of the lateral part of the medial trochlea was visible on the X-ray images. This suggests that male cattle were used both in meat production and as draught animals. The results also show a correlation between metapodials with a pathology connected to biomechanical stress and older animals. These differences may reflect a change in demand for meat related to the character of the site. More oxen/bulls than cows reached the advanced age of over 8 years, yet in phase III more oxen/bulls seem to have been slaughtered between the ages of 2 and 8 years.
The X-ray analyses suggest that several animals in both phases were slaughtered aged 4–8 years. In this paper conventional X-ray analysis of cattle metapodials is used to study the age structure of slaughtered cattle at Eketorp ringfort on the island of Öland, Sweden.
