Cattle traction was a technological innovation that made a significant impact on production, individual and household wealth, and social organisation. Despite ongoing debates regarding the origins and extent of the harnessing of cattle power among early agropastoral societies, only a few studies have attempted at addressing this matter systematically. In Neolithic Çatalhöyük, several studies have explored the symbolism and domestication of aurochs and cattle, while the systematic investigation of Bos skeletal remains regarding the presence of cattle traction has been missing. This study focuses on Neolithic Çatalhöyük in Central Anatolia, renowned for its cattle symbolism, to explore the possibility of cattle traction in the 7th and 6th millennium BCE. We studied the palaeopathological traces on the lower limbs of Bos from Çatalhöyük East (Early, Middle, and Late) and West Mounds. Our results suggest that arthropathies are present on the Bos lower limbs (particularly anterior elements) in all phases of Neolithic Çatalhöyük. Pathological and sub-pathological changes are on average more severe among the small cattle of Çatalhöyük West than in the preceding periods at Çatalhöyük East, a result affected by a few rather deformed specimens in Çatalhöyük West. We did not observe any clear correlation between cattle survivorship, size, and pathology severity. Although an unequivocal association between pathologies and traction in prehistoric cattle remains challenging, we discuss plausible explanations for the changing nature and intensity of cattle pathologies at Çatalhöyük throughout time. Furthermore, we discuss the implications of possible draught use of cattle for the socioeconomic shifts Çatalhöyük experienced in the 6th millennium BC.

牛牵引是一项技术创新，对生产、个人和家庭财富以及社会组织产生了重大影响。尽管关于早期农牧社会中利用牛力的起源和程度一直存在争议，但只有少数研究试图系统地解决这个问题。在新石器时代的Çatalhöyük 中，几项研究探索了野牛和牛的象征意义和驯化，而对Bos的系统调查关于牛牵引存在的骨骼遗骸已丢失。本研究重点关注以牛象征着称的安纳托利亚中部的新石器时代Çatalhöyük，以探索在公元前 7 世纪和 6 世纪牵引牛的可能性。我们研究了来自Çatalhöyük East（早期、中期和晚期）和 West Mounds的Bos下肢的古病理学痕迹。我们的研究结果表明，Bos上存在关节病新石器时代Çatalhöyük所有阶段的下肢（特别是前部元素）。Çatalhöyük West 的小牛的病理和亚病理变化平均比 Çatalhöyük East 的前几个时期更严重，这是受到 Çatalhöyük West 一些相当变形的标本的影响。我们没有观察到牛的存活率、大小和病理严重程度之间有任何明确的相关性。尽管史前牛的病理和牵引力之间的明确关联仍然具有挑战性，但我们讨论了对 Çatalhöyük 牛病理变化的性质和强度的合理解释。此外，我们讨论了可能的牛使用对Çatalhöyük 在公元前 6 世纪所经历的社会经济变化的影响。