This thesis explores the interpretative potential of animal mandibles from selected Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age settlements in the south-eastern Alpine region. The central part of the analysis focuses on material from the multiperiod site of Tribuna I in Ljubljana, where the taxonomic, chronological, spatial and contextual distribution of mandibular fragments was examined. Particular attention was given to distinguishing between ordinary settlement or food-related waste, secondarily redeposited remains, and contexts that may indicate selective or structured deposition. The results show that mandibles at Tribuna most commonly occur as part of heterogeneous settlement assemblages, particularly in open and communication areas. However, individual contexts inside some buildings clearly deviate from this pattern. The findings from Tribuna were supplemented with selected examples from Brinjeva gora, Ormož and Most na Soči. The analysis shows that animal mandibles cannot be interpreted in isolation, but must be considered together with the associated faunal assemblage and their spatial and stratigraphical contexts.
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