187 Height of dental crown used to determine the age of Eneolithic large deer game Tatjana Tušek 1 *, Damir Mihelić 2 , Krešimir Babić 2 , and Tajana Trbojević-Vukičević 2 1 Agricultural College Križevci, Croatia 2 Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia TUŠEK, T., D. MIHELIĆ, K. BABIĆ, T. TRBOJEVIĆ-VUKIČEVIĆ: Height of dental crown used to determine the age of Eneolithic large deer game. Vet. arhiv 71, 187-195, 2001. ABSTRACT Abrasion of dental crown and the shape of denture occlusal surface are significant indicators in age determination of domestic mammals. The factors that significantly influence age determination of Eneolithic deer game in conditions of an open wildlife habitat are climatic changes that influenced their survival, as well as specific features of teeth morphological structure. In this paper the age of Eneolithic red deer is determined on the basis of dental crown abrasion of the third and fourth permanent premolars, and the first and third permanent molars. The obtained values for dental crown height of Eneolithic deer were compared with the values for dental crown height of the same tooth material of recent red deer whose age was clearly determined (5-7 years). Dental crown abrasion of Eneolithic deer (“Vučedol deer”) is greater than the dental crown abrasion of European deer (Cervus elaphus L.), that is to say, the age of “Vučedol deer” is within a range of 7-10 years. Key words: dental crown, age, “Vučedol deer”, red deer Introduction The determination of age on the basis of dental crown abrasion and the shape of denture occlusal surface has become a widely accepted method used for domestic mammals, as the conditions of their life have been unchanged and controlled by humans, and is therefore clearly known. The * Contact address: Dr. Tatjana Tušek, Dr. Vet. Med., Agricultural College Križevci, M. Demerca 1, 48 260 Križevci, Croatia, Phone: +385 48 681 622; Fax: +385 48 682 790; E-mail: ttusek@public.srce.hr ISSN 0372-5480 Printed in Croatia VETERINARSKI ARHIV 71 (4), 187-195, 2001