In the whole Danube region, no period in prehistory has left as many animal bones in waste pits as has the Vučedol Culture.

The culture had herding as its main occupation. Bones of domestic animals dominate, particularly cattle. The presence in their food, even if slight, of horses, which had come to the Danube with the Indo-Europeans, guarantees that the Vučedolians were horse riders; men on foot cannot herd horses.

Wild game also figured largely in their food, particularly when the culture approached swamps and forests, so that meat sources clearly varied with the surroundings.

The large quantities of animal bones testify to a high-quality diet based on meat and milk products. Vučedol had excellent opportunities for using skins, bones, and wool in daily life.

Path to salt

As a herding people, Vučedolians used salt to lay down food reserves and make longer-lasting milk products. The culture in its search for salt opened paths to the Adriatic Sea, as shown by finds near Trieste and on the middle (islands of Brač, Hvar, and Korčula) and southern coast (Bay of Kotor and northern Albania), as well as to Moldavia with its numerous salt deposits.

Apart from waste pits with animal bones, there were also pits serving for burial of young animals: calves, pigs or dogs. This tradition of ritual sacrifices for successful animal raising was taken over from the Baden Culture. The cattle mandibles found fixed in the walls of Vučedol houses must have had special ritual or cultic significance as well.