Zooarchaeology

Put Dragulina, a Roman cemetery site dating between 1st century AD to approximately 7th century AD, was excavated as part of rescue projects during 2011 and 2017 in Trogir, Croatia. At least 65 individual graves were excavated with associated burial goods. Along with the recovery of human remains, over 250 fragments of animal bone were recovered. This poster presents the identification and analysis of ovicaprines, cattle, and equid remains as possible remnants of feasting activities associated with mortuary practices based on postmortem alterations.The presence of cut marks on the distal and proximal portion of the bones suggest that the remains were processed and consumed. In association with the infant and adult burials, it is suggested that the postmortem alterations, alongside the presence of fragmented burned bone, are indicators that mortuary feasting processes were occurring at this Roman cemetery site.

In the 2015 season, the underwater research in Lake Lednica focused on further exploration of the exploration plots of the Poznań bridge. In the course of this research, a wicker object in a radiating out shape was localised. During the examination of the object and its cleaning after excavation, a great number of animal bone remains were collected and analysed. They almost exclusively came from fishes. In the bone material, the remains of several fishes were found: a catfish, eight perch, a pike and fishes of the Cyprinidae family, including at least two roaches, as well as three remains of a pig. Radiocarbon dating of the organic material which the object was made of indicates that it was placed after the bridge was no longer in use, probably in the late 12th or the early 13th century.

Over the past several decades archaeologists have used the spinal pathology spondylosis deformans as an indicator that archaeological dogs were used to pull or carry loads. This interpretive approach is largely based upon observations of prehistoric dog remains and archaeologist's interpretations of veterinary literature on recent sled dogs and other draft animals. However, no comparative large-scale studies of the occurrence of spondylosis deformans in wild canids, transport dogs, and dogs never involved in pulling or carrying loads have been published. To evaluate the reliability of spondylosis deformans in archaeological dogs as an indicator of participation in transport activities, 136 modern non-transport dogs, 19 sled dogs, and 241 wolves were systematically analyzed for the occurrence of spondylosis deformans. Our results indicate this pathology is not a reliable skeletal indicator of dog transport because the disease is prevalent in both dogs and wolves, regardless of their occupational histories. Numerous factors correlate with the occurrence and manifestation of this disease in canids, including age, body size, sex, and inbreeding. As such, it remains extremely challenging to identify specific etiologies for spondylosis deformans in archaeological specimens.

Wupatki National Monument, a Puebloan site located in the Sinagua region of Northern Arizona, yields an assortment of wildlife available to past populations. Analyzing faunal remains from archaeological sites on the Colorado Plateau develops a holistic understanding of the prehistoric lifeways of Southwest communities. Through the determination of taxa present, minimum number of individuals, animal portions utilized, cultural modifications such as butchering and pot polish, and natural taphonomic signatures, our research provides a thorough hypothesis of animal use through time at the site. Further, we examine utility indices such as MGUI and FUI, and discuss the relative frequencies of Artiodactyls and Lagomorphs in the community's diet. Our research highlights the importance of understanding animals in the Southwest diet and provides discourse on animal resources in an arid environment.

... CUSTODES CONFINIORUM, VULGO EWRII ...
ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN THE MEDIEVAL SETTLEMENT FROM MIERCUREA BĂI – CUNŢA


– Abstract –


The preventive archaeological research took place during 2012. (Pl. 15-16) On the first stage cross-sectional trenches were made in order to observe the expansion of the site. They were followed by the uncovering and the research of the entire area. During this works 153 features from a medieval settlement have been identified. (Pl. 8; Pl. 10-14) Among these there were partially sunken houses of a rectangular almost square plan with rock ovens (mostly situated on the northern corners) and in some cases with domestic ovens or fireplaces; pottery kilns; pits with various purposes and some traces of surface structures. The research of these features has provided a vast amount of archaeological items, which helped in dating the settlement in the first half of the 12th century. The items consist mainly in pottery: clay cauldrons, jar-vessels, jugs and rarely also bowls. Some of them were ornamented with sets of straight or wavy lines and impressions made with the stick or the small wheel. Some of these also show on the surface of the base potter’s signs or marks. Besides these there were also bone or horn made objects (combs, pins and pin tubes), metal tools and accessories (sickles, knives, spurs, buckles, earrings) or stone devices (hand-mills for grinding cereal crops). The discovered features are described in the text with references to the associated plate / plates, which include picture / pictures and the drawing of each feature as well as drawings / pictures of the archaeological inventory. Where necessary, in terms of the size of the feature or the wealth and importance of the archaeological inventory, several plates have been assigned to one feature. For the smaller features, with no inventory or with a scarce inventory, several archaeological features were displayed on one plate.
The distribution of the features and of the archaeological material within the researched perimeter shows that the houses with rock ovens, the surface structures and pottery making installations were grouped differentially. The archaeological research did not reveal the entire settlement, which makes it difficult to refer to the entire structure of the medieval settlement from MS1. Nevertheless, it is obvious that the southern part of the settlement has been researched, which lead to the discovery of at least one clear boundary of the settlement, namely the one marked by the ancient river flow and by the marshy area around it. What seems odd on a short look over the general plan of the archaeologically researched area (Pl. 8) is the fact that a white spot is present in the center of the researched area. It is a strictly medieval white spot, because it is the area where the remains of a great roman structure have been researched, above which none or rare medieval structures were preserved. During the 12th century the great roman structure may have stood as a massive ruin, which made it impossible for medieval habitations to be placed there, the area being used only as a source of building materials. There is also the assumption that some parts of the great roman structure were still standing and in use in the 12th century, maybe reused as a public or cult edifice, generating the toponym Alba Ecclesia or Weisskirch that has been kept until the 20th century. In all the researched areas there were no data to support a systematic planning of the features, but due to the discovery of two pottery kilns (Pl. 22-23; Pl. 56) and of some wells/pits (Pl. 47; Pl. 98) used as raw material source that go all the way down to the underground water and of the eastern boundary marked by an ancient river bed (probably used as water source), one may state that on the eastern side of the archaeological research the handicraft area of the settlement has been revealed. The alternation or the association of these “production areas” with houses may lead to the conclusion that those who worked there lived nearby them, in order to be able to keep a close watch on the technological flow. Placing the ovens at the periphery of the settlement is a normal fact due to fire hazard and this fact has also been noticed in other settlements of the same age in Transylvania. The existence of several traces of pole holes, pits, ditches and fireplaces that are not associated to houses may support the idea of people living in tents or iurta alongside with living in dugged houses with stone ovens. Especially in the south-western area of the settlement there are areas with clustered materials (small stones, roman construction materials and pottery) on irregular surfaces that seem to be the result of land leveling in order to prevent mudding and rain water puddles. The same clusters situated in the proximity of sunken houses with rock ovens, could represent traces of household annexes, blinds or protective screens against bad weather.
The research data show that the settlement was left in an organized systematic manner. There are no traces of rash desertion, no houses with usable inventory left within behind. Only two houses destroyed by fire (cx 048 – Pl. 25 and 133 – Pl. 64) were researched, but the archaeological material present within at the time of the fire was not rich. It seems that those who have left the settlement have had enough time to recover all that they could use; furthermore they had time to dump the broken objects or those that were of no use or could not be carried in old source of material pits (turned into domestic pits) and to leave the habitations and the settlement clean. The analysis of the animal bones from the settlement (Pl. 112.2) proves that those who lived during the 12th century at Miercurea Băi – Cunţa were mainly cattle raisers. At the same time, the large number of spurs found in the archaeologically researched features (Pl. 46.49, Pl. 73.75 and Pl. 55), lead to the conclusion that they were a population of riders, which suits the idea of large domestic animals breeding. The presence of sickles and hand-mills in the settlement proves that the population was also concerned with soil cultivation, therefore a sedentary one or one on the way of becoming sedentary. The same conclusion is stated by the presence of pottery kilns built in a quite accurate manner.
From the historical point of view, the 12th century is marked in Transylvania by the gradual expansion of the authority of the medieval Hungarian kingdom as well as by the military organization of its territory and boundaries. The way these boundaries were organized all along the 10-12th centuries has been analyzed by several historians, mainly on account of the historical toponyms placed alongside geographic lines marked by natural defense elements. These were adjusted by maintaining thick forest strips  (Gyepük – Presăci – Indagines – Verhaue). They were doubled in front by non-inhabited areas or by areas deliberately depopulated (Terra deserta, desertum) to the effect of easily observing and watching all movement of human groups. Within these elements of fortification, highly secured passing places were arranged (Kapu – Clusa – Porta – Poartă – Tor). We believe that on the Secaş Valley, at the point where the archaeological research has been conducted, there was one of these gates in the borderline forest, attested mainly by the toponymy of the historical maps, as “Wehrbusch beim Thor” or “Alt Wehrbusch beim Thor” meaning “gate defending forest (brush)” or “old forest, old defense brush at the gate”. It is obvious that these defense lines required defenders, consisting in groups of peasants with military duties, such as defending the borders. They were mostly Szekely, population that was kept in the history of the place by its hidronymy and toponymy: Secaş, Zekesch, Zekeschdorf. The written information recounts about the use of these groups of riding archers by means of the legislation of king Ladislau (lex.II.17, i) “custodes confiniorum qui vulgo ewrii vocantur”. These groups of guardians of the border were moved in an organized manner at the middle of the 12th century in the eastern Transylvania, on the new alignment of the border of the Hungarian kingdom, while in their place, on the ancient terra deserta, the Transylvanian saxons were settled down, who placed themselves in serving, defending and supporting the crown „ad retinendam coronam”.