Medieval Animal Bones - Revision history

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 '''The Various Voices of Medieval Animal Bones'''
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 [[Image:Archzoofig1.jpg|thumb|300px|Figure 1: Dog breeds in the 14th century Buda Royal Court.
 The variability in shape and pelage is indicative of selective breeding,
-difficult to detect in the archaeological record (Zolnay 1971).
+difficult to detect in the archaeological record (Zolnay 1971).]]
-]]
+[[category: hunting]]
 Hunting in the Middle Ages was restricted to the nobility but was always maintained as a mark of status and male identity. The most important game animals were red deer (Cervus elaphus) and wild boar (Sus scrofa). From archaeozoological assemblages and contemporaneous images we know that hare (Lepus europaeus) was also hunted, beaver (Castor fiber) and ermine (Mustela erminea), important fur animals, were also important in trade. Of course, all sorts of fish (Pisces), were also key items in the fasting diets throughout Catholic Europe. Even aquatic mammals, beaver and otter (?; Lutra lutra) could form a legitimate part of meals for Lent.

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:25, 29 November 2006
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	The past history of human-animal connections is ultimately about behavior in a myriad of inter-related natural and cultural contexts, revealed in bits and pieces from a variety of sources. Interdisciplinary approaches to historical problems provide a form of checks on different kinds of sources as well as adding new kinds of data. It goes without saying that recognition and interpretation of special patterns in archaeozoological assemblages is heavily contingent on use of contemporaneous written sources and images (Figure 16). Attempts to move beyond calories to interpreting bones in light of the local economy as well as social organization and affiliation is a growing trend in archeozoology (Van Neer and Ervynck 1996; 2004; Ervynck 2004; Galik and Kunst 2004). Multidisciplinarity, that is, the parallel analysis of written and iconographic sources is an indispensable contribution to medieval archaeozoology.		The past history of human-animal connections is ultimately about behavior in a myriad of inter-related natural and cultural contexts, revealed in bits and pieces from a variety of sources. Interdisciplinary approaches to historical problems provide a form of checks on different kinds of sources as well as adding new kinds of data. It goes without saying that recognition and interpretation of special patterns in archaeozoological assemblages is heavily contingent on use of contemporaneous written sources and images (Figure 16). Attempts to move beyond calories to interpreting bones in light of the local economy as well as social organization and affiliation is a growing trend in archeozoology (Van Neer and Ervynck 1996; 2004; Ervynck 2004; Galik and Kunst 2004). Multidisciplinarity, that is, the parallel analysis of written and iconographic sources is an indispensable contribution to medieval archaeozoology.
	[[Image:Archzoofig0.jpg]]		[[Image:Archzoofig0.jpg]]
		+
		+	==References==
		+
		+	Bartosiewicz, L. 1983. A régészeti feltárás finomításának lehetőségei. Régészeti Füzetek, 2: 37-54.
		+	Bartosiewicz, L. 1995. Animals in the urban landscape in the wake of the Middle Ages.Tempus Reparatum, Oxford.
		+	Bartosiewicz, L. 1996. Camels in Antiquity: The Hungarian connection. Antiquity, 70/268: 447-453.
		+	Bartosiewicz, L. 1997. A Székesfehérvár Bestiary: Animal bones from the excavations of the medieval city wall. Alba Regia XXVI, Székesfehérvár: 133-167.
		+	Bartosiewicz, L. 1997-1998. Animal exploitation in Turkish Period Hungary. OTIVM 5-6: 36-49.
		+	Bartosiewicz, L. 1999. Animal bones from the Cochabamba Valley, Bolivia. In J. Gyarmati and A. Varga eds.: The Chacaras of War. An Inka site estate in the Cochabamba Valley, Bolivia. Museum of Ethnography, Budapest: 101-109.
		+	Bartosiewicz, L. 2001. A leopard (Panthera pardus L. 1758) find from the late Middle Ages in Hungary. In H. Buitenhuis–W. Prummel eds.: Animals and Man in the Past. ARC-Publicatie 41, Groningen, the Netherlands: 151-160.
		+	Bartosiewicz, L. 2002. A török kori Bajcsavár állatai (Animals of Turkish Period Bajcsavár). In Gy. Kovács ed.: Weitschawar/Bajcsa-Vár. Zala Megyei Múzeumok Igazgatósága: Zalaegerszeg: 89-100.
		+	Bartosiewicz, L. 2003a. Eat not this fish – a matter of scaling. In A. F. Guzmán, O. J. Polaco–F. J. Aguilar eds.: Presencia de la arqueoictiología en México. Conaculta–INAH, México D. F.: 19-26.
		+	Bartosiewicz, L. 2003b. A háziállatok régészete (The archaeology of domestic animals). In Zs. Visy ed. Magyar régészet az ezredfordulón (Hungarian Archaeology at the Millennium). Nemzeti Kulturális Örökség Minisztériuma, Budapest: 60-64.
		+	Bartosiewicz, L. in press. Crane: food, pet and symbol. In J. Peters ed.: Proceedings of the 5th meeting of the ICAZ Bird Working Group. Documenta Archaeobiologica, München: 257-268.
		+	Bartosiewicz, L. and Bonsall, C. 2004. Prehistoric Fishing along the Danube. Antaeus 27: 253-272.
		+	Bartosiewicz, L. and Gál, E. 2004. Ottoman Period Animal Exploitation in Hungary. In I. Gerelyes and Gy. Kovács eds.: Archeology of the Ottoman Period in Hungary. Opuscula Hungarica III. Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum, Budapest: 365-376.
		+	Bartosiewicz, L.,Van Neer, W. and Lentacker, A. 1997. Draught cattle: their osteological identification and history. Tervuren, Koninklijk Museum voor Midden-Afrika, Annalen, Zoologische Wetenschappen Vol. 281, Tervuren.
		+	Belényessy, M. 1956. Az állattartás a XIV. században Magyarországon (Animal Keeping in XIV century Hungary). Néprajzi Értesítő Vol. XXXVII: 23–59.
		+	Bessenyei, J. 1997. Diósgyőr vára és uradalma a XVI. sz.-ban (The castle and ruler of Diósgyőr in the XVI century). Források: Miskolc.
		+	Bökönyi, S. 1963. Die Wirbeltierfauna der Ausgrabungen in Zalavár. In Á Sós and S. Bökönyi: Zalavár. Arch. Hung. N.S., XLI, 313-386, Budapest.
		+	Bökönyi, S. 1974. History of Domestic Mammals in Central and Eastern Europe. (Akadémiai Kiadó: Budapest).
		+	Bökönyi, S. 1993. The beginnings of conscious animal breeding in Hungary: the biological, written and artistic evidences. In Durand, R. (ed.): L’homme, l’animal et l’environnement du Moyen Âge au XVIIIe siècle. Enquêtes et Documents 19, Nantes.
		+	Borovszky, S. 1909. Borsod vármegye története a legrégibb időktől a jelenkorig (The history of Borsod county from earliest times to the present). In A vármegye története az őskortól a szatmári békéig (The history of the Counties from Prehistoric Times to the Peace of Szatmár). Budapest.
		+	Choyke, A.M. 2003. Animals and Roman Lifeways in Aquincum. In P. Zsidi ed.: Forschungen in Aquincum 1969-2002. Aquincum Nostrum II/2: Budapest, 210-232.
		+	Daróczi-Szabó, L. 2004. Animals bones as indicators of kosher food refuse from 14th c AD Buda, Hungary. In S. Jones O’Day, W. Van Neer and A. Ervynck, Behavior Behind Bones. The Zooarchaeology of Ritual, Religion, Status and Identity. (Oxbow books: Oxford), pp. 252-262.
		+	De Grossi Mazzorin, J. and Minniti, C.1999. Diet and religious practices: the example of two monastic orders in Rome between the XVIth and XVIIth centuries. Anthroopzoologia Vol. 30, pp. 65-77.
		+	Driesch, A. von den 1976. A Guide to the Measurements of Animal Bones from Archaeological Sites. Peabody Museum Bulletin Vol.1. (Peabody Museum Press: Cambridge, Massachusetts).
		+	Efremov, I. A., 1940. Taphonomy: a new branch of paleontology. Pan-American Geologist 74, pp.81–93.
		+	Ervynck, A., Van Neer, W. Hüster-Plogmann, H. and Schibler, J. 2003. Beyond affluence: the zooarchaeology of luxury. In W. Van Neer (ed.) Luxury Foods. World Archaeology Vol. 34/3: 428-441.
		+	Fahrenkamp, J. 1986. Wie man eyn teutsches Mannsbild bey Kräfften hält. München, Orbis Verlag.
		+	Gaál, L. 1966. A magyar állattenyésztés múltja (The Past of Hungarian Animal Breeding). Akadémiai Kiadó: Budapest.
		+	Galik, A. and Kunst, G.K. 2004. Dietary habits of a monastic community as indicated by animal bone remains from Early Modern Age in Austria. In S. O’Day, W. Van Neer and A. Ervynck (eds.) Behavior Behind bones: the zooarchaeology of ritual, religion, status and identity, Oxbow books: Oxford, 224-232.
		+	Gilbert, A. S., 1988. Zooarchaeological observations on the slaughterhouse of Meketre. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 74: 69-89.
		+
		+	Gróf, P. and Gróh, D. 2001. The remains of medieval bone carvings from Visegrád. In A. Choyke and L. Bartosiewicz (eds.), Crafting Bone: Skeletal Technologies through Time and Space, BAR International Series 937, Archeopress: Oxford, 281-285.
		+	Gunda, B. 1979. Die Jagd und Domestikation des Kranichs bei den Ungarn. In B. Gunda ed.: Ethnographica Carpatho-Balkanica. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest: 89-114.
		+	Hoffmann, R. C. 1997. Fisher’s Craft and Lettered Art: Tracts on Fishing from the End of the Middle Ages. University of Toronto Press: Toronto.
		+	Jánossy, D. 1985. Wildvogelreste aus archäologischen Grabungen in Ungarn (Neolithicum bis Mittelalter). Fragmenta Mineralogica et Paleontologica 12, 67-103.
		+	Khin, A. 1957. A magyar vizák története (The history of Hungarian sturgeons). Mezőgazdasági Múzeum Füzetei 2: Budapest.
		+	Kiesewalter, L. 1888. Skelettmessungen am Pferde. Dissertation, Leipzig.
		+	Kovács, E. 2005. Remains of the bone working in medieval Buda. In H. Luik, A. Choyke, C. Batey and L. Lõugas (eds.), From Hooves to Horns from Mollusc to Mammoth, Muinasaja Teadus 15, Tallinn, 309-316.
		+	Leibniz, G.W. 1749. Protogaea oder Abhandlung von der ersten Gestalt der Erde und den Spuren der Historie in den Denkmalen der Natur. Leipzig und Hof, Herausgegeben von Christian Ludwig Scheid.
		+	Lyman, R.L. 1994. Vertebrate Taphonomy. Cambridge Manuals in Archaeology, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
		+	MacGregor, A. 1985. Bone, Antler, Ivory and Horn: the Technology of Skeletal Materials since the Roman Period, Croom Helm, London.
		+	Makkai, L. 1957. Paraszti és majorsági mezőgazdasági termelés a XVII. Században (Peasant and manorial agricultural production in the XVII century). Agrártörténeti Tanulmányok Vol. 2. Gödöllő–Budapest.
		+	Makkai, L. 1971. Der ungarischen Viehhandel 1550-1650. In I. Bog (ed.): Der Aussenhandel Ostmitteleuropas 1450-1650, Böhlau Verlag: Wien.
		+	Marsigli, L. F. 1726. Danubius Pannonico-Mysicus. Vol. VI. Amsterdam – The Hague.
		+	Matolcsi, J. 1982. Állattartás őseink korában (Animal Keeping in the Time of our Ancestors). Gondolat: Budapest.
		+	Paládi-Kovács, A. 1993. A magyarországi állattartókultúra korszakai (Periods of Hungarian Animal Keeping Culture). MTA Néprajzi Kutatóintézet: Budapest.
		+	Payne, S. 1973 Kill-off patterns in sheep and goats: the mandibles from Aşvan Kale. Anatolian Studies 23: 281-303.
		+	Poma de Ayala, F. G. [1990]. Perui képes krónika (El primer nueva crónica y buen gobierno). Gondolat, Budapest.
		+	Schiffer, M.B. 1995. Behavioral Archaeology: First Principals. University of Utah Press: Salt Lake City.
		+	Szendrei, J. 1911. Miskolcz Város Története és Egyetemes Helyirata (The History and Topography of the Town of Miskolc) Vol. III.
		+	Tóth, P. 1994. Szempontok a borsodi mezõvárosok középkori és kora újkori történetének vizsgálatához (Points of view on the analysis of the medieval and Early Modern history of market-towns in Borsod country). Studia Miskolciensia Vol. 1: 113-125.
		+	Tóth, P. – Kubinyi, A. (eds.) 1996. Miskolc története. I-II. Miskolc: Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén Megyei Levéltár (The History of Miskolc, Vols. I-II. Miskolc: County Archives of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County) – Herman Ottó Múzeum.
		+	Van Neer, W. and Ervynck, A. 2004. Remains of traded fish in archaeological sites: indicators of status, or bulk food. In S. O’Day, W. Van Neer and A. Ervynck (eds.) Behavior Behind bones: the zooarchaeology of ritual, religion, status and identity, Oxbow books: Oxford, 203-214.
		+	Van Neer, W. and Ervynck, A. 1996. Food rules and status: patterns of fish consumption in a monastic community. Archaeofauna Vol. 5: 155-165.
		+	Zolnay, L. 1971. Vadászatok a régi Magyarországon (Hunting in old Hungary). Natura: Budapest.

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:02, 29 November 2006
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	Together with common myths and stories about human and animal interactions animal images were used to instruct and associated with protective qualities appearing in the form of amulets. Animals and their products could reflect prestige either because of their special qualities as a breed or exotic origins and form. Hunting large game was frequently a test of manhood. Rarely, the skulls of the large animals show up in contexts suggesting their use as trophies displayed on walls. There are also examples where skulls of horses were hung up on buildings for apothropaic purposes. In the correct context such skulls may also be recognized in archaeological materials. At the beginning of the Middle Ages in Europe, horses in particular were still placed in the graves of the		Together with common myths and stories about human and animal interactions animal images were used to instruct and associated with protective qualities appearing in the form of amulets. Animals and their products could reflect prestige either because of their special qualities as a breed or exotic origins and form. Hunting large game was frequently a test of manhood. Rarely, the skulls of the large animals show up in contexts suggesting their use as trophies displayed on walls. There are also examples where skulls of horses were hung up on buildings for apothropaic purposes. In the correct context such skulls may also be recognized in archaeological materials. At the beginning of the Middle Ages in Europe, horses in particular were still placed in the graves of the
	Avars people as complete animals. At the time of the 9th-10th century Hungarian Conquest, pre-Christian burials contained only the skull and lower limb bones of horses, suggesting the bones were attached to a hide. In any case, these modes of burial may be regarded as the pars pro toto representation of the entire animal.		Avars people as complete animals. At the time of the 9th-10th century Hungarian Conquest, pre-Christian burials contained only the skull and lower limb bones of horses, suggesting the bones were attached to a hide. In any case, these modes of burial may be regarded as the pars pro toto representation of the entire animal.
		+
		+	[[Image:Archzoofig15.jpg\|thumb\|300px\|Figure 15: Late Antique and medieval crane finds (+) plotted on the distribution map of geographical names related to crane in the Carpathian Basin and regions of
		+	19th-century crane taming (1: Lake Fertõ, 2: Mezõföld Plain, 3: Great Cumania,
		+	4: Hortobágy Plain, 5: Sárrét Plain, 6: Szeged region).]]
		+
		+	After the onset of Christianity, animals continued appear as attributes for saints and apostles. As symbols, they still were used to represent visual and textual shorthand for basic human qualities ranging widely from modesty to jealousy. The line between different animal species as well as humans between and animals was often delightfully and uninhibitedly blurred in the medieval view of the world. Fantastic and grotesque creatures were just as real and important in daily life as the cattle and pigs living side by side with the people who relied on them for survival. Specific cultural attitudes, the qualities attributed to animals, have a direct feedback on which animals were preferred for exploitation in a given place and time and how they were used. Even today, it affects how animal species are used, under what circumstances. These qualities, in turn, have ultimately affected which bones end up in the archaeozoologist’s laboratory.
		+
		+
		+	==Conclusions==
		+
		+	The past history of human-animal connections is ultimately about behavior in a myriad of inter-related natural and cultural contexts, revealed in bits and pieces from a variety of sources. Interdisciplinary approaches to historical problems provide a form of checks on different kinds of sources as well as adding new kinds of data. It goes without saying that recognition and interpretation of special patterns in archaeozoological assemblages is heavily contingent on use of contemporaneous written sources and images (Figure 16). Attempts to move beyond calories to interpreting bones in light of the local economy as well as social organization and affiliation is a growing trend in archeozoology (Van Neer and Ervynck 1996; 2004; Ervynck 2004; Galik and Kunst 2004). Multidisciplinarity, that is, the parallel analysis of written and iconographic sources is an indispensable contribution to medieval archaeozoology.
		+	[[Image:Archzoofig0.jpg]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:59, 29 November 2006
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	In parallel, humans observing animal behavior and interpreting it in terms of human social terms began attributing human characteristics to these creatures. This has helped shape our constantly evolving attitudes toward the world, with animals forming an integral part of it. Animals conceived as metaphors are not physically tangible in the same way as the bone remains of those animals. Neither do the bones themselves, ultimately the results of consumption, shed much light on the roles of animals in all aspects of social, economic, political or religious affairs. From the archaeozoologist’s point of view external evidence must be considered to be able integrate zoological information within a broader picture.		In parallel, humans observing animal behavior and interpreting it in terms of human social terms began attributing human characteristics to these creatures. This has helped shape our constantly evolving attitudes toward the world, with animals forming an integral part of it. Animals conceived as metaphors are not physically tangible in the same way as the bone remains of those animals. Neither do the bones themselves, ultimately the results of consumption, shed much light on the roles of animals in all aspects of social, economic, political or religious affairs. From the archaeozoologist’s point of view external evidence must be considered to be able integrate zoological information within a broader picture.
	A hat decorated with crane feathers (as well as a reflex bow), are shown in Dürer’s sketch made for the triumphal march of Emperor Maximilian, entitled the “Hungarian trophy” (Figure 14). Both the historical and ethnographic record shows that crane feathers indeed had special ornamental importance in Hungary (Gunda 1979). The bones of this bird also occur relatively frequently in archaeozoological assemblages (Figure 15, Jánnossy 1985). Although no evidence of feathers survives in the archaeological record, combining toponyms related to crane, ethnographically known regions of crane taming and the find locations in the same map shows a concentration of crane bones (encircled in Figure 15) in the hilly region of the Danube Bend gorge, relatively far away from the areas marked by linguistic ethnographic evidence that would logically define ancient crane habitats. This indirectly shows that cranes, also known to have been kept as pets in noble households, were exploited away from their preferred environments (Bartosiewicz in press).		A hat decorated with crane feathers (as well as a reflex bow), are shown in Dürer’s sketch made for the triumphal march of Emperor Maximilian, entitled the “Hungarian trophy” (Figure 14). Both the historical and ethnographic record shows that crane feathers indeed had special ornamental importance in Hungary (Gunda 1979). The bones of this bird also occur relatively frequently in archaeozoological assemblages (Figure 15, Jánnossy 1985). Although no evidence of feathers survives in the archaeological record, combining toponyms related to crane, ethnographically known regions of crane taming and the find locations in the same map shows a concentration of crane bones (encircled in Figure 15) in the hilly region of the Danube Bend gorge, relatively far away from the areas marked by linguistic ethnographic evidence that would logically define ancient crane habitats. This indirectly shows that cranes, also known to have been kept as pets in noble households, were exploited away from their preferred environments (Bartosiewicz in press).
		+
		+	Together with common myths and stories about human and animal interactions animal images were used to instruct and associated with protective qualities appearing in the form of amulets. Animals and their products could reflect prestige either because of their special qualities as a breed or exotic origins and form. Hunting large game was frequently a test of manhood. Rarely, the skulls of the large animals show up in contexts suggesting their use as trophies displayed on walls. There are also examples where skulls of horses were hung up on buildings for apothropaic purposes. In the correct context such skulls may also be recognized in archaeological materials. At the beginning of the Middle Ages in Europe, horses in particular were still placed in the graves of the
		+	Avars people as complete animals. At the time of the 9th-10th century Hungarian Conquest, pre-Christian burials contained only the skull and lower limb bones of horses, suggesting the bones were attached to a hide. In any case, these modes of burial may be regarded as the pars pro toto representation of the entire animal.

@@ Line 136: / Line 136: @@
 [[Image:Archzoofig14.jpg|thumb|300px|Figure 14: The “Hungarian trophy” in Dürer’s plan of Emperor Maximilian’s triumphal arch.]]
 In parallel, humans observing animal behavior and interpreting it in terms of human social terms began attributing human characteristics to these creatures. This has helped shape our constantly evolving attitudes toward the world, with animals forming an integral part of it. Animals conceived as metaphors are not physically tangible in the same way as the bone remains of those animals. Neither do the bones themselves, ultimately the results of consumption, shed much light on the roles of animals in all aspects of social, economic, political or religious affairs. From the archaeozoologist’s point of view external evidence must be considered to be able integrate zoological information within a broader picture.
-  hat decorated with crane feathers (as well as a reflex bow), are shown in Dürer’s sketch made for the triumphal march of Emperor Maximilian, entitled the “Hungarian trophy” (Figure 14). Both the historical and ethnographic record shows that crane feathers indeed had special ornamental importance in Hungary (Gunda 1979). The bones of this bird also occur relatively frequently in archaeozoological assemblages (Figure 15, Jánnossy 1985). Although no evidence of feathers survives in the archaeological record, combining toponyms related to crane, ethnographically known regions of crane taming and the find locations in the same map shows a concentration of crane bones (encircled in Figure 15) in the hilly region of the Danube Bend gorge, relatively far away from the areas marked by linguistic ethnographic evidence that would logically define ancient crane habitats. This indirectly shows that cranes, also known to have been kept as pets in noble households, were exploited away from their preferred environments (Bartosiewicz  in press).
+A hat decorated with crane feathers (as well as a reflex bow), are shown in Dürer’s sketch made for the triumphal march of Emperor Maximilian, entitled the “Hungarian trophy” (Figure 14). Both the historical and ethnographic record shows that crane feathers indeed had special ornamental importance in Hungary (Gunda 1979). The bones of this bird also occur relatively frequently in archaeozoological assemblages (Figure 15, Jánnossy 1985). Although no evidence of feathers survives in the archaeological record, combining toponyms related to crane, ethnographically known regions of crane taming and the find locations in the same map shows a concentration of crane bones (encircled in Figure 15) in the hilly region of the Danube Bend gorge, relatively far away from the areas marked by linguistic ethnographic evidence that would logically define ancient crane habitats. This indirectly shows that cranes, also known to have been kept as pets in noble households, were exploited away from their preferred environments (Bartosiewicz  in press).

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	[[Image:Archzoofig13.jpg\|thumb\|300px\|Figure 13: Small camelid atlas with cutmarks, possibly caused by slaughtering, from the 16th century. Ventral aspect. Scale bar= 50 mm.]]		[[Image:Archzoofig13.jpg\|thumb\|300px\|Figure 13: Small camelid atlas with cutmarks, possibly caused by slaughtering, from the 16th century. Ventral aspect. Scale bar= 50 mm.]]
	Religious behaviour is not only represented in the presence and absence of certain animal species in the diet. A special example is also worth mentioning here from the 15th century, Inca Period site of Incarracay in Bolívia (Bartosiewicz 1999). Fine transversal cutmarks were discovered on the ventral surface of a small camelid (Lama c. f. pacos) atlas, the vertebra adjacent to the skull (Figure 13). This damage may be alternatively explained by either slaughtering or patterned carcass partitioning, that is, post mortem decapitation. Since these cuts occur on the anterior edge of the cranial articular surface, stricto sensu, they may have been caused by the latter, according to the criteria established by Gilbert (1988: 85, Fig. 5, Pl. XIV/1-4). Never-the-less a neck vertebra damaged by any cutmarks may be of religious significance at this particular site. In pre-conquest Perú, sacrificial lamas were killed by tearing their hearts out. In 1615, the chronicler Poma de Ayala ([1990]: 160) even warns: “Do not kill it this way, but do it like the Christians nowadays, by cutting the ram’s neck...”. That is, slitting the animal’s neck was considered a distinctly non-traditional, culturally idiosyncratic, that is, Christian mode of slaughter.		Religious behaviour is not only represented in the presence and absence of certain animal species in the diet. A special example is also worth mentioning here from the 15th century, Inca Period site of Incarracay in Bolívia (Bartosiewicz 1999). Fine transversal cutmarks were discovered on the ventral surface of a small camelid (Lama c. f. pacos) atlas, the vertebra adjacent to the skull (Figure 13). This damage may be alternatively explained by either slaughtering or patterned carcass partitioning, that is, post mortem decapitation. Since these cuts occur on the anterior edge of the cranial articular surface, stricto sensu, they may have been caused by the latter, according to the criteria established by Gilbert (1988: 85, Fig. 5, Pl. XIV/1-4). Never-the-less a neck vertebra damaged by any cutmarks may be of religious significance at this particular site. In pre-conquest Perú, sacrificial lamas were killed by tearing their hearts out. In 1615, the chronicler Poma de Ayala ([1990]: 160) even warns: “Do not kill it this way, but do it like the Christians nowadays, by cutting the ram’s neck...”. That is, slitting the animal’s neck was considered a distinctly non-traditional, culturally idiosyncratic, that is, Christian mode of slaughter.
		+
		+	==Attributes and symbols==
		+	[[Image:Archzoofig14.jpg\|thumb\|300px\|Figure 14: The “Hungarian trophy” in Dürer’s plan of Emperor Maximilian’s triumphal arch.]]
		+	In parallel, humans observing animal behavior and interpreting it in terms of human social terms began attributing human characteristics to these creatures. This has helped shape our constantly evolving attitudes toward the world, with animals forming an integral part of it. Animals conceived as metaphors are not physically tangible in the same way as the bone remains of those animals. Neither do the bones themselves, ultimately the results of consumption, shed much light on the roles of animals in all aspects of social, economic, political or religious affairs. From the archaeozoologist’s point of view external evidence must be considered to be able integrate zoological information within a broader picture.
		+	A hat decorated with crane feathers (as well as a reflex bow), are shown in Dürer’s sketch made for the triumphal march of Emperor Maximilian, entitled the “Hungarian trophy” (Figure 14). Both the historical and ethnographic record shows that crane feathers indeed had special ornamental importance in Hungary (Gunda 1979). The bones of this bird also occur relatively frequently in archaeozoological assemblages (Figure 15, Jánnossy 1985). Although no evidence of feathers survives in the archaeological record, combining toponyms related to crane, ethnographically known regions of crane taming and the find locations in the same map shows a concentration of crane bones (encircled in Figure 15) in the hilly region of the Danube Bend gorge, relatively far away from the areas marked by linguistic ethnographic evidence that would logically define ancient crane habitats. This indirectly shows that cranes, also known to have been kept as pets in noble households, were exploited away from their preferred environments (Bartosiewicz in press).

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 ==Detecting religious behavior==
-	Because many medieval archaeological sites are complex they undergo continuous re-modeling. This means that it is extremely rare to find deposits in primary position. In addition to floor deposits, storage pits converted to refuse pits, wells and cisterns offer some chance to find animal remains possibly related to food proscription. There are increasing numbers of studies of medieval materials where it has proved possible to recognize food practices in the archaeozoological material, for example where turtles or aquatic mammals such as otter or beaver were substituted for fish on fast days in the diet of two religious orders in Italy (De Grossi Mazzorin and Minniti 1999).
+Because many medieval archaeological sites are complex they undergo continuous re-modeling. This means that it is extremely rare to find deposits in primary position. In addition to floor deposits, storage pits converted to refuse pits, wells and cisterns offer some chance to find animal remains possibly related to food proscription. There are increasing numbers of studies of medieval materials where it has proved possible to recognize food practices in the archaeozoological material, for example where turtles or aquatic mammals such as otter or beaver were substituted for fish on fast days in the diet of two religious orders in Italy (De Grossi Mazzorin and Minniti 1999).
- 	In Hungary, 12 m deep well was excavated between 1999 and 2000 at Teleki Palace in the Buda castle yielded an elaborate piece of textile, shoes and other rare organic materials, preserved under anærobic circumstances. In addition, a fragment of a wooden plate decorated with a Star of David and a fragment of glass with Hebrew writing on it were discovered in the lower layers. Because of all these special finds, the well was excavated with unusual care, all the deposits being washed, screened and carefully picked through.
+In Hungary, 12 m deep well was excavated between 1999 and 2000 at Teleki Palace in the Buda castle yielded an elaborate piece of textile, shoes and other rare organic materials, preserved under anærobic circumstances. In addition, a fragment of a wooden plate decorated with a Star of David and a fragment of glass with Hebrew writing on it were discovered in the lower layers. Because of all these special finds, the well was excavated with unusual care, all the deposits being washed, screened and carefully picked through.
 It was known from documents that the first Jewish population was located somewhere this area in the 13th-14th century although nothing else was known about it. It was hoped that the character of the archaeozoological material would support locating the quarters of this first Jewish population in the area around the well. It was discovered that with the exception of one bone fragment no pig bone appeared in the lower levels at the well (Daróczi-Szabó 2004: 252-243). Jewish dietary law prohibits use of the hind legs of animals like cattle or sheep. At this site there were fewer hind leg bones in the lower levels. Their presence may indicate that these Jews permitted eating meat from this limbs if the sciatic nerve was properly removed which sheds interesting light on the nature of the strict observance practiced by this medieval Jewish community (Daróczi-Szabó 2004: 261). Meanwhile, bones of catfish, a species with no scales, as well as those of sturgeon, another fish avoided by Jews for the same reason were only found in the upper levels from a time when the Jewish population had been expelled from the area (Bartosiewicz 2003a).
 Deposits associated with neighborhoods of mixed religion or less observant Islamic inhabitants during the 150 years of Ottoman Turkish occupation of the Carpathian Basin show a much less clear cut avoidance of pork (Bartosiewicz and Gál 2004) something also observed at Muhi cited in this paper. Although there was a general decline in pig consumption during the Ottoman Period in Hungary (Bartosiewicz 2003b), prohibition against pork is evident only in the exclusive, high status habitation of the Pasha’s Palace in Buda (Bökönyi 1974).
 Religious behaviour is not only represented in the presence and absence of certain animal species in the diet. A special example is also worth mentioning here from the 15th century, Inca Period site of Incarracay in Bolívia (Bartosiewicz 1999). Fine transversal cutmarks were discovered on the ventral surface of a small camelid (Lama c. f. pacos) atlas, the vertebra adjacent to the skull (Figure 13). This damage may be alternatively explained by either slaughtering or patterned carcass partitioning, that is, post mortem decapitation. Since these cuts occur on the anterior edge of the cranial articular surface, stricto sensu, they may have been caused by the latter, according to the criteria established by Gilbert (1988: 85, Fig. 5, Pl. XIV/1-4). Never-the-less a neck vertebra damaged by any cutmarks may be of religious significance at this particular site. In pre-conquest Perú, sacrificial lamas were killed by tearing their hearts out. In 1615, the chronicler Poma de Ayala ([1990]: 160) even warns:  “Do not kill it this way, but do it like the Christians nowadays, by cutting the ram’s neck...”. That is, slitting the animal’s neck was considered a distinctly non-traditional, culturally idiosyncratic, that is, Christian mode of slaughter.

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:52, 29 November 2006
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	Fishing was also of critical importance in the economic life of Europe because fish was so important in religious diets. Fish were grown in extensive fish pond systems and even traded (salted and dried) across the continent and much has been written about this trade both in historical and archaeozoological literature (for example Hoffman 1997; Van Neer and Ervynck 2004). Masses of small fish must have been very important in the diet along rivers, such remains, however, are difficult to find without water-sieving. In great rivers such as the Danube, large sturgeon (Acipenseridae) and catfish (Silurus glanis) were caught. These fish reach huge sizes so their bones are more likely to be found, even where the excavation techniques are limited to hand-collection. In addition, there exist excellent images and written documents concerning fishing weirs along various points on the Danube (Khin 1958). Such a structure and the relevant historical landscape in the Iron Gates Gorge are shown in an excellent picture published by Marsigli (1726), an Italian military engineer and polyhistorian, who traveled along the Danube recording his experiences (Bartosiewicz and Bonsall 2004: fig. 8).		Fishing was also of critical importance in the economic life of Europe because fish was so important in religious diets. Fish were grown in extensive fish pond systems and even traded (salted and dried) across the continent and much has been written about this trade both in historical and archaeozoological literature (for example Hoffman 1997; Van Neer and Ervynck 2004). Masses of small fish must have been very important in the diet along rivers, such remains, however, are difficult to find without water-sieving. In great rivers such as the Danube, large sturgeon (Acipenseridae) and catfish (Silurus glanis) were caught. These fish reach huge sizes so their bones are more likely to be found, even where the excavation techniques are limited to hand-collection. In addition, there exist excellent images and written documents concerning fishing weirs along various points on the Danube (Khin 1958). Such a structure and the relevant historical landscape in the Iron Gates Gorge are shown in an excellent picture published by Marsigli (1726), an Italian military engineer and polyhistorian, who traveled along the Danube recording his experiences (Bartosiewicz and Bonsall 2004: fig. 8).
	Consumption of certain luxury animals certainly signaled status during the medieval period. The consumption of immature animals has already been mentioned but it is also clear that exotic or unusual animals also appeared on the tables of the upper classes or aspiring upper classes as a sign of their otherness from the peasantry (Ervynck et al 2003). One of the specialities newly introduced to Hungary was turkey during the 16th century (Figure 12; Bartosiewicz 1997). The earliest known bone remains of this New World bird are usually found in urban deposits and castles (Bartosiewicz 1995).		Consumption of certain luxury animals certainly signaled status during the medieval period. The consumption of immature animals has already been mentioned but it is also clear that exotic or unusual animals also appeared on the tables of the upper classes or aspiring upper classes as a sign of their otherness from the peasantry (Ervynck et al 2003). One of the specialities newly introduced to Hungary was turkey during the 16th century (Figure 12; Bartosiewicz 1997). The earliest known bone remains of this New World bird are usually found in urban deposits and castles (Bartosiewicz 1995).
		+
		+	==Detecting religious behavior==
		+
		+	Because many medieval archaeological sites are complex they undergo continuous re-modeling. This means that it is extremely rare to find deposits in primary position. In addition to floor deposits, storage pits converted to refuse pits, wells and cisterns offer some chance to find animal remains possibly related to food proscription. There are increasing numbers of studies of medieval materials where it has proved possible to recognize food practices in the archaeozoological material, for example where turtles or aquatic mammals such as otter or beaver were substituted for fish on fast days in the diet of two religious orders in Italy (De Grossi Mazzorin and Minniti 1999).
		+	In Hungary, 12 m deep well was excavated between 1999 and 2000 at Teleki Palace in the Buda castle yielded an elaborate piece of textile, shoes and other rare organic materials, preserved under anærobic circumstances. In addition, a fragment of a wooden plate decorated with a Star of David and a fragment of glass with Hebrew writing on it were discovered in the lower layers. Because of all these special finds, the well was excavated with unusual care, all the deposits being washed, screened and carefully picked through.
		+	It was known from documents that the first Jewish population was located somewhere this area in the 13th-14th century although nothing else was known about it. It was hoped that the character of the archaeozoological material would support locating the quarters of this first Jewish population in the area around the well. It was discovered that with the exception of one bone fragment no pig bone appeared in the lower levels at the well (Daróczi-Szabó 2004: 252-243). Jewish dietary law prohibits use of the hind legs of animals like cattle or sheep. At this site there were fewer hind leg bones in the lower levels. Their presence may indicate that these Jews permitted eating meat from this limbs if the sciatic nerve was properly removed which sheds interesting light on the nature of the strict observance practiced by this medieval Jewish community (Daróczi-Szabó 2004: 261). Meanwhile, bones of catfish, a species with no scales, as well as those of sturgeon, another fish avoided by Jews for the same reason were only found in the upper levels from a time when the Jewish population had been expelled from the area (Bartosiewicz 2003a).
		+	Deposits associated with neighborhoods of mixed religion or less observant Islamic inhabitants during the 150 years of Ottoman Turkish occupation of the Carpathian Basin show a much less clear cut avoidance of pork (Bartosiewicz and Gál 2004) something also observed at Muhi cited in this paper. Although there was a general decline in pig consumption during the Ottoman Period in Hungary (Bartosiewicz 2003b), prohibition against pork is evident only in the exclusive, high status habitation of the Pasha’s Palace in Buda (Bökönyi 1974).
		+	Religious behaviour is not only represented in the presence and absence of certain animal species in the diet. A special example is also worth mentioning here from the 15th century, Inca Period site of Incarracay in Bolívia (Bartosiewicz 1999). Fine transversal cutmarks were discovered on the ventral surface of a small camelid (Lama c. f. pacos) atlas, the vertebra adjacent to the skull (Figure 13). This damage may be alternatively explained by either slaughtering or patterned carcass partitioning, that is, post mortem decapitation. Since these cuts occur on the anterior edge of the cranial articular surface, stricto sensu, they may have been caused by the latter, according to the criteria established by Gilbert (1988: 85, Fig. 5, Pl. XIV/1-4). Never-the-less a neck vertebra damaged by any cutmarks may be of religious significance at this particular site. In pre-conquest Perú, sacrificial lamas were killed by tearing their hearts out. In 1615, the chronicler Poma de Ayala ([1990]: 160) even warns: “Do not kill it this way, but do it like the Christians nowadays, by cutting the ram’s neck...”. That is, slitting the animal’s neck was considered a distinctly non-traditional, culturally idiosyncratic, that is, Christian mode of slaughter.