Aquaculture, or fish farming, has had a long and storied history within the Mediterranean, from the medieval Italian vallicoltura to the ancient Roman artificial fish ponds known as piscinae....Show moreAquaculture, or fish farming, has had a long and storied history within the Mediterranean, from the medieval Italian vallicoltura to the ancient Roman artificial fish ponds known as piscinae. However, evidence for it is scarce in some periods and regions; some forms of aquaculture, such as lagoonal fish farming, are almost invisible in the archaeological record as a result of numerous factors such as a lack of preservation of relevant material and the shifting nature of coastal environments. Stable isotope analysis is presented here as an alternative method of acquiring information about aquaculture, as its information is preserved within the fish bones themselves. It is hypothesized that extended periods of living in hypersaline lagoons would produce a distinctive carbon and nitrogen isotopic signal in bone collagen. The gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) is a natural choice for a study such as this, fished throughout all time periods in the Mediterranean and found ubiquitously throughout archaeological sites in the area. Moreover, it is one of the most-farmed fishes within the Mediterranean and numerous studies have characterized its behaviour and isotopic information. This study, therefore, aims to use stable isotope analysis of gilthead bone collagen in order to characterize the Gulf of Cádiz, a region known throughout antiquity to have a well-developed fishing and fish processing industry. Over 70 gilthead bone samples were acquired from five sites, dating from the Bronze Age until the Early Modern period (c. 1200 BCE – 1700 CE), from which collagen was extracted and analyzed via isotope ratio mass spectrometry. Statistical testing did not prove any correlation between isotope values and the different sites nor time periods, suggesting that similar habitats were exploited for gilthead throughout the gulf. However, some trends could be visually identified, such as a wide range of isotope values indicating a broad spectrum of marine and brackish-water environments, as well as an abnormally large collection of fish with regards to size, which could be explained by overfishing leading to modern fish being smaller and younger on average. Furthermore, there appeared to be a much narrower range of isotope values in Bronze Age fish remains than Iron Age and later remains in sites along the Algarve Coast, which could correspond to a transition from subsistence fishing in select locations to more intensive fishing practices coinciding with the expansion of the Punic fish processing industry in Cádiz. Regarding fish farming, no evidence for extended habitation in hypersaline lagoons was suggested by the isotope values, although this may have been a result of the studied collection, which contained larger bones mostly corresponding to fish over five years old and so likely not products of aquaculture. The breadth of isotope values also underlines the risk of using isotopic information for human diet reconstruction, and best practices such as larger sample sizes and contextualizing the archaeozoological record are needed in further research to avoid erroneous conclusions.Show less
The HMC project started in 2021 to trace interconnection patterns in the rural region close to the city of Chalkida in Euboea, during the Medieval period. Field surveys in 2022 and 2023 at the...Show moreThe HMC project started in 2021 to trace interconnection patterns in the rural region close to the city of Chalkida in Euboea, during the Medieval period. Field surveys in 2022 and 2023 at the sites of Feges, Bailelekas, and Kastri, and the excavation trench of Kastri in 2023 retrieved multiple animal bones, requiring an archaeozoological analysis that would shed light on inquiries related to their nature and connection to the studied archaeological sites. This, in combination with the fact that no adequate archaeozoological study has been conducted in the Medieval Euboea, has been the main reason why this thesis was essential for both Byzantine Archaeology and Archaeozoology. For the current thesis, I studied faunal material coming from mammals. The main research questions aimed to comprehend from what period the material was derived, what species were present, how they were exploited, and whether these results are equivalent or different from the previous Early Byzantine Period. In addition, other questions included the interpretation of the main excavation site of the project, Kastri, based on the faunal analysis, and consequently, how animal remains can complement an archaeological analysis. It was determined that the faunal material derived from a Middle Byzantine refusion pit, and that caprines, pigs, and cows were mainly exploited for their primary products. Other species that were present included hare which would possibly be hunted, as well as limited rodent and dog bones. While not studied for the current thesis, the existence of fishes and birds was also mentioned to state the variety of animals that were probably used during the period. Most animals were exploited in similar ways as in the earlier period, except for cattle, which showed primarily signs of meat exploitation, contradicting their primary use as working animals in other assemblages from the earlier era. As for the function of Kastri, it was considered a wealthy premise of a central or administrative character, where animals would be gathered, slaughtered, and consumed in situ. It was further understood that faunal remains are essential for a vast number of archaeological questions regarding the period of interest, especially when it comes to the determination of socio-economic-related inquiries. This initial endeavour of archaeozoological analysis in these faunal remains is one of the first in the area, but also one of the very few ones regarding the period. Thus, along with answering the research questions of this thesis, new ones arise that would enlighten us more about the site in the future, especially regarding other species, diets, paleoenvironmental interpretation, as well as the chronology of the material.Show less
This thesis presents an osteometrical analysis of Sus scrofa (wild boar) and Sus domesticus (domesticated pig) in order to assess the contribution of the wild and domestic forms as well as the size...Show moreThis thesis presents an osteometrical analysis of Sus scrofa (wild boar) and Sus domesticus (domesticated pig) in order to assess the contribution of the wild and domestic forms as well as the size of animals during the Bronze Age in selected Dutch sites. It investigated the role of domestic pigs and wild boars in the Netherlands during its Bronze Age (2000 B.C.E. – 800 B.C.E.) in order to further understand the human-suid relationship through subsistence practices. It incorporated the “Logratio Size Index Scaling Technique” analysis (Meadow, 1981) on collected post-cranial and dental measurements of suids that are available through publication. The results showcased that the majority of the suid population across the country were domestic pigs. These results were then compared with Late Mesolithic/Early Neolithic LSI values (Brusgaard et al., 2022) using the same methodology. This along with the quantification data, it proved that the suids clearly decreased in size, and secondly it highlighted the pig exploitation activity that was present in the Netherlands. Comparative studies were done with Brusgaard et al. (2022) data, Hadjikoumis (2010) PhD on Iberian Peninsula pig domestication across prehistory, and Aegean-Anatolian pig exploitation in Late Bronze Age. All three case studies and this thesis suggest a cultural, environmental, social reasons for the choices behind pig exploitation strategy and the associated human relationship.Show less
This master's thesis aims to explore the relationship between humans and dogs during the Roman period around the Dutch Rhine Delta and take a small step towards increasing the current knowledge of...Show moreThis master's thesis aims to explore the relationship between humans and dogs during the Roman period around the Dutch Rhine Delta and take a small step towards increasing the current knowledge of how people interacted with and utilised their dogs. To gain further insight into this matter, osteometric data from archaeological dog remains were collected and examined. Additionally, literary records and iconographic sources were examined. Within research, certain key elements are of great importance, comprising of the functionality of the dog, their morphology, their pathologies and how the dogs were treated. In addition to examining bone material from the dogs included in the research, several factors have been added to the study to gain a better understanding of the relationship between humans and dogs in the Roman period in the Dutch Rhine Delta. It also evaluates variations between the research sites included. An interdisciplinary approach is employed since a combination of historical, archaeological and archaeozoological information is used. This type of research has already been conducted in other countries than the Netherlands, see reference list, but this type of research has not yet been applied in Dutch studies. Other research has proven that the relationship between humans and dogs is more complex than previously thought. In particular, the treatment of dogs at the time of death has resulted in a diversity of observations (Gene, 2018; Grieve, 2012).Show less
The study of molluscs in Spain has mainly been isolated to prehistory. The faunal assemblage of Tabacalera includes marine molluscs from the Roman, medieval and postmedieval layers. This thesis...Show moreThe study of molluscs in Spain has mainly been isolated to prehistory. The faunal assemblage of Tabacalera includes marine molluscs from the Roman, medieval and postmedieval layers. This thesis focuses on the analysis of the medieval and post-medieval period, as there is little research done in the wider region of Asturias regarding molluscs from these historical periods This site differs from other sites in neighbouring provinces (Galicia and Léon), where common species, like mussels and oysters are not part of the archaeological record. However, the assemblage mainly presents continuity throughout the different phases of the site, where most of shells were used for consumption, and with limpets as the most abundant species. The diet at Tabacalera does not heavily rely on molluscs but a more complete overview of the subsistence strategy can be derived from this analysis. This study also adds to the overall malacological research of Spain, especially with the identification of limpets to species level. This is done as a start of creating a more indepth archaeomalacological record, in which the differences between close-related species can be investigated.Show less
Paleopathology is the study of pathological changes in ancient remains. It is not often employed in the investigation of archaeozoological remains. Palaeopathological publications of horses are...Show morePaleopathology is the study of pathological changes in ancient remains. It is not often employed in the investigation of archaeozoological remains. Palaeopathological publications of horses are even rarer and almost unknown from the Netherlands. In this research paleopathology is applied to horse remains from a Dutch medieval site, De Hoge Hof, Tiel, in order to understand which forms of pathology occur in medieval horses from the Netherlands and what information can be gained from paleopathology on horses regarding their use, role and relation to humans. Furthermore the advantages, disadvantages and difficulties of applying paleopathology to medieval horse remains are explored based on this investigation. A general overview of animal pathology is presented based on the works of Baker and Brothwell and further supplemented with an overview of results of pathological studies on archaeozoological horse remains. The materials used for this investigation are from an excavation of the site De Hoge Hof near Tiel in the riverine area of the Netherlands. This is a site that showed human presence from the Roman period up to the Modern Age, with the strongest human presence in the High and Late Middle Ages. The site boasted a large amount of horse remains in its assemblage, particularly during the Early and Late Middle Ages. Further find categories indicate that the site was an agricultural site with a presence of both smaller hand mills and larger mills, possibly animal powered. The vast majority of horse remains are associated with the Early to Late Middle Ages in which an unusual number of pathological changes were detected by the preliminary study. These pathological changes have all been described, presented and interpreted in order to have a first approach to horse pathology in the Netherlands, in general, and their relation to human activities during the Middle Ages, in particular. In order to achieve this, a typological categorization of horse pathologies is attempted and the relation between pathologies and anthropic activities are discussed.Show less
This thesis presents a new survey of archaeozoological data from 10 towns, with a total of 60 assemblages, from the medieval county of Holland to determine diachronic and geographic trends in the...Show moreThis thesis presents a new survey of archaeozoological data from 10 towns, with a total of 60 assemblages, from the medieval county of Holland to determine diachronic and geographic trends in the meat consumption in urban areas. The methods used are based on the recent article by Ervynck and van Neer, which suggested that integrating the archaeozoological data from the southern Low Countries with research from the Netherlands would be beneficial for current research (Ervynck and van Neer 2017, 72). The research was performed by calculating the relative frequencies of cattle, pig and sheep, and consequently, calculating the Pig/Sheep ratio. This data has been collected in one survey. The diachronic and geographic trends that emerged from this survey were investigated and compared to the results from similar research in Flanders. The results of this study suggest that environmental factors were a very important influence in the consumption patterns of medieval towns. There are similarities in the relative frequencies and Pig/Sheep ratios of towns with similar environmental factors, mostly those towns located in areas of salt marshes, peat bogs and alluvial districts. These environments are much more suitable for sheep herding than pig herding. Other trends are less clear. The Pig/Sheep ratio is somewhat higher in towns such as Amsterdam, Alkmaar and Haarlem than expected from the research done in Flanders. It is still uncertain what the main cause for these high Pig/Sheep ratios is. However, it does seem that the consumption of pig is likely to have been less than the consumption of sheep based on the relative frequencies. Future research on these towns in comparison to the countryside is therefore advised.Show less
Since 1983 several rescue excavations have been performed in the lignite mine of the German town Schöningen. During one of those excavations the world famous, 300kyr old hunting spears were found....Show moreSince 1983 several rescue excavations have been performed in the lignite mine of the German town Schöningen. During one of those excavations the world famous, 300kyr old hunting spears were found. The site hosting these spears has been the subject of extensive research ever since and excavations still take place to this day. The other sites did not get much attention anymore and there are still many questions unanswered. In this bachelor thesis research has been carried out on the zoological assemblages of the Schöningen 12 sites and what they can tell us about the former climates and environments. Since not much research had been done yet on the faunal compositions many bones still had to be determined and entered into the database of Schöningen. After the completion of this task the climatic and environment preferences of all identified species were studied. Using the results points were divided over the preferred climates and environments. These were then used to create graphs to make the former climates and environments more visible. Not all sites yielded enough complete material to be used for further research. Comparisons of the faunal results of the resourceful sites with earlier research on the geology and botany of Schöningen show that during the sedimentation of layer II-1 the climate was on the warm side and the area was a mix of forest and open ground. Through time the area gradually cooled down and become more open, the latter was also visible in the faunal assemblages of the Schöningen 13 sites. Only the faunal composition of Schöningen 12 II-4 does not support this change, since only one individual of Bos primigenius has been encountered. Despite the fact that this zoological study did not add much new information to the knowledge about the former environments, it does confirm the conclusion drawn by geological and botanical research. At the same time this is the first time a complete overview of the zoological remains of Schöningen 12 that are stored in Leiden.Show less
Op de site Schöningen (Nedersaksen, Duitsland) zijn in de afgelopen twintig jaar archeologische resten uit het Vroeg Paleolithicum aangetroffen, die van groot wetenschappelijk belang voor de...Show moreOp de site Schöningen (Nedersaksen, Duitsland) zijn in de afgelopen twintig jaar archeologische resten uit het Vroeg Paleolithicum aangetroffen, die van groot wetenschappelijk belang voor de archeologie. De site kreeg haar bekendheid door de vondst van acht houten speren met een intiele datering van 400.000 jaar BP, die worden gezien als de vroegste complete jachtwerktuigen (Thieme 1997). Naast deze speren is er een groot scala aan goed geconserveerd vondstmateriaal aangetroffen, bestaande uit vuurstenen werktuigen, botanische resten, resten van insecten en vooral grote hoeveelheden dierlijk botmateriaal. Het onderzoek betreffende het botmateriaal is in de laatste twee decennia uitgevoerd door mederwerkers en studenten van de Faculteit der Archeologie, Universiteit Leiden. Bij dit onderzoek lag de focus op het skeletmateriaal van paarden, omdat van deze soort het meeste materiaal is teruggevonden, waarbij een groot percentage ook sporen bevat van menselijk handelen. Door de combinatie van het skeletmateriaal van de paarden met de speren is het beeld ontstaan dat de site het bewijs heeft geleverd voor jacht in het Vroege Paleolithicum. In deze scriptie heeft het onderzoek zich gericht op het materiaal van hertachtigen (Cervidae), afkomstig van de Vroeg Paleolithische vindplaatsen van de site Schöningen. Door middel van het determineren en het systematisch beschrijven van al het botmateriaal is de rol van de herten binnen de site Schöningen onder de loep genomen. Daarbij is zowel de paleontologische als de archeologische kant belicht. De belangrijkste vraagstelling was of de herten als achtergrondfauna kunnen worden beschouwd of net als de paarden door de mens gebruikt zijn voor consumptie. Tijdens het onderzoek zijn drie soorten Cervidae aangetroffen, namelijk ree, edelhert en reuzenhert. De fragmentatie van het skeletmateriaal toont aan dat natuurlijke tafonomische processen de overhand hebben gehad. Daarnaast zijn enkel op de vindplaats Schöningen13II-4 skeletresten met snij en schraapsporen aangetroffen, maar in minder grote aantallen dan bij het paardenmateriaal. Deze sporen zijn in de meeste gevallen het resultaat van scavenging, niet van jacht. Ook de verspreiding van het botmateriaal op de vindplaats Schöningen 13II-4 wijkt af van de verspreiding van het paardenmateriaal. Al deze factoren maken dat de hertachtigen op de site Schöningen kunnen worden beschouwd als natuurlijke achtergrondfauna.Show less
