This thesis concerns the taxonomic and taphonomic identification of bird species from a faunal assemblage found in the Northern Emporium project excavation of a workshop belonging to the Viking-Age...Show moreThis thesis concerns the taxonomic and taphonomic identification of bird species from a faunal assemblage found in the Northern Emporium project excavation of a workshop belonging to the Viking-Age marketplace site in the town of Ribe, Denmark. The assemblage consists of at least 27 bird species, 26 of which are wild species, belonging to 13 different bird families and 9 orders. The majority of the birds are from ducks and waders, and domestic fowl is also noted, but in very low numbers. The specific bird taxa at the site indicated the birds were caught from in the local regions; the Wadden Sea area. Ribe was a nodal point in a larger network of trade and exchange, an emporium, during the Viking Age (approximately 8th-10th centuries BC). The aim is to not only understand how the assemblage was accumulated, i.e. what activities can be inferred from it, but how it related to the diachronic trends in the Viking Age Scandinavian towns of trade with relation to the role of birds in terms of diet, economy, and socio-cultural terms. The identified species indicate a significant difference from other contemporaneous sites and other emporia. Ribe has the largest diversity in taxa. The primary skeletal elements found are wing bones, suggesting that the birds were captured for meat and possibly feather extraction. Birds are good environmental indicators and their presence are a testament to the changing seasons and certain environmental conditions. The avifauna informs that bird harvesting or hunting likely occurred all year-round, with possible increases during autumn and spring months where many of the migrating birds arrive to the coastal region. Evidently, the seasonality of bird procurement can also aid in the overall interpretation of the permanency of the settlement.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
open access
The introduction of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris) in the insular Caribbean likely occurred during the Early Ceramic Age (c. 400 BC – AD 500), coinciding with the arrival of Saladoid peoples...Show moreThe introduction of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris) in the insular Caribbean likely occurred during the Early Ceramic Age (c. 400 BC – AD 500), coinciding with the arrival of Saladoid peoples and the fluorescence of Huecoid cultures in the Greater and Lesser Antilles. However, the precise regional origins of this animal are currently unknown. Numerous studies have indicated the feasibility of using dogs as an isotopic surrogate for palaeodietary reconstruction in humans, which is telling of the high level of entanglement of humans and dogs expressed in the sharing of foodways. Shared dietary relationships with humans, ritual interment and symbolic depictions of dogs raise questions about the nuanced placement of this animal within the indigenous cultural taxonomies of the insular Caribbean. Dog remains are found both ritually interred and in domestic contexts throughout the region, suggesting that dogs were both highly valued as companions, and also possibly seen as a viable source of food. In order to understand this dichotomous treatment Viveiros de Castro’s “Amerindian perspectivism” and Descola’s notions of “animism” provided theoretical frameworks in which to analysis how dogs featured within the cosmological and cultural taxonomy of pre-colonial peoples in the insular Caribbean. For this study, data generated from archaeozoological and multi-isotopic analyses of dogs from the pre-colonial sites of El Flaco and El Carril in the Dominican Republic was compared to findings from three select sites in the Lesser Antilles: Cathédrale de Basse-Terre and Morel in Guadeloupe, and Hope Estate in St Martin. The aim of this research was to: a) establish the effectiveness of the isotopic surrogacy approach in the Caribbean; b) examine any regional differences reflected in the diets of dogs; c) determine if there are any observable distinctions in the morphology and diets of buried dogs and those uncovered from non-burial contexts; d) and to interpret why this dichotomous treatment was occurring using a perspectival theoretical framework. The results indicate that there may have been at least two morphologically distinct types of dogs in Hispaniola in support of what is mentioned in the ethnohistorical sources. These types likely underwent differential treatment by humans, with one particular type more inclined to be buried suggesting a higher value placed on this breed as a valued companion and consubstantial nonhuman person. The burial of one individual dog alongside the deceased at El Flaco may be a funerary offering, representing a psychopomp in the likeness of the ‘Taíno’ guardian of the dead cemí, Opiyelguobirán.Show less
This research is about the mammal remains that were found during the excavation at the IPSE site in Delft. The aim of this research is to determine the domesticated animals which were slaughtered...Show moreThis research is about the mammal remains that were found during the excavation at the IPSE site in Delft. The aim of this research is to determine the domesticated animals which were slaughtered and consumed in the periods between 1350 and 1800 AD, the age of the animals and the ratio between the species of “De Paardenmarkt” area in Delft. Observations were made to determine the change in animal consumption by the inhabitants through these periods. Not much is known about the poor people in the Dutch Middle Ages, because most historical information is used to focus on the rich or middle class people. The population living on the site is proposed to belong to the lower and middle class of society. But the less wealthy citizens had an important place in society as well. They were a large portion of the class society, which consisted of the clergy at the top, then nobility and lastly farmers and labourers. With this archaeological approach, the research will contribute to the reconstruction of the poorer part of the community of the city of Delft in the Late Middle Ages and early Renaissance.Show less
Central to this study are the osseous artefacts of the Merovingian site of Oegstgeest Nieuw Rhijngeest-Zuid. It is one of the rare microwear studies focusing on bone and antler artefacts from a...Show moreCentral to this study are the osseous artefacts of the Merovingian site of Oegstgeest Nieuw Rhijngeest-Zuid. It is one of the rare microwear studies focusing on bone and antler artefacts from a Dutch Medieval context. The sixty-one bone and antler artefacts were recovered between 2009 and 2012. The material consisted of the following (morphological) categories: two-pointed bone rods, pointed bones, hemispherical objects, long bones, irregular bones with holes, worked antler, small pieces of worked bone and antler, combs and pins. Some unfinished artefacts and waste was also found. The artefacts were subjected to both archaeozoological and microwear analyses. One of the aims was to bring into view the organisation and production of the osseous artefacts. The raw material was selected on the basis of the natural shape, weight and other properties like flexibility. Antler was relatively flexible and often used for the production of composite combs. With regard to the local production, it is likely that most bone objects were produced by the user when needed. While most bone objects probably derived from a household production, antler artefacts (mainly composite combs) would have been purchased or traded with travelling craftsmen or merchants. This study also examined to what degree the various artefact forms were function specific. The osseous tools can be linked to different activities, various contact materials and involve different directions of motion and activity zones. Especially pins and two-pointed bone rods appeared to have been used in several crafts or were reused or multifunctional. Finally, it was investigated in which (craft) activities the osseous artefacts were involved, and what they revealed about the role of Oegstgeest within the Early Medieval region of the Old Rhine. The osseous artefact assemblage could be connected to several activities and common spheres: transport, leisure activities, personal utensils, symbolic or ritual activities and craft activities. There are no indications that the production of osseous artefacts, nor the craft activities in which they were involved, transcended the needs of the local inhabitants. Based on the study of the osseous artefacts, a regional function within the former region of the Old Rhine in the domain of crafts and/or raw material is not implied.Show less
Early Medieval exchange and surplus production of animals and animal products has received little attention in the archaeological literature. In order to create a picture of exchange and surplus...Show moreEarly Medieval exchange and surplus production of animals and animal products has received little attention in the archaeological literature. In order to create a picture of exchange and surplus production of animals and animal products in the Early Medieval period, the animal remains from the Merovingian settlement of Oegstgeest were analysed to determine whether exchange and surplus production took place at this settlement. A theoretical framework was set up in order to determine how exchange and surplus production can be recognised in the archaeozoological record. A number of aspects were deemed important in establishing whether exchange and surplus production took place in the past, including age and sex distributions, metrical- and non-metrical variation, skeletal element abundance and also stable isotope and aDNA analysis. Several of these aspects of the Oegstgeest faunal assemblage were researched. Results show that there was no large scale exchange and surplus production of animals and animal products at Oegstgeest. Results do, however, indicate that pork, beef and sea fish may have been brought into the settlement from elsewhere.Show less
