«Arqueología de la agricultura y la ganadería en la Alta Edad Media europea (Siglos V-X)»

«Nekazaritzaren eta abeltzaintzaren arkeologia Goi Erdi Aroko Europan (V-X mendeetan)»

«Archaeology of farming and animal husbandry in Early Medieval Europe (5th-10th centuries)»

https://sites.google.com/site/farmingandhusbandry/

www.ehu.es/patrimonioypaisajesculturales/

gipypac@gmail.com

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Index – Índice – Aurkibidea

Program – Programa – Egitaraua ............................................................ p. 3 – 3. orr.

Abstracts – Resúmenes – Laburpenak ..................................................... p. 5 – 5. orr.

Poster list – Listado de pósters – Posterren zerrenda ............................. p. 26 – 26. orr.

Poster abstracts – Resúmenes de pósters – Posterren laburpenak ......... p. 27 – 27. orr.

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Program – Programa – Egitaraua

Día 15 noviembre / Azaroaren 15ean / November 15th

9.00 Saludo de autoridades / Agintarien agurra / Authorities’ welcome 9,15 Presentación e introducción / Aurkezpena eta hitzaurrea / Presentation and introduction. Juan Antonio Quirós (UPV-EHU)

1ª Sesión, modera / 1. saioa, moderatzailea / 1st session, moderates:

Julio Escalona (CSIC)

9,30 Archaeofauna in Early Medieval England. Terry O’Connor (University of York) 10,10 Gli animali nell’economia e nell’alimentazione dell’Italia altomedievale. Suggestioni Archeozoologiche. Frank Salvadori (University of Siena) 10,50 Descanso / Atsedenaldia / Break 11,20 Animal husbandry practices in the Iberian Peninsula during the Early Middle Ages. Marta Moreno (CSIC) 12,00 Zooarchaeology of the Early Medieval Basque Country. Idoia Grau (UPV-EHU) 12,40 Discusión / Eztabaida / Discussion 13,00 Comida / Bazkaria / Lunch

2ª sesión, modera / 2. saioa, moderatzailea / 2nd session, moderates: Lydia Zapata (UPV-EHU)

15,30 Environmental and land-use changes during early medieval period in Southwestern France: new insights from palaeoecological records. Didier Galop (Universitè de Tolouse-Le Mirail) 16,10 Natural resources, land uses and landscape zapping in the Iberian Peninsula from Roman to Medieval times: historical palaeoenviromental data. Santiago Riera (Universitat de Barcelona) 16,50 Descanso / Atsedenaldia / Break 17,20 El paisaje vegetal de la Alta Edad Media en el País Vasco a través de los análisis paleopalinológicos. Begoña Hernández (UPV-EHU) 18,00 Discusión / Eztabaida / Discussion

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18,20 Sesión de poster/ Poster Saioa/ Poster session

Día 16 noviembre / Azaroaren 16an / November 16th

3ª sesión, modera / 3. saioa, moderatzailea / 3rd session, moderates: Mª José Iriarte (UPV-EHU)

9,00 Middle ages climatic changes from terrestrial archives in the Mediterranean. Giovanni Zanchetta (Università degli Studi di Pisa) 9,40 Archaeobotanical light on early medieval farming in France.Marie-Pierre Ruas (CNRS) 10,20 Descanso / Atsedenaldia / Break 11,00 Farming in Early Medieval Italy. Mauro Rottoli (Museo di Como) 11,40 Exploring Medieval Farming: Archaeobotanical data from the Iberian Peninsula. Itsaso Sopelana (UPV-EHU), Lydia Zapata (UPV-EHU), Leonor Peña (CSIC) 12,20 Descanso / Atsedenaldia / Break 12,30 Discusión / Eztabaida / Discussion 13,00 Conclusión / Ondorioak / Conclusion. Pam Crabtree (New York University), Margarita Fernández Mier (Universidad de León)

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Abstracts – Resúmenes – Laburpenak

TERRY O’CONNOR ARCHAEOFAUNA IN EARLY MEDIEVAL ENGLAND

This paper reviews what we think we know about the region of Europe now known as England during the 5th to mid-11th centuries. The emphasis is on livestock and animal husbandry, and putting zooarchaeological data into an historical context. During the Early Medieval period, England went through a series of significant socio-economic changes, from a province abandoned by Rome and settled by Germanic peoples, through the emergence of towns as centres of power and influence, to a unified kingdom though with strong Danish influence in the North.

Some studies have identified continuity through the 5th-6th centuries in former Roman urban centres, whilst others have shown small rural settlements to have been self-sufficient mixed farming units. Two regions – East Anglia and East Yorkshire – have particular concentrations of these earlier Saxon sites. Although sheep predominate in East Yorkshire, the East Anglian sites show a diversity of economic strategies. Mortality profiles of sheep, in particular, show subtle differences between sites that do not conform to conventional production models. By the beginning of the 8th century, trading settlements, sometimes known as wics, emerged around the North Sea. These wic sites often show a low diversity in bone assemblages, completely dominated by the main domestic livestock. This may be indicative of a command economy, redistributing livestock acquired as rent or tribute.

By the late 9th century, towns became more established, and coinage was in regular circulation. In the North of England, the Danelaw region was heavily colonised and at times ruled by Danish elites. However, the animal bone record from the Danelaw shows little contrast to the Late Saxon record from more ‘English’ regions. There is a slight tendency to more cattle in the Danelaw sites, though this may be partly environmental.

For the future, there are key questions that can be addressed through new investigative techniques. Mortality profiles can be made more informative regarding husbandry decisions if we can derive age estimates and the sex of the animal from the same specimens. New DNA techniques have shown that this is possible. DNA analyses may also allow us to address questions about the degree of inbreeding of livestock populations, and hence about the degree of trade and movement in livestock. And palaeopathology offers opportunities to investigate the relationship between people and their animals. England is fortunate in having some sites of 5th to 7th century date, and many of 8-11th century date. Some of these sites have produced large and well-stratified assemblages, well suited to these new investigative methods.

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F. SALVADORI

GLI ANIMALI NELL’ECONOMIA E NELL’ALIMENTAZIONE DELL’ITALIA ALTOMEDIEVALE.

SUGGESTIONI ARCHEOZOOLOGICHE

Il presente contributo scaturisce da un progetto di ricerca sviluppato presso l’Università di Siena e durato quindici anni, teso alla raccolta e sistematizzazione di informazioni archeozoologiche in sistemi di gestione alfanumerica dei dati. Una parte di questi proviene dal censimento dell’edito archeozoologico italiano (secoli IV-XV), mentre la restante dalla schedatura di campioni recuperati nei cantieri diretti dall’Area di Archeologia Medievale dello stesso Ateneo (circa 20 progetti). Tale consistente massa di dati compone l’apparato delle fonti materiali attraverso le quali si cerca di approfondire temi inerenti l’economia e l’alimentazione nell’alto Medioevo italiano, impiegando come lente di ingrandimento i resti animali.

L’utilizzo di un così ampio repertorio non costituisce di per sé un elemento sufficiente per giustificare la proposizione di un modello storico, o sistema esplicativo, che sintetizzi una realtà così complessa e articolata come doveva essere quella italiana in età altomedievale. Piuttosto legittima il tentativo di avanzare nuove ipotesi di lavoro che siano di stimolo per la ricerca storica, nella sua più ampia accezione, e possano forse concorrere a tracciare un’agenda per la ricerca futura. Esistono differenze non solo di ordine storico e geografico, dalle quali non è possibile prescindere e che correrebbero il rischio di finire appiattite da modelli troppo generalizzanti, ma anche nello stesso stato di avanzamento della ricerca. I dati raccolti mostrano una profonda disomogeneità sul territorio nazionale, espressa dal numero differente di depositi archeologici e dall’ammontare dei reperti faunistici analizzati ed editi, che è possibile osservare in ogni singola regione.

In ogni caso, il progressivo accumulo di dati e la continua crescita della disciplina, principiata da circa un quarantennio per quanto concerne il Medioevo italiano ma acuitasi nel corso dell’ultimo ventennio grazie anche alla nascita di un’associazione nazionale degli archeozoologi (A.I.A.Z.), hanno prodotto quella considerevole massa di dati, rappresentata dagli oltre 600.000 frammenti recuperati ed analizzati dai vari ricercatori.

Questo è in sostanza il campione, ossia il terreno dal quale si è tentato di estrapolare ed isolare quei caratteri riconducibili ad argomentazioni di carattere economico e/o alimentare, adottando una metodologia d’indagine scaturita da un impianto teorico che ha inteso comporre in un apparato unitario un approccio analitico tipicamente processualista con uno più propriamente post-processualista. L’analisi dei dati, in particolare di grandi masse di dati, non può infatti prescindere da fondamenti processualisti, nel senso di un’attenta valutazione delle tendenze e dei risultati quantitativi espressi da calcoli numerici e frequenze (si tratta pur sempre di un campione!). Ma l’elemento quantitativo è stato “tradotto” nella sua forma qualitativa, e ciò si concretizza attraverso un intreccio esplicito di argomentazioni logiche nelle quali il dato meramente numerico si coniuga con il relativo contesto di riferimento (l’approccio post-processuale), rapportandosi entrambi attraverso un serrato confronto dialettico con quanto è stato tracciato dalla ricerca storica, sulla scorta della fonte scritta, nel merito della funzione economico-alimentare svolta da taluni raggruppamenti animali nel corso dei secoli. Si tratta di una proposta metodologica

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volutamente intenta ad enfatizzare un principio di fondo: gli indizi su cui lavoriamo rappresentano le tracce materiali delle interazioni tra le comunità antropiche e la popolazione animale, nei loro rispettivi ambiti culturali e storici, ecologici e biologici, in quanto sono proprio tali interazioni a presentare svariate forme molto spesso discostanti dalla sola prospettiva del conteggio o dell’archetipo matematico-statistico.

I campioni archeozoologici rappresentano non solo dei semplici accumuli di resti biologici ma anche uno spaccato della cultura materiale delle comunità passate, e questa convinzione di base costituisce le fondamenta dalle quali si sviluppa l’intero percorso interpretativo. Nel corso del tempo l’Uomo si è relazionato con il mondo animale, così come il mondo animale è entrato in contatto con esso, secondo svariate forme. Ciò comporta che gruppi sociali e sistemi economici distinti possono produrre immondezzai (perché in molti casi di questi si tratta) con caratteristiche diverse tra loro; e questo, in sintesi, è quanto può scaturire attraverso la comparazione diacronica e sincronica di campioni suddivisi per contesto di provenienza (una città, un castello, un villaggio, un determinato gruppo sociale ecc.).

Il metodo di analisi adottato consiste molto semplicemente nel verificare se si colgono dei trend significativi, operando analisi sincronico-diacroniche su concentrazioni di reperti (per numero di frammenti, per rapporti percentuali, per frequenze di siti di rinvenimento, ecc.), ed in base ai risultati emersi (analogie e diversità) sono state successivamente avanzate delle ipotesi di lavoro, volte ad approfondire i caratteri delle attività economiche e di sussistenza, quali l’allevamento, la pesca e la caccia, e quale potrebbe essere stato il loro impatto sulla società del tempo.

Il tempo, appunto, e lo spazio rappresentano le coordinate essenziali attraverso le quali è stato applicato il metodo di lavoro qui proposto. Confronti sincronici e diacronici tra campioni faunistici distinti, oppure tra concentrazioni osteologiche di uno stesso sito, producono attraverso un percorso di analisi delle evidenze una serie di informazioni inerenti il rapporto tra animali e società, economia e stili alimentari. Nella sfera diacronica, le evidenze a cui si fa riferimento riguardano l’andamento delle incidenze percentuali dei principali taxon (bovini, capriovini e suini), le frequenze dei siti di rinvenimento di altre specie (la selvaggina), i caratteri biometrici (i bovini) e, infine, le concentrazioni spazio-temporali di specifici raggruppamenti ecologici (faune marine). Nella sfera sincronica, invece, le evidenze materiali emergono sia dalla comparazione tra accumuli appartenenti ad uno stesso insediamento sia tra quelli afferenti ad insediamenti dello stesso periodo.

Le disparità così come le similitudini che si colgono rappresentano le tracce materiali riconducibili a variazioni nelle strategie allevatizie, espansioni e contrazioni dei commerci, stili alimentari e strutture sociali.Per conferire un maggiore grado di solidità a quegli elementi che sembrano connotare, in base ai dati sino ad ora raccolti, il periodo altomedievale, l’analisi diacronica ha interessato uno spazio di tempo che parte dal IV secolo e giunge sino al XV secolo. Questa ampiezza cronologica consente di avere dei termini di paragone sia rispetto a quanto restituito dai depositi più antichi sia rispetto a quanto conservato in quelli più recenti, enfatizzando quindi le peculiarità del periodo altomedievale.

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MARTA MORENO-GARCÍA ANIMAL HUSBANDRY PRACTICES IN THE IBERIAN PENINSULA DURING THE EARLY

MIDDLE AGES

Animal husbandry is a key element of any farming economy. For historical periods documentary evidence provides a great deal of information but with the development of medieval archaeology this has become a challenging topic to research. Over the past decades the study of faunal assemblages has contributed not only to gaining new insights into the recognition of herd management systems and resources livestock were exploited but also to exploring issues such as the identification of producer/consumer sites, craft activities, trade, social status and ethnicity. On a general basis, archaeological interventions on urban sites have taken the lead over rural archaeology. In the case of the Iberian Peninsula, there has been also a considerable delay in recognizing the potential of new disciplines (i.e., archaeozoology, archaeobotany) and the value of interdisciplinary research. As a result, we are only beginning to understand the formation processes of early medieval villages. Full perception of their way of life is still far.

This paper attempts to assess the present state of knowledge about early medieval Spanish and Portuguese animal husbandry practices through the study of archaeozoological assemblages. Our methodological approach starts with a critical review of available data. First, the constraints impose by the dearth of published work and problems of accessibility are discussed. All the largest faunal assemblages remain as unpublished faunal reports or students’ dissertations. In archaeological publications, it is a general practice to resume in one or two sentences the species present on a site to conclude animal husbandry was an important element of the local economy. Second, we explore the geographical distribution and chronological span of the archaeozoological assemblages. The picture emerging reflects that the information is very fragmented and concentrated in two or three regions. The rest remains as blank territories. Quirós Castillo (2009: 13) noted that in the last decades the development of contract excavations in extensive areas in Madrid, Catalonia, Castile-León and the Basque Country brought to light early medieval rural sites previously unknown. However, due to different factors the recovery of good faunal assemblages does not seem to have been so successful. As this paper shows archaeozoological studies clearly lag behind. In addition, within the chronological frame of this conference, we must consider the political situation of the Iberian Peninsula with the Muslim invasion in 711 AD. Looking into the realities of faunal assemblages derived from Islamic and Christian communities will help us to highlight the interesting questions the archaeozoology of medieval Iberian sites can answer. Third, scale and nature of the sites are also interesting issues to investigate since preservation, size and composition of the assemblages may differ from farmsteads, rural villages and urban sites. Finally, quality and quantity of the data are examined in order to determine the value of the information. Ample dating, variations in the size of the assemblages, poor recovery techniques, an emphasis on the study of large mammals and application of different analytical methodologies are some of the factors that call for caution in pursuing a comparative approach among different assemblages.

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In view of the constrains identified previously I intend to present some topics related to husbandry practices that are currently under discussion in the early medieval archaeological literature. Taking into consideration species composition of the faunal assemblages and kill-off patterns of the major domesticates we will try to identify productive practices in some of the sites. The results obtained will be examined with the aim to recognise regional diversities and local variability. This approach will allow also exploring the evidences for potential specialist livestock practices. According to some historical sources pig breeding could have been favoured in the Iberian Peninsula during the Early Middle Ages. They have been characterized as animals of an aristocratic nature since their maintenance was carefully regulated during Visigothic times. With the available data in the 90’s, Morales concluded that the archaeozoological evidence did not support this assumption (Morales 1992). Yet, social and economic differentiation issues may be better investigated by studying the exploitation of wild resources on a site. Meat provided by large (i.e., red and roe deer, wild boar) and small game (rabbits, hare and birds) certainly contributed diversity to the diet. Understanding the part played by these animals in rural communities is important to gain insights into the mechanisms of meat provision to urban contexts. Finally, directions for future research will be discussed in the hope that many of the hindrances identified in this synthesis can be overcome and faunal remains can be recognised as an integral part of the archaeological evidence for the study of early medieval sites in Iberia. References: Morales, D.C. 1992. Pig husbandry in Visigoth Iberia: fact and theory. Archaeofauna 1: 147-155. Quirós Castillo, J.A. 2009. Early Medieval villages in Spain in the light of European experience. New approaches in peasant archaeology. In Quirós Castillo, J.A. (ed.) The Archaeology of Early Medieval villages in Europe. (Documentos de Arqueología e historia 1), pp. 13-26. Bilbao: Universidad del País Vasco.

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IDOIA GRAU SOLOGESTOA ZOOARCHAEOLOGY OF THE EARLY MEDIEVAL BASQUE COUNTRY

Despite zooarchaeological studies in the Basque Country have a long tradition, mainly thanks to Jesús Altuna, Koro Mariezkurrena and Pedro Castaños, the analysis of medieval faunal assemblages has been somehow neglected in favour of prehistoric and proto-historic sites. Except few papers (i.e. Altuna 1980, Castaños 1997, Escribano 2000), only in the last decade the number of historical zooarchaeological analyses has remarkably increased, mainly due to the consolidation of research groups on Medieval Archaeology in the University of the Basque Country, and to the work done by archaeological companies who, thanks to the funding given by the Basque Government, have entrusted zooarchaeologists the analysis of the faunal remains they recovered, mainly in urban interventions.

Nevertheless, the number of available zooarchaeological analyses of early medieval chronology is still scarce. In fact, some of the biggest faunal assemblages are currently being studied (i.e. Las Gobas) or are waiting to be published (i.e. Catedral de Santa María), what makes difficult to elaborate a complete regional synthesis on the topic that we propose for this conference.

However, for this talk, we will take into account various sites that are already published (i.e. Zornoztegi and Zaballa) and some reports that, although still unpublished, have been kindly trusted to us by the excavators (i.e. Mavilla) or have been made by us (i.e. Aistra and San Martín de Dulantzi).

In order to make a more complete synthesis, we will also summarize what we currently know about animal husbandry of the Roman and High Medieval period in this particular geographic area. Available zooarchaeological data is scarce once again, but we hope that this diachronic view will provide a more deep understanding of the socio-economic changes occurred in the long time lapse proposed in the conference. For example, data from several Roman sites will be mentioned (i.e., Iruña-Veleia, Arellano) and also some high medieval assemblages will be used for comparisons (i.e. Salvatierra-Agurain, Balmaseda).

Therefore, covering a vast chronological framework (3rd-13th centuries AD), changes in animal husbandry and diet will be shown, using different zooarchaeological approaches: taxonomic range and frequency, age, sex, anatomic representation, pathologies and biometrical data. Some ideas about bone and antler industry, as well as recent results of stable isotope analyses will be addressed too, in order to provide a more complete overview of the socio-economic characteristics of the early medieval rural world in the area of the Basque Country.

References: ALTUNA, J. (1980), "Historia de la domesticación animal en el País Vasco desde sus orígenes hasta la romanización", Munibe 1-2. CASTAÑOS, P. (1997), “El pastoreo y la ganadería durante la romanización en el País Vasco”, Isturitz 9, 659-668. ESCRIBANO, O. (2000), "La dieta animal de época romana en Álava", Nutrición, alimentación y salud: confluencias antropológicas, Zainak 20, 203-210.

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DIDIER GALOP

ENVIRONMENTAL AND LAND-USE CHANGES DURING EARLY MEDIEVAL PERIOD IN SOUTHWESTERN FRANCE : NEW INSIGHTS FROM PALAEOECOLOGICAL RECORDS

The knowledge of ancient land-use practices has considerably progressed during the last decade thanks to the development of new palaeoecological approaches witch involves pollen analyses but also new bio-indicators such as charred particles (Rius et al. 2009, 2011), or non-pollen palynomorphs (algae, fungal spores etc.). These multi-proxy records acquired at different altitudes, from foothills to the upper pastures of the northern pyrenean range offer a reconstruction, still distorting, but more and more precise of the historical trajectories characterizing human–environment interactions. Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages unfairly regarded as periods of cultural decline or abandonment in several parts of Europe present different trends in the Pyrenees. Recent palynological studies have shown a rise of agropastoral activities during those periods in several parts of Pyrenees. The existing evidence suggest the colonization of new lands from the sixth century AD evidenced by an increase in fire events and deforestation in the altitudes between 700 and 1300 m.a.s.l. and the presence of shepherd huts at high altitude suggesting an increase in grazing pressure. The agro-pastoral expansion which begun in the sixth and seventh centuries becomes even more pronounced between the ninth and the tenth centuries. Although the signs of an increase in agro-pastoral activities do not appear with the same clarity in all records (suggesting a great variability in the process), acceleration in deforestation in all altitudes is certain. Those new data confirm partly the hypothesis of an early medieval agrarian expansion formulated few years ago (Galop 2000).

RIUS D., VANNIERE B., GALOP D., 2009, Fire frequency and agro-pastoral activities landscape managment in the north-western pyrenean piedmont (France) since early Neolithic (8000 cal. BP). The Holocene 19 (6) : 1-13.

RIUS D., VANNIERE B., GALOP D., RICHARD H., 2011, Holocene fire regime changes from multiple-site sedimentary charcoal analyses in the Lourdes basin (Pyrenees, France). Quaternary Science Review 30 : 1696-1709. GALOP D., 2000, La croissance médiévale sur le versant nord des Pyrénées à partir des données palynologiques. In M. Berthe et B. Cursente (edts.) Villages Pyrénéens Morphogenèse d’un habitat de montagne CNRS, UTM : 45-54.

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SANTIAGO RIERA MORA NATURAL RESOURCES, LAND USES AND LANDSCAPE SHAPING IN THE IBERIAN

PENINSULA FROM ROMAN TO MEDIEVAL TIMES: HISTORICAL

PALAEOENVIRONMENTAL RECORDS

Previous theoretical and methodological considerations This communication aims to contribute to the knowledge of the shaping of

Medieval landscapes in the Mediterranean sectors of the Iberian Peninsula. However, firstly, it is proposed to discuss relevant aspects that could explain the current state of knowledge of such studies in Spain, and secondly, to outline ideas that can contribute to the future development of these researches.

This contribution outlines the main landscape changes from Roman to Late Medieval times starting from palaeoenvironmental data, mainly pollen and multi-proxy analyses, obtained from off-site records such as peat bogs and lakes.

Palaeoenvironmental and palaeolandscape studies covering historical times (lasting during the last 2000 years) in Mediterranean Iberian Peninsula are still scarce in contrast with other European regions where this research has a longer tradition.

The understanding of the current state of these studies in Spain needs to consider some key factors which are link with the history of the Palynology as a discipline and its application to the study of human environments, farming spaces and cultural landscapes.

It must be taking into account that during first steps of the discipline, pollen analyses were mainly used to obtain relative chronologies and to date archaeological remains preserved in peat bogs. Later on, pollen studies were mainly applied in palaeobotanical and palaeocological fields, such as plant evolution, biogeography and palaeoclimatology. It was only during 40' and 50's of 20th century that palynologists demonstrated that human activities and impacts caused changes in the vegetation and in pollen rain. This evidence proposed for the first time that man is also a forcing of environmental changes . This assertion represented an starting point of Modern Pollen analyses.

During 70' and 80's, pollen analyses evolved in three main ways in the study of “human environments”. In Central and North Europe, pollen studies were progressively focused in the long term history of Cultural Landscapes. The French school was mainly focused on the study of the Quaternary, with palaeoeclimatic and palaeobiogeographical objectives, in a theoretical context of the “environmental archaeology”, analyzing the relationships between climate and cultural changes. This last palynological school had great influence in Spanish scholars. Lastly, American “human palynologists” focused their interests in archaeobotany, carrying out pollen analyses in archaeological sites and tools. As a result of that, the divorce between different palynological approaches became materialized.

During 80's, several studies have had strong influence on palynologists over Europe. Firstly, a list of “pollen human indicators” was published, demonstrating that pollen could be use not only to reconstruct past landscapes but also to infer human practices that caused these landscape changes. Secondly, the success of the Ystad project –an interdisciplinary project for the study of landscape history in Sweden- and

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the publication of the volume Past, present and future landscape , definitely placed the Palynology as a core discipline in the study of past cultural landscape. These two events make possible the expansion around Europe of pollen records for the study of past landscapes.

However, in Spain, these palynological approaches arrived decades later and pollen analyses continued to be largely focused on palaeobiogeographical and palaeoclimatological approaches.

This brief history of the application of pollen analyses to the study of past landscapes is needed in order to understand the current state of historical landscape studies in Spain. In this sense, the predominance in Spain of palaeobiogeographical and palaeoeclimatological approaches mainly focused on the environment entails that:

Human impact is only perceived as an agent of environmental perturbations

These studies are mostly done at regional scales

The chronological control of the palaeoenvironmental sequences for historical periods is scarce

These studies consider pollen as a main palaeoenvironmental proxy When the subject of study becomes focused on the landscape history, new

palaeoenvironmental approaches and methods are needed:

Landscape is the core object and this fact entails a socio-historical perspective of environmental changes.

In accordance to this, the integration of palaeoenvironmental, archaeological and historical becomes essential in order to understand socio-economical-cultural causes of landscape shaping.

High resolution analyses and reliable time models are needed to provide time frameworks that allow the data integration.

Human management causes landscape diversity and patches. For this reason, high spatial resolution of palaeoenvironmental records is recommended.

Multi-proxy analyses –not exclusively pollen rescords- permit to characterize human activities and practices that caused landscape shaping and change.

In this context of renewal of palaeoenvironmental studies applied to landscape history, a new approach emerged mainly in Anglo-Saxon archaeology during 90's: the Landscape Archaeology. This approach proposes to understand not only the landscape shaping but the cultural meanings of these changes. This theoretical proposal added a new level on complexity in the study of past landscapes. In this framework, it results appropriate to ask us if Palynology is able to deal with these questions linked with cultural meanings. The answer to this question needs to consider some throughts:

Recent ethnobotanical studies demonstrate that the use of natural resources and, in consequence, human impacts on the environment, are determined by cultural factors.

Other archaebotanical disciplines have yet carried out studies to understand the cultural meaning of plants and landscapes.

The cultural meanings of landscape can be achieved when integrating palaeoenvironmental and archaeobotanical studies.

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Study cases of past landscapes from Roman to Medieval times When analysing the shaping of Iberian landscapes during historical times, ome

geographical and historical features must be considered. Due to its geographical location, the Iberian Peninsula is characterised by a high

diversity of environments, with a wide range of climates from dry Mediterranean to Atlantic regimes and diverse biogeographical regions. In addition, the complex topography of the peninsula contributes to accentuate this geographical diversity. It must be also retained that, excluding Switzerland, Spain has the highest mean altitude of the European countries. On the other hand, due to climate constraints in wide peninsular regions such as the water shortage, Spain had in 19th century the lowest crop productivity of the continent. Tacking together these facts, the issue of the historical role of husbandry in the shaping of Spanish landscapes must be addressed.

Our approach to analyze landscape evolution started from the multidisciplinary studies based on the integration of diverse approaches, disciplines and methods that includes the landscape archaeology and archaeomorphology (GIAP-ICAC), sedimentology (ICTJA-CSIC), palaecology (University of Valencia, University of Hull), archaeobotany (GIAP-ICAC, INRAP), geomorphology (ICTJA-CSIC, GEOLAB) as well as palynology and other biotic proxies (SERP-UB, GEOLAB).

Research projects have been carried out in a diversity of Iberian environments, such as in Catalan littoral plains (Tarragona, Barcelona and Empordà plains), in high Eastern Pyrenees (Madriu valley in Andorra and Núria-Fresser valleys), in Eastern Pre-Pyrenean ranges (Montsec and Cadí ranges), in inland plains (Urgell plain in the Ebro basin), in Iberian ranges (NW Guadalajara) and in Southern elevations (Betic ranges).

Roman times In the Catalan littoral plains, cities such as Tarraco (Tarragona) and Emporion

(Empordà) expanded, and new towns, such as Barcino (Barcelona), were founded during Roman times. In addition to this, the identification of roman field systems (Centuriatio) and numerous villae demonstrate the farming use of these plains. Nevertheless, pollen records obtained in these coastal areas do not record wide forest clearances while woodlands prevailed. In the Tarragona plain, for example, forest recovered and pollen indicators of farming activities are almost non-existent. In the Empordà plain, a farming landscape started during Roman times but forest clearances remained limited. In this plain, geochemical analyses obtained in sedimentological records demonstrate that mining activities expanded at this time.

In the upper Pyrenees, at altitudes above 2000 m, the Madriu (Andorra) and Núria-Fresser (Girona) research projects have been carried out at high spatial resolution and based on the integration of palaeoenvironmental and landscape archaeology data sets. This multidisciplinary approach allowed to point out a high spatial variability in land uses and landscape shaping of high mountain sectors during Roman times. The occurrence of grazing activities in highlands is attested in Madriu valley by both multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental data and archaeological evidences of pastoral huts and herd enclosures. However, these activities did not entailed widespread forest clearances with high diversity even in close valleys. In addition, pollen records evidenced the development of forestry activities in the lower montane

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levels, while geochemistry series demonstrate the relevance of Roman mining in the Eastern Pyrenees.

However, large Roman deforestations in mid-mountains have been attested in inland regions of the Iberian Peninsula. Here, for example, large clearances synchronous with the expansion of arable fields and pastures occurred between 1100 and 1500 m asl in the NW Guadalaja, close to the Roman town of Tiermes.

Post-Roman times During post-Roman times (in a period lasting from 3rd to 6th centuries AD) deep

landscape changes have been documented in diverse regions and environments of Iberian Peninsula.

In the Catalan littoral plains, recurrent fires contributed to enlarge deforested spaces in a context of farming expansion during 5th and 6th centuries AD. This phase evidences the expansion of agriculture in the central Catalan coast but woodland clearances seem to be the result of the expansion of pastures in coastal sectors. In the Empordà plain, the deforestation process was more gradual, as a continuity of the progressive expansion of agriculture and mining started in Roman times. However, during post Roman times, grazing expansion has also been reported as in other Catalan plains.

In the high Pyrenees, Madriu valley project reveals that grazing continued to be a prevalent activity during post-Roman period. However, oscillations in alpine forest can be related with the archaeological evidences of resin production as demonstrated by the presence of resin kilns dated between 2nd and 7th centuries AD. In Nuria-Fresser valleys, clearances have been reported at 4th and 7th centuries, respectively. The first clearance episode occurred was concomitant with mining activities, while the second one was related with the expansion of pastures in altitude.

In the inland Western Catalan plain, a deforestation process started in 4th century AD, and it intensified during 6th century, when agriculture practices became attested. However, in this plain as in the close Pre-Pyrenean elevations such as Western Montsec range, large deforestations caused by frequent fires and expansion of agriculture occurred later, during 8-9th centuries.

The mid-mountain inland peninsular sector of NW Guadalajara remained largely deforested and the dominant grasslands used for grazing during this period. However, forest recovery started at Pela range during 6th century when agricultural activities declined. However, in the lowlands close to these ranges, an open landscape prevailed. A similar open landscape with scarce woodland recovery and the prevalence of grazing uses has been also attested in Betic Ranges, in southern Spain, and in the Duero valley between 4 and 9th century AD.

In general, evidences of this process of landscape openness and woodland retraction have been attested between 4th and 7th centuries AD in the whole Iberian Peninsula. However, to better understand these changes, we must also consider the complex climate variability that characterized the period between Roman and Medieval times, with successive phases of water availability decrease. These climate trends have been recently studied with reliable palaeoclimate proxies and fine time resolution.

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Early Medieval times A new phase of landscape change occurred during early medieval times.

Generally, this period of change is characterised by an intensification of human activities that resulted in an expansion of farming areas. However, the high diversity of geographical conditions and historical processes in the Iberian Peninsula entailed a high diversity of landscape configurations.

In Catalan littoral plains, such as Empordà, large deforestations occurred during the early 10th century, in a context of farming, grazing and mining expansion. In Tarragona plain, deforestation intensified during 9th century AD in a context of increasing grazing pressure on coastal wet pastures. In Barcelona plain, early medieval times are characterized by the continuity of an open landscape, but pollen sequences located near the town reveals a short phase of clearances and agriculture expansion during the second half of 11th century.

In the higher sectors of the Pyrenean range, large deforestations of subalpine woodlands and the expansion of alpine pastures occurred since 1100 yr AD in a context of grazing and mining intensification, as indicated by pollen and geochemical records. In addition, human occupation of high altitudes has been also attested since 900 yr AD by archaeological sites, suggesting the pastoral presence above 2000 m. At lower altitudes, both in axial Pyrenees and in the Pre-Pyrenean ranges, deforestations and crop expansion in montane belts occurred since 9th century AD, while expansion of grazing activities are attested from 10-11th centuries onwards. Since 11th century, crops moved upward at higher altitudes in the Pyrenean and Pre-Pyrenean ranges.

In the inland Catalan plains, agriculture declined during 11th century although landscape remained open. A farming reprisal occurred since 12-13th centuries coinciding with the Christian conquest of the area. These centuries correspond to a noticeable expansion of grazing activities in these dry plains.

In inland sectors of the Iberian Peninsula, palaeoenvironmental records of the NW Guadalajara province reveal a first expansion of a mixed agro-sylvo-pastoral land use system since 1100 yr AD that favoured the expansion of oaks. This agro-sylvo-pastoral system was related with the grazing expansion ince 14th century. In this context of grazing intensification, forest clearances occurred in the upper sectors of central peninsular ranges as a result of grassland and pasture enlargement.

The installation of an agro-sylvo-pastoral system has also been reported in South Spain ranges (Andalucia) since 14th century. In this area, evergreen Quercus expanded in a context of grazing land uses, probably related with the Christian conquest of the area.

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BEGOÑA HERNÁNDEZ BELOQUI EL PAISAJE VEGETAL DE LA ALTA EDAD MEDIA EN EL PAÍS VASCO A TRAVÉS DE LOS

ANÁLISIS PALEOPALINOLÓGICOS

El estudio del paisaje vegetal de la Alta Edad Media en el País Vasco resulta una tarea complicada. Si bien los análisis paleopalinológicos para este período han aumentando considerablemente en los últimos años, todavía existen importantes carencias. Por un lado, cabe destacar una notable dispersión de los estudios polínicos, ofreciendo, por tanto, visiones puntuales diseminadas por zonas geográficas de características biogeográficas diferentes. Por otro lado, los hiatos polínicos y/o estratigráficos (Berreaga en Bizkaia o Santa María la Real en Gipuzkoa) junto con la carencia de dataciones radiocarbónicas limitan todavía más la posibilidad de ofrecer una visión general para este territorio. Por este motivo, además de la utilización de los análisis polínicos situados en la actual Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco, se ha decidido incluir también los estudios realizados en zonas limítrofes, sobre todo de Navarra.

Período romano Para poder obtener una mejor compresión de los datos correspondientes al

período altomedieval, se ha decidido primero realizar un repaso a la información disponible para el período romano.

A pesar de los escasos y dispersos datos de los que se disponen para el período romano en el País Vasco y Navarra, parece que amplias zonas muestran signos de antropización durante este período. En principio, no parece existir una importante diferencia entre ambas vertientes (como sugerían algunos autores clásicos), aunque esto ya se había demostrado con anterioridad (IRIARTE CHIAPUSSO, 1997). Resulta paradójico que las mayores muestras de presión humana se observen no sólo en yacimientos plenamente romanos, sino también en zonas supuestamente marginales (o saltus) como es el área pirenaica. Esta zona, de la que apenas se conocía un aprovechamiento ganadero o forestal (LARRAÑAGA ELORZA, 2009) muestra signos importantes de actividades agrícolas. A pesar de ello, cabe mencionar que estas actividades son difíciles de interpretar con los depósitos disponibles.

Otra de las teorías tradicionales hablaban de la importación de ciertos cultivos por los romanos (en especial, el castaño y nogal) que se desmiente en depósitos como Abauntz (aunque de forma esporádica, el castaño aparece ya en época neolítica), si bien pudo haber sido favorecida su presencia como se sugiere en Atxuri. En cualquier caso, recientes investigaciones basadas en el estudio del ADN han demostrado que el castaño es una especie autóctona (FINESCHI, et al., 2000). Por otro lado, a nivel Europeo no parece que el interés por la producción de la castaña tomara fuerza hasta el período medieval (CONEDERA, et al., 2004).

Sin embargo, cabe mencionar que esta antropización difiere de forma importante en función del tipo de depósito. Por un lado, los yacimientos en cueva de Amalda y Abauntz, muestran un paisaje poco antropizado, muy acorde con la ocupación esporádica que disponen durante este período. En los casos de Santa María la Real y Buradón, la presencia de un edificio público en el primero y un edificio

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religioso en el segundo, debió suponer un desplazamiento de las actividades productivas, de modo que los indicadores antrópicos descienden (Buradón) o no presentan plantas cultivadas a pesar de una importante presión humana del entorno (Santa María la Real). Por otro lado, las ocupaciones romanas de Cantera Pichón y San Miguel de Atxa, muestran una importante actividad agrícola, observable en los porcentajes del polen de cereal. En los Pirineos, las turberas de Atxuri y Quinto Real disponen de un registro palinológico de larga duración que permiten observar durante el período romano la deforestación selectiva de ciertos árboles (en el caso de Quinto Real, mediante incendios) posiblemente para un uso agrícola. El lago de Arreo también registra incendios, pero en este caso parece que se dedicaron a la apertura del medio para la instalación de pastos para el ganado, los cuales estarían en relación la producción de la sal que se está realizando en el entorno. Por último, la turbera de Prados de Randulanda, situada en la Llanada Alavesa, muestra una escasa modificación del paisaje por parte del ser humano.

Período altomedieval El período altomedieval dispone de algunos depósitos más que en época

romana, sin embargo, la dispersión de los mismos sigue siendo un problema que dificulta su comprensión a escala regional.

Los datos disponibles en todo el territorio para el período altomedieval son muy escasos y puntuales. A pesar de ello, es evidente una intensa antropización del medio. La zona atlántica muestra información dispersa, en la que existen zonas con clara influencia de las actividades metalúrgicas (Ilso Betaio), mientras que en otras, el origen de la presión humana no es tan evidente (Arrubi, Saldropo). En el área pirenaica (Quinto Real), el descenso de las actividades metalúrgicas no significa un descenso de la antropización del territorio. Parece que se produce un posible cambio en la explotación del suelo, primando las actividades agro-pastoriles.

Para el territorio de transición, que comprende sobre todo la provincia de Álava, los datos permiten poder establecer una periodización. En un primer momento (siglos V-VII) existen signos de presión humana, más evidentes en la zona de la Llanada Alavesa (Aistra, Zaballa) y Montes de Vitoria (Prados de Randulanda) y menos en los Valles Alaveses (Arreo) y la Montaña Alavesa (Fuente del Vaquero). Sin embargo, el grado de presión humana dista mucho del que se registraba en el yacimiento romano de San Miguel de Atxa.

A la vista de lo expuesto, resulta difícil hablar de ruptura o continuidad en este territorio. A pesar de que todos los diagramas muestran una evidente deforestación previa al siglo V, no vuelven a registrarse los niveles de antropización registrados en San Miguel de Atxa y en el caso del depósito de Arreo la presión humana parece descender. Sólo Prados de Randulanda muestra un aumento de ciertas actividades relacionadas con el pastoreo, mientras que los niveles de cereal se mantienen constantes con respecto al período anterior. Es evidente una pluralidad de situaciones acorde con las diferentes formas de ocupación registradas en el territorio durante este período (QUIRÓS CASTILLO, 2009).

En el siguiente período (siglos VIII-X), la Catedral de Santa María (Vitoria-Gasteiz) muestra un descenso de los niveles de antropización con respecto a San Miguel de Atxa, sin embargo, cabe mencionar que el hiato cronológico existente entre ambos

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yacimientos no permite conocer la evolución de dicho territorio. A pesar de ello, todos los depósitos de este período muestran signos inequívocos de presión humana en mayor o menor medida. Destaca la evolución del lago de Arreo y de Prados de Randulanda, que muestran claros indicios de actividades agro-pastoriles, más evidentes que las de los siglos V-VII. En el caso de Fuente del Vaquero, la explotación del territorio es menos evidente, mientras que en Aistra la deforestación del territorio es mayor que en el período anterior.

En este caso, también, resulta difícil constatar la existencia de una ruptura o continuidad. Es evidente que la desarticulación del reino visigodo debió suponer una reorganización del espacio, en el que la aldea se convierte en la forma de ocupación hegemónica. Sin embargo, los datos disponibles son todavía demasiado escuetos para poder hablar de cesura. Si bien, en los casos de Aistra y Arreo este cambio resulta evidente, no parece tan claro en la Catedral de Santa María o en Zaballa. En el primer caso, la verdadera cesura se produce en el siglo X, cuando se registra una verdadera deforestación y los primeros signos de presencia de campos de cultivos (PÉREZ DÍAZ, 2012), mientras que en Zaballa la construcción de las terrazas (en las que se cultivan árboles frutales y vides) se produce también a partir del siglo X (HERNÁNDEZ BELOQUI, 2012). En las zonas montañosas, Prados de Randulanda muestra una importante antropización del espacio, con campos de cultivos in situ, mientras que en Fuente del Vaquero, la explotación continúa siendo escasa (la explotación de esta área no se dará hasta el siglo XVII).

Por tanto, resulta muy difícil hablar en términos de ruptura o continuidad. Es evidente la necesidad de multiplicar los análisis palinológicos en diferentes tipos de depósitos para comprender hasta que punto nos encontramos antes diferentes respuestas a una misma coyuntura (que desconocemos) o, por el contrario, nos encontramos ante una multiplicidad de coyunturas.

Bibliografía:

CONEDERA, M.; KREBS, P.; TINNER, W.; PRADELLA, M. y TORRIANI, D. 2004. The cultivation of Castanea sativa (Mill.) in Europe, from its origin to its diffusion on a continental scale. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 13 (3), pp. 161-179.

FINESCHI, S.; TAURCHINI, D.; VILLANI, F. y VENDRAMIN, G. G. 2000. Chloroplast DNA polymorphism reveals little geographical structure in Castanea sativa Mill. (Fagaceae) throughout southern European countries. Molecular Ecology, 9 (10), pp. 1495-1503.

HERNÁNDEZ BELOQUI, B. 2012. Estudio palinológico de los espacios agrarios de Zaballa. En QUIRÓS CASTILLO, J. A. (ed.) Arqueología del campesinado medieval. La aldea de Zaballa. Universidad del País Vasco, Vitoria-Gasteiz, pp. 558-576.

IRIARTE CHIAPUSSO, M. J. 1997. El paisaje vegetal de la Prehistoria tardía y primera Historia en el País Vasco peninsular. Isturitz: Cuadernos de Prehistoria-Arqueología, 9, pp. 669-677.

LARRAÑAGA ELORZA, L. 2009. Marginalidad e inserción en los circuitos de mercado imperiales: el caso del Pirineo occidental. En SANTOS YANGUAS, J. (ed.) Los tiempos antiguos en los territorios pirenaicos. Universidad del País Vasco, Vitoria-Gasteiz, pp. 81-104.

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PÉREZ DÍAZ, S. 2012. El paisaje vegetal durante la Prehistoria reciente en la vertiente mediterránea de Euskal Herria. Universidad del País Vasco, Vitoria-Gasteiz, 421 pp.

QUIRÓS CASTILLO, J. A. 2009. Arqueología del campesinado altomedieval: las aldeas y las granjas del País Vasco. En QUIRÓS CASTILLO, J. A. (ed.) The Archaeology of early medieval villages in Europe. Universidad del País Vasco, Vitoria-Gasteiz, pp. 385-403.

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GIOVANNI ZANCHETTA MIDDLE AGE CLIMATIC CHANGES FROM TERRESTRIAL ARCHIVES IN THE

MEDITERRANEAN

The role of climate in influencing human settlements and cultural evolution is quite complex and to define a cause-effect process is not so straightforward (e.g. Coombes and Barber, 2005). Basically, this should involve the definition of very detailed, high resolution paleoclimatici records with proxies of well understood meaning (e.g. Büntgen et al., 2011) to be compared with detailed archaeological reconstructions. However, poor chronological control on the records used for the definition of past climate variability across a region often can produce misleading correlation (e.g. Zanchetta et al., 2011,2012b) giving additional complexity to the question.

In the Mediterranean region the most limiting factor for complex societies development is the water availability and long period of drought may have had important societal impact (e.g. Kaniewski et al., 2010). However, in the Mediterranean basin the long history of human occupation make it problematic to separate unambiguously climate and non-climatic signals since the mid to late Holocene (e.g. Desprat et al., 2003; Roberts et al., 2010), owing to the severe impact of human activity on the environment (deforestation, soil erosion, landscape management, irrigation). Stable isotope analysis is mostly independent of direct anthropogenic activity (e.g. Zanchetta et al., 2012a) and can be successfully applied to different archives (e.g. speleothems, lake sediments, pedogenic carbonates, land snail shells). In particular, stable isotopes can be used to assess the spatial coherency of the climate changes across the Mediterranean region.

For this presentation analyses of the available isotopic data for the period comprised from Late Roman and Middle Age have been performed for highlight possible regional to subregional differences and major trends in the Mediterranean. Other proxies will be used to corroborate general trends. Different lines of evidence suggest possible consistent differences in precipitation regime between western and eastern Mediterranean probably due to the so called Mediterranean oscillation (Roberts et al., 2012) during Middle age climate anomaly. Western Mediterranean (and in particular Spain) appears, during this period characterised by drier condition in comparison to eastern Mediterranean (Moreno et al., 2012, Roberts et al., 2012). Different patterns have also been suggested for the so called Roman warm period (Dermody et al., 2012). Between the Middle Age Climate Anomaly and Warm Roman Period some records show phases of climatic deterioration but their correlation appears at this stage quite problematic owing to the poor chronological resolution of many records. Same consideration can apply for general trends which show complex sub-regional patterns. More isotopic records with high resolution are necessary to elucidate this complex regional puzzle.

References:

Büntgen U., Tegel W., Nicolussi K., McCormick M., Frank D., Trouet V., Kaplan J.O., Herzig F., Heussner K.-U., Wanner H., Luterbacher J., Esper J., 2500. Years of European Climate Variability and Human Susceptibility. Science, 331, 578-582.

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Combes P., Barber, K., 2005. Environmental determinism in Holocene research: causality or coincident. Area 37, 303-311.

Dermody B. J., de Boer H. J., Bierkens M. F. P., Weber S. L., Wassen M. J., Dekker S. C. 2012. A seesaw in Mediterranean precipitation during the Roman Period linnked to millennial-scale changes in the North Atlantic Clim. Past, 8, 637–651.

Desprat S., Sanchez-Goni M.F., Loutre M.F., 2003. Revealing climatic variability of the last three millennia in northwestern Iberia using pollen influx data. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 213, 63-78.

Kaniewski, D., Paulissen, E., Van Campo, E., Weiss, H., Otto, T., Bretschneider, J., Van Lerberghe, K., 2010. Late second-early fist millennium BC abrupt climate changes in coastal Syria and their possible significance for the history of the Eastern Mediterranean. Quaternary Research, 74, 207-215.

Moreno et al., 2012. The Medieval Climate Anomaly in the Iberian Peninsula reconstructed from marine and lake records Quaternary Science Reviews 43, 16-32.

Roberts N., Moreno A., Valero-Garcés B.L., Corella J.P., Jones M., Allocock S., Woodbridge J., Morellon M., Luterbacher J., Xoplaki E., Turkes M., 2012. Paleolimnological evidence for and east-west climate see-saw in the Mediterranean since AD 900. Global and Planetary Change, 84-85, 23-34.

Roberts, N., Jones, M.D., Benkaddour, A., Eastwood, W.J., Filippi, M.L., Frogley, M.R., Lamb, H.F., Leng, M.J., Reed, J.M., Stein, M., Stevens, L., Valero-Garcés, B., Zanchetta, G., 2008. Stable isotope records of Late Quaternary climate and hydrology from Mediterranean lakes: the ISOMED synthesis. Quaternary Science Reviews 27, 2426–2441.

Roberts C.N., Zanchetta G., Jones M.D., 2010. Oxygen isotopes as tracers of Mediterranean climate variability: An introduction. Global and Planetary Change 71, 135-140.

Zanchetta G., Giraudi C., Sulpizio R., Magny M., Drysdale R.N., Sadori L., 2012a. Constraining the onset of the Holocene “Neoglacial” over the central Italy using tephra layers. Quaternary Research, 78, 236-247 doi: 10.1016/j.yqres.2012.05.010.

Zanchetta G., Sulpizio R., Roberts N., Cioni R., Eastwood WJ, Siani G., Caron B., Paterne M., Santacroce R. 2011. Tephrostratigraphy, chronology and climatic events of the Mediterranean basin during the Holocene: an overview. The Holocene, 21, 33-52.

Zanchetta G., van Welden A., Baneschi I., Drysdale R.N., Sadori L., Roberts N., Giardini M., Beck C., Pascucci V., 2012b. Multiproxy record for the last 4500 years from Lake Shkodra (Albania/Montenegro). Journal of Quaternary Science, in press. DOI:10.1002/jqs.2563

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MARIE PIERRE RUAS ARCHAEOBOTANICAL LIGHT ON EARLY MEDIEVAL FARMING IN FRANCE

Since the 1990s, the multiplication of excavations rural settlement sites of the

early Middle Ages in France and more efficient multidisciplinary approaches have favored zooarchaeological and archaeobotanical investigations and contributed to revise the knowledge of farming and habitat. By taking better account the seeds and fruit remains (carpology) the methods of sampling and extraction especially of those remains were applied on the excavations. The carpological research on the medieval period in France began to be systematic in the late 1980's.

First, we will present the type of the contexts on which are based the archaeobotanical dataset. A diachronic review of plants attested between Antiquity and the 11th century A.D. will show the evolution of the range food plants and agriculture component that characterize the early medieval period. This agriculture dominated by the exploitation of different cereal crops of varying importance depending on the species and seconded by pulses. Between the 6th and 10th c., carpological studies record 64 crop species from sites in southern France and 50 in northern part. So it reveals a diversity of economic and regional situations. We will discuss the integration in medieval agrosystems of crops that marked the early middle Ages: oats, rye and vetch. We will illustrate also the place of pulses such as horsebean and pea. With technical plants such as flax and hemp, crop that increase in France during the period, and millets, we will point out the development of margins of wetlands. Concerning the fruit cultivation, the range of fruit species raise questions about the dates of the acclimatization of exotic species at the former food heritage and whose fruits imported in Roman Gaul, continue to be consumed in France, peaches, cherries, mulberries etc. On the other hand, some seem to decline or become sporadic in the range food: dates, pine nuts, apricots. Pasture land and feed plant remains highlight the role of the uncultivated places.

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MAURO ROTTOLI

FARMING IN EARLY MEDIEVAL ITALY

There is today a marked difference between north and south-central Italy in the production and consumption of cereals and pulses. Due perhaps to a warmer climate, in Early Medieval period crop food production, especially legumes, is on the contrary quite similar in northern and southern Italy. Numerous cereals and pulses are cultivated and different kinds of fruits are cultivated and collected in large amounts.

Regarding cereals, the results of archaeobotanical studies conducted on numerous Early Medieval sites confirm the widespread use, mainly in northern Italy, of the “minor cereals” (broomcorn millet, Panicum miliaceum; foxtail millet, Setaria italica; sorghum, Sorghum bicolor), in addition to wheats, rye, barley and oats. We present an up-to-date review of archaeobotanical finds and discusses problems concerning sampling methods and the geographical distribution and historical context of sites. Particular attention is given to the possible social and economic reasons for the minor cereals’ importance, using data from historical sources.

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ITSASO SOPELANA, LEONOR PEÑA-CHOCARRO, LYDIA ZAPATA EXPLORING MEDIEVAL FARMING: ARCHAEOBOTANICAL DATA FROM THE IBERIAN PENINSULA

The aim of this work is to summarize available data on archaeobotanical studies in the Iberian Peninsula during the Early medieval period. Regarding the study of plant macroremains, during the 19th century there were some preliminary works by Siret and Gongora which made descriptions of particularly well-preserved prehistoric botanical remains from southern Iberia. However, during most of the 20th century systematic analyses were very scarce. We can underline the important work of M. Hopf with paradigmatic sites but also mostly of prehistoric chronologies. We have to wait until the very last decades to start having a group of archaeobotanists, some of them trained abroad, that start setting up laboratories and reference collections in universities, museums and the CSIC.

For this conference we have carried out a general survey of available published works for this period of analyses of plant macroremains other than charcoal which we will try to summarize here in order to assess: 1) the type of document where data are published, 2) type of contexts and sites that are studied, 3) sampling strategies, 4) recovery of the remains, 5) mains results, and 6) type of interpretation. Many works have been published in very local journals, are unpublished or are part of excavations reports. We can point out a low visibility of data and a lack of synthesis. Rescue archaeology is starting to be aware of the importance of sampling but practices are not standardized by the local administrations. Methodological problems come from the lack of well designed sampling strategies and recovery techniques which not always include the different contexts and chronologies.

Summarizing available data, agriculture from this period focuses on the cultivation of cereals (basically free-threshing and wheats and hulled barley, very little emmer wheat, millets and rye), linseed and pulses. Arboriculture is attested by fruits like olive, vine, figs, walnut, apple, pear and peach. Gathered wild plants are usually scarce. We will also discuss information on woodland exploitation for this period, storage practices and research lines such as experimentation and ethnoarchaeology which we think should be further explored in southern Europe.

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Poster list – Listado de pósters – Posterren zerrenda

“Consumption and household processing of vegetal products at the Catalan cities of Islamic period: Madina Balagi, Madina Larida and Madina Turtuxa. X-XIIth centuries AD.” N. Alonso, F. Antolín, C. Alòs, H. Kirchner, A. Loriente, E. Solanes

“Cereal consumption in early medieval Cantabria (7th – 8th centuries AD): making the dead talk” P. Arias Cabal, E. Gutiérrez Cuenca, J.Á. Hierro Gárate, I. López López-Dóriga

“The exploitation of animal resource in Apulia from 10th to 11st centuries A.D.: the zooarchaeology contribution” A. Buglione, G. De Venuto

“The sheep/goat transhumant breeding in Northern Apulia from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages: a zooarchaeological approach” A. Buglione

“Animal Husbandry in East Anglia from the 5th to the 10th Centuries CE” P. Crabtree

“Registro paleoambiental y arqueozoológico en una aldea medieval: Villanueva de Santo Adriano (Asturias, Spain)” J. Fernández Fernández, M. Moreno García

“Zooarqueología de dos yacimientos con ocupaciones tardoantiguas y altomedievales de la provincia de León (noroeste de la Península Ibérica)” C. Fernández Rodríguez, J.C. Alvarez García, V. Bejega García, Mª N. Fuertes Prieto, E. González Gómez de Agüero

“Faunal remains from Madinah Ilbirah (Granada). Zooarchaeological study of a medieval Islamic town in southern Spain” M. G. García

“Variation in Animal Consumption at Medieval Villamagna” E. Holt

“Animal husbandry on Polish territory in the Early Middle Ages” U. Iwaszczuk

“Ganadería y alimentación en los siglos IV-VI en Graccurris” E. Lladó Aguillo, P. del Fresno Bernal, J. M. Martínez Torrecilla

“Unimproved early medieval sheep in Northern Iberia: an archaeozoological and actualistic approach” L. Llorente, A. Morales, M. Moreno

“Miranduolo: a farm-village in the southern Tuscany” M. Putti

“Crops and agriculture during the Early Middle Ages in northern Catalunya (Pyrénées-Orientales, France)” J. Ros, M.-P. Ruas

“Domestic mammals in Eastern Romania during Early Middle Ages” S. Stanc, L. Bejenaru

“Woodlands East and Hallahoise: A case of Irish Early Medieval husbandry specialization” C. Tommasino

“Terrazas en el entorno de Santa Juliana de Abanto-Zierbena (Bizkaia)” R. Varón, J.Á. Fernandez, B. Hernandez, I. Sopelana

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Poster abstracts – Resúmenes de pósters –

Posterren laburpenak

“Consumption and household processing of vegetal products at the Catalan cities of Islamic period: Madina Balagi, Madina Larida and Madina Turtuxa. X-XIIth centuries AD.” N. Alonso, F. Antolín, C. Alòs, H. Kirchner, A. Loriente, E. Solanes

During the Islamic domination of Catalonia (VIII-XIIth centuries AD), three cities of great strategic and economic importance flourished. Madina Balagi (Balaguer, La Noguera) was the closest city to the border of al-Andalus; Madina Larida (Lleida, Segrià) was the political and cultural capital; Madina Turtuxa (Tortosa, Baix Ebre) was an important commercial harbour.

The archaeological interventions that have taken place in these urban contexts have resulted in several archaeobotanical studies that have shed light on the alimentation and economic activities of their inhabitants. Plant food consumption was based on cereals, mainly hulled barley and naked wheat but also foxtail millet and oat. Only one cultivated legume has been identified: lentil. Instead, a wide variety of fruits has been recovered (primarily in mineralized state) like fig, grape, apple/pear, almond, cucumber/melon, walnut, pine nuts and pomegranate. Besides some oleaginous plants have been identified, like flax and gold of pleasure.

This poster will deal with the processing, consumption and management of residues of plant food production within household contexts in these cities.

“Cereal consumption in early medieval Cantabria (7th – 8th centuries AD): making the dead talk” P. Arias Cabal, E. Gutiérrez Cuenca, J.Á. Hierro Gárate, I. López López-Dóriga

The archaeological “invisibility” of the dwelling places of the inhabitants of Early Medieval Cantabria has entailed a full ignorance about many aspects of their daily life, including anything to do with their livelihoods, among which is their farming.

Paradoxically, that scene is now beginning to change through some of the cave burials from Visigothic times (7th-8th centuries AD) found in the last years. And it is making it in two ways: one direct way and another indirect one. First of them, through the study of carbonized cereal remains appeared in these funerary contexts. The second one, thanks to stable isotope analytics carried out on human bone samples from the corpses, which are providing first evidences about the diet of Cantabrian population in Visigothic age.

The very first obtained results provide information about cereal farming and consumption by these populations and show the importance of the short-cycle varieties, especially millet (Panicum miliaceum).

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“The exploitation of animal resource in Apulia from 10th to 11st centuries A.D.: the zooarchaeology contribution” A. Buglione, G. De Venuto

According to a global analysis of antique landscapes in Apulia, zooarchaeology represents one of the methods that can add some important elements to the historical and archaeological research from 10th to 11st centuries A.D.

Through the study of faunal samples coming from Vaccarizza (Foggia), Ordona (Foggia), Canosa – San Pietro (Bari) and Apigliano (Lecce) we can distinguish breeding activities that depend on the features of the sites (rural or military) and on the political management. Domestic animal breeding was the most developed activity in all the sites considered, with a prevalence of sheep/goats that supplied wool and meat especially from 7th to 10th c. Poultry breeding represented an important attribute of Vaccarizza, Canosa-San Pietro and Ordona in the Early Middle Ages. Hunting did not give an important contribute to the diet. The fishing was played in the sites belonging to important centres like Vaccarizza.

“The sheep/goat transhumant breeding in Northern Apulia from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages: a zooarchaeological approach” A. Buglione

This paper deals with the study of transhumance in Northern Apulia from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Age (4th-10th c. A.D.) based on the zooarchaeological analysis of the samples coming from Herdonia (Ordona, FG), San Giusto (Lucera, FG), Faragola (Ascoli Satriano, FG) and San Pietro (Canosa di Puglia, BA). If the economical activities in Apulia were based on breeding of the domestic animals, such as cattle, sheep/goats and pigs, it is evident that there was a clear and almost continuous interest for the ovines and for the wool and meat production, in spite of some significant fluctuations. Starting from zooarchaeological data and integrating them with textual, historical, archaeological, ethnoarchaeological and ethnographic sources it was possible to recognize some typical elements of the pastoral civilization in Apulia and, above all, of the transhumant movements: did they disappear totally from the Antiquity to the Medieval Age? Data concerning mortality and seasonal deaths, sexual and size were very important elements to define management ways of flocks and their aims, but they need to be integrated with others by new bioarchaeological methodologies (such as ancient DNA, micromorphological and microchemical analysis of the soil) for understanding the relation between natural and rural landscape, environmental conditions and political choices of agrarian and zootechnic opportunities through centuries.

“Animal Husbandry in East Anglia from the 5th to the 10th Centuries CE” P. Crabtree

This poster will present the archaeozoological evidence for changing animal husbandry practices in East Anglia (eastern England) from the 5th through the 10th centuries. The data are based on four large faunal assemblages: West Stow (Suffolk), Brandon (Suffolk), Wicken Bonhunt (Essex), and Ipswich (Suffolk).

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West Stow is a small, rural settlement that was occupied during the Early Saxon period (5th-7th centuries). Brandon and Wicken Bonhunt are larger estate centres that were primarily occupied during the 8th and 9th centuries, although Wicken Bonhunt also includes some evidence for a late Early Saxon (6th-7th centuries) settlement. The Middle Saxon faunal data from Ipswich are drawn from a series of 8th and 9th-century contexts, dating to the period when Ipswich served as a ‘wic’ or emporium. Additional faunal data are available from late Saxon (10th century) contexts in Ipswich.

Archaeozoological data from West Stow suggest that Early Anglo-Saxon animal husbandry was unfocused. Pigs, cattle, and sheep were raised for a variety of purposes, including meat, milk, wool, and traction. Data from the estate centres of Brandon and Wicken Bonhunt indicate that animal husbandry was becoming more intensive and specialized in the Middle Saxon period in East Anglia. The data from Wicken Bonhunt point to the intensive exploitation of pigs, while the data from Brandon point to the specialized rearing of sheep for wool production. The data from the proto-urban ‘wic’ settlement at Ipswich show how this site was provisioned with livestock from the surrounding countryside.

“Registro paleoambiental y arqueozoológico en una aldea medieval: Villanueva de Santo Adriano (Asturias, Spain)” J. Fernández Fernández, M. Moreno García

Villanueva es una pequeña aldea cercana a Oviedo, situada dentro de un territorio, Santo Adriano, que históricamente se ha vertebrado en torno a un importante centro de poder altomedieval (iglesia-monasterio de Tuñón). Alfonso III y su esposa Jimena lo fundan y dotan en el siglo IX, tal como consta en un importante documento interpolado posteriormente (s. XII), que ha sido objeto de amplios estudios diplomáticos y paleográficos. En esta donación tenemos la primera referencia documental a la actual aldea de Villanueva, entonces denominada San Romano. La existencia de este y otros documentos sirvió de base a diferentes estudios sobre la evolución del territorio y el poblamiento de Santo Adriano, siempre desde la interpretación de los textos y la práctica de una arqueología extensiva o territorial centrada en el análisis distribucional de asentamientos (principalmente “castros” y aldeas) y el estudio de las formas del paisaje y su toponimia.

Durante los años 2009-2011 un equipo interdisciplinar ha realizado varias campañas de excavación arqueológica en torno a esta aldea. El primero de nuestros objetivos fue definir la secuencia de ocupación de la zona habitada. Por otro lado, también se ha intentado determinar el proceso de construcción de los terrazgos medievales mediante intervenciones en el espacio de cultivo y las terrazas agrarias.

“Zooarqueología de dos yacimientos con ocupaciones tardoantiguas y altomedievales de la provincia de León (noroeste de la Península Ibérica)” C. Fernández Rodríguez, J.C. Alvarez García, V. Bejega García, Mª N. Fuertes Prieto, E. González Gómez de Agüero

Se presentan los resultados del análisis zooarqueológico realizado en los yacimientos de El Pelambre (Villaornate y Castro) y Canto Blanco (Calzada del

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Coto / Sahagún), ambos situados en la zona de las campiñas leonesas, el primero vinculado al río Esla y el segundo al Cea. En ambos, además de una prehistórica, se han documentado ocupaciones de fases históricas, adscritas a época visigótica en el caso del Pelambre (datada entre mediados del s. V-mediados del s. VI) y tanto a este mismo periodo como a otros medievales posteriores en Canto Blanco.

En las muestras estudiadas dominan ampliamente los restos de animales domésticos, destacando el vacuno, si bien en El Pelambre los ovicaprinos presentan valores similares en cuanto al número de restos. En ambos yacimientos se encuentran bien representados los équidos, aunque esto no signifique que se trate de restos de animales consumidos, al igual que sucede en algún caso con respecto a especies cuyo aprovechamiento cárnico resulta habitual (como algún ejemplar de vacuno). Entre los domésticos, también se ha reconocido la presencia de cánidos y de félidos.

Las evidencias de especies silvestres son minoritarias, reduciéndose a algunos huesos de cérvido y de lagomorfos (principalmente Oryctolagus), si bien para estos últimos se evalúa la posibilidad de que su presencia responda de intrusiones resultantes de sus actividades fosoras. Por último, se han identificado restos de moluscos fluviales, aunque con valores muy minoritarios.

“Faunal remains from Madinah Ilbirah (Granada). Zooarchaeological study of a medieval Islamic town in southern Spain” M. G. García

This poster illustrates the analysis of the faunal remains recovered from the medieval Islamic town of Madinah Ilbirah, located in the Vega plain of Granada in southern Spain. This site was the first capital town of the kurah or province of Ilbirah, and thus key to control the lands of the current provinces of Granada and Almería. The faunal assemblage was recovered from three different contexts, and it offers a glimpse into the animal subsistence strategies during the occupation of the site (ca. 9th to 11th centuries), providing the basis for analysing some aspects regarding food provision strategies, patterns of distribution of animal source products and the socioeconomic status of the agents that occupied the different areas of the city excavated to date.

The taxonomic composition of the assemblage is dominated by sheep and goat, followed by domestic fowl and rabbit. As most Moslem faunal assemblages from Iberia, cattle is rare. The presence of wild birds such as crane or partridge in particular archaeological context, suggests that they were regarded as luxury food. Marine fish species – conger, tuna, sea bream and mackerel, reflects the existence of some type of trade with the coast. Anatomical distribution and age-at-death of caprines argue against the hypothesis of local husbandry and it is suggested that animal based subsistence economy in Ilbirah largely relied on the surrounding countryside.

“Variation in Animal Consumption at Medieval Villamagna” E. Holt

The site of Villamagna in central Italy was originally a Roman Imperial villa and wine-growing estate, in use through the early 7th century as a Byzantine

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estate. In the 9th century, after a period of abandonment, a new élite occupation began in the ruins of one of the Roman buildings, while in the late 10th century, a rural monastery was founded by local elites and given control of the Villamagna lands. A hut village also grew up among the ancient buildings, probably occupied by peasants dependent on the monastery.

Recently-completed excavations at Villamagna (2006-2010) have provided a small sample of animal bone fragments reflecting the consumption patterns of these different medieval occupations. The bone fragments come from the 9th-century seigneurial reoccupation (NISP 177), the 10th- to 13th-century monastery (NISP 95), and the hut village concurrent with the monastery (NISP 414). While these assemblages are unfortunately small (some are smaller than the NISP 300 generally considered necessary for confident analysis), as these are the only faunal remains recovered from the site, indeed among very few faunal remains collected from medieval rural Lazio, it is important to study and compare them. Their study reveals significant differences among the early medieval and central medieval assemblages. These differences may partially reflect increasing land clearance, as has been suggested for medieval Italy in general, but primarily indicate status-based variations in animal husbandry and consumption practices at Villamagna in a rural estate and a monastery and settlement.

“Animal husbandry on Polish territory in the Early Middle Ages” U. Iwaszczuk

Lack of information in the field archaeozoology about the Early Middle Ages in Central Europe and particularly on Polish territory is a constant problem. Polish scientists have usually published results of their research in Polish only, which excludes archaeozoologists worldwide from participating in that knowledge. Therefore, it is important to change the state of affairs by showing a very rich archaeozoological material dating to the period preceding the process of forming Piast State and first years of its existence. The investigated material consists of 180 archaeozoological analyses. Some of them were published before the Second World War, other after 1945, mostly in 70s and 80s. That is why it is difficult to compare the results, especially because the methods of analyzing changed during that period. Nonetheless, the aim of this paper is to show new possibilities for the study of animal remains from various archaeological sites located on present day Polish territory, including hillforts and other types of settlements which played different parts both in social life and administration of the country by local and Piast officials. Changes in animal husbandry during the Early Middle Ages reflected cultural and political changes which took place in that period in this region. One could clearly see the opening of the country for foreign contacts during the Piast period on the basis of animal material.

“Ganadería y alimentación en los siglos IV-VI en Graccurris” E. Lladó Aguillo, P. del Fresno Bernal, J. M. Martínez Torrecilla

En las eras de San Martín de Alfaro, La Rioja, se encuentra el lugar donde se asentó la ciudad de época romana denominada Graccurris, fundada en el siglo II a. C. Las últimas referencias a la ciudad romana corresponden al siglo VII, aunque

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las excavaciones arqueológicas certifican la existencia de un asentamiento estable hasta el siglo IX d. C. Se trata de un cerro rodeado por el río Alhama, en un paraje cercano a la desembocadura de este río en el Ebro.

Durante el periodo que va del siglo IV al siglo VI d. C., el pórtico de un gran edificio público de época romana, cuya construcción, funcionamiento y reformas abarcan del siglo I al III d. C., se encuentra deteriorado por la falta de mantenimiento y su uso como cantera para construcciones privadas. En este periodo se abren en el pórtico algunos silos y otros agujeros para extracción de materiales de construcción, que finalmente son amortizados como vertederos domésticos.

Estos vertidos han sido fechados, mediante dataciones radiocarbónicas entre finales del siglo IV y el siglo VI d. C. Formando parte de estos vertidos, junto con abundante material cerámico, encontramos una apreciable cantidad de huesos de animales. Su estudio nos permite aproximarnos a los hábitos alimentarios del valle medio del Ebro en este periodo, así como a las explotaciones ganaderas y a las patologías que afectaban a estas cabañas.

“Unimproved early medieval sheep in Northern Iberia: an archaeozoological and actualistic approach” L. Llorente, A. Morales, M. Moreno

Documentary evidence and archaeological assemblages demonstrate that sheep have played a major role in the economy of early medieval sites in Northern Iberia. However, little research has been carried out on the recognition of the breeds or type of animals present in those assemblages. This is an issue of great importance to understand the development of models of animal management in the past, to which we aim to make a contribution.

Archaeozoologists often have to identify remains of domesticates with the help of recent breeds whose morphology and osteometry usually differs from that of their archaeological counterparts. Here we present the results of a comparative analysis on the anatomy and osteometry of two unimproved Celtic breeds of sheep - the Soay from the Orkney Islands (Scotland) and the Xalda from Asturias (Spain). These data are later compared with the morphology and osteometry of two sheep assemblages from Northern Iberia, i) the Late Iron Age site of A Lanzada (Pontevedra, Galicia) and ii) the early medieval urban site of Tabacalera (Gijón, Asturias), in order to assess if they represent animals from the same racial group of Celtic breeds to which the Xalda and the Soay belong.

“Miranduolo: a farm-village in the southern Tuscany” M. Putti

The medieval site of Miranduolo (Chiusdino, Siena, Tuscany, Italy) has been investigated since 2001 under the scientific direction of Prof. Marco Valenti (University of Siena). Founded in the VII century as an iron extraction and working point composed of mines and of a large area of smelting, between VIII and IX century, dismissed the extraction activities, became a farm-village with many storage points. During the IX century the village has a strong hierarchization of the inner structure and also all the storage points move under the control of leading person in a upper and strongly defended area.

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Different fires burned the warehouses and the granary pits with all their contents during both the farm-village phases. This allowed to reconstruct the cultivation choices and gave a lot of data about the diet; we were also able to see how the control of fields' products become the main sign of power in the village. Beside of the archaeobotanical dates we also analyzed the landscape under the control of the farm with a geophysical approach , studies about the soils and by the use of historical maps (19th century land register). We are now able to propose an hypothetical reconstruction of the land use around the site thanks to cross studies on landscape and archaeobotanical remains. By the use of the historical maps we discover an elevate level of fossilization of the medieval rural settings: large part of the 19th century field division has an area that fit together perfectly with early medieval land measure (tuscan Iugero). Thanks to the field survey we also found the remains of a large and cultivated chestnut wood connected with the earlier phases of the village.

“Crops and agriculture during the Early Middle Ages in northern Catalunya (Pyrénées-Orientales, France)” J. Ros, M.-P. Ruas

For the last twenty years, large-scale public works (Agly’s dam and LGV Roussillon) and constructions of new major motorways have helped to improve archaeological research in northern Catalunya (Pyrénées-Orientales, France). Prior to this increase in development, the Historical periods were not well known. Archaeobotanical investigations on fourteen sites (levels, ditches, pits, wells, etc.), on the French Catalan plain and mountains allow us to present a review of the new results on crops, and a discussion on early medieval farming practices. Carbonised remains from these excavations have provided carpological material (in varying degrees of abundance). From the analysis of the samples, we found 27 cultivated/gathered taxas: 7 cereals, 4 pulses, 2 technical/oil plants and 14 fruits, and approximately an additional fifty weeds/wild plants. Naked wheat and hulled barley were the principal winter crops produced in local fields, while spring crops may be attested by oat, broomcorn and foxtail millet. The discovery of rye suggests that it was grown in the Catalan plain area during the very beginning of High Middle Ages period. The pulses, less common than cereals, are mainly represented by common vetch, pea, fava bean, and wild pea. The most frequent fruits in our samples are grapes and olives, although a large diversity of gathered/cultivated species was utilised (fig, walnut, chestnut, cherry, peach, plum, stone pine, hawthorn, etc). The presence of flax and hemp seeds allows us to discuss about the utilisation of local wetlands. After a discussion about mountain and plain productions, these first results from northern Catalunya will be compared with other sites from nearby areas (e.g., southern France, southern Catalunya).

“Domestic mammals in Eastern Romania during Early Middle Ages” S. Stanc, L. Bejenaru

The paper was realized on the study of fourteen archaeozoological samples taken from sites from Eastern Romania: Nicolina (IV-Vth centuries),

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Podeni (III-Vth centuries), Gara Banca (III-Vth centuries), Todiresti (IV-VIth centuries), Davideni (V-VIIth centuries), Udesti (VIIth century), Malesti (VI-VIIIthe centuries), Vararie (VII-VIIIth centuries), Lozna (VII-VIIIth centuries), Izvoare Bahna (VI-IXth centuries), Poiana (VIII-Xth centuries), Ghilanesti (VIII-Xth centuries), Barlalesti (IX-Xth centuries), Gara Banca (IX-Xth centuries). Animal husbandry constituted an important occupation during Early Middle Ages in eastern Romania; more than 95% represent the remains of domestic mammals in the studied assemblages. The domestic mammals identified are: Bos taurus, Ovis aries, Capra hircus, Sus scrofa domesticus, Equus caballus, Canis familiaris. In all settlements under study, the predominant species are cattle, sheep/goat and pigs, both by the number of identified remains and by minimal number of identified individuals. The percentage of these species varies from one settlement to other, but cattle are dominant in most of them (the percentage range between 37.5% at Udesti and 73% at Nicolina); at Udesti and Vararie pigs exceed the cattle, and represent 43% for each sample. Cattle are followed by pigs in the samples at: Podeni, Todireşti, Poiana, Lozna Strateni, Izvoare Bahna, Malesti, Ghilanesti; at Nicolina, Gara Banca (III-Vth centuries), Davideni, Barlalesti, Gara Banca (IX-Xth centuries) on the second place (after the cattle) is sheep/goat.

“Woodlands East and Hallahoise: A case of Irish Early Medieval husbandry specialization” C. Tommasino

Woodlands East and Hallahoise (Co. Kildare, Ireland) were excavated as two different Early Medieval (cal AD 690 – 1150) sites. However, the spatial relationship of both sites was apparent during their archaeological excavation, showing that it was essential to carry out a full analysis of the early medieval faunal assemblages to gain a complete picture of the animal husbandry and consumption practices on the site as a whole. As each assemblage was analysed separately, Hallahoise was a site dominated by cattle, closely followed by sheep/goat. Conversely, in Woodlands East pigs were the most common species. However, when both assemblages are married together, cattle and sheep/goat outnumber pigs, placing the site as a whole into the trend identified on Irish sites dating from the early medieval period. The detailed analysis of the zooarchaeological assemblage demonstrates that the proximity to a wooded area allowed the inhabitants of Woodlands East to develop activities such as charcoal production, metal working as well as the pannage of pigs and slaughtering of animals. This area served as a specialised activity zone, while Hallahoise was utilised for consumption and disposal of general animal bone waste. Horses, dogs and cats were also part of the site’s daily life, utilised for activities such as riding or herding, or just representing stray animals or pets. However, some trading with other sites could have been taking place, such as exchanging sheep/goat or pigs skeletal elements (especially lower limbs) for raw material and obtaining preserved fish in return. Birds may have been kept on the site or hunted in the woodland areas. The case of Woodlands East and Hallahoise illustrates how important it is to carry on archaeological analyses that take into

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account contextual information, allowing us to identify the relationship between activities which would otherwise be seemingly unrelated.

“Terrazas en el entorno de Santa Juliana de Abanto-Zierbena (Bizkaia)” R. Varón, J.Á. Fernandez, B. Hernandez, I. Sopelana

El póster que presentamos a continuación tiene como objetivo explicar el seguimiento arqueológico y estudio arqueobotánico realizado sobre unas muestras recogidas en el entorno de la actual ermita de Santa Juliana de Abanto (Vizcaya, España). El estudio comienza por una intervención para una canalización realizada en la cuenca del Cotorrío que permitió localizar unos cortes que estaban afectando espacios aterrazados. En los perfiles de dichos cortes se localizaban materiales de construcción y fragmentos cerámicos adscritos por la bibliografía a momentos altomedievales y plenomedievales (siglos VIII y XIII). Para el estudio de dichas terrazas se elaboró una metodología de recogida de muestras de tierra para elaborar un análisis palinológico, antracológico y carpológico para obtener información sobre la formación y el posible uso de dichas terrazas. Se localizaron distintos horizontes que pudieron ser datados mediante C-14 por método AMS. A pesar de las limitaciones interpretativas obtenidas con las analíticas arqueobotánicas, podemos decir que los resultados obtenidos son sugerentes. Gracias a las dataciones hemos podido averiguar que los horizontes muestreados han permitido fechar el primer nivel de terraza al 95,4% (dos sigmas) entre el 430 y el 600 Cal AD, mientras que para la segunda muestra al 95,4% (dos sigmas) entre el 1030 y el 1220 Cal AD. Es por ello que se quiere resaltar la potencialidad de este lugar, donde existe una actividad de trasformación del paisaje ya en época altomedieval, además de la importancia de elaborar estrategias de muestreos específicas que permitan interpretar el uso de dichas terrazas.