Livestock management at the Late Iron Age site of Baltarga (eastern Pyrenees): an integrated bio-geoarchaeological approach

Despite the important role of livestock farming amongst Iron Age communities living in mountain regions, there is little information about livestock management, and particularly stabling practises, breeding systems, and grazing/foddering patterns. The study of the ground floor of Building G in Tossal de Baltarga has provided valuable insights into these important issues and has given us a better understanding of the social and economic patterns involved in all these livestock activities. It revealed the existence of a stable from the Late Iron Age, thanks to unique in situ finds of the stabled animals, including four sheep, a goat, and a horse, in addition to a range of organic remains preserved by fire and penning deposits. It is the first documented to date in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula. Through an integrated bio-geoarchaeological approach, combining a range of analytic procedures, including osteology, dental microwear, stable isotopes, phytoliths, dung spherulite analyses, and thin-section micromorphology, for the first time, this study has provided new, high-resolution evidence of livestock management strategies. Specifically, the research shed light on animal penning and feeding practises, revealing variable herbivorous regimes between species, the practise of seasonal movements, and the possible use of fodder as the main dietary regime of the animals stabled there. At the same time, the Baltarga case-study illustrates an indoor production unit that could reveal possible private control of some domestic animals in the Pyrenean Late Iron Age.Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. LC is currently supported by a Ramón y Cajal contract (RYC2019-026732-I-AEI/10.13039/ 501100011033). CM has the financial support of the Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca de la Generalitat de Catalunya and European Social Fund (ESF) “Investing in your future” (2022 FI_B2 00070). The funding for this research has been partially provided within the framework of the projects “Control, gestión y explotación del territorio en la Hispania romana”, PID2021-122879OB-I00, MICIN, and “PATCA-3”, Generalitat de Catalunya, 9071-55/2022

Prácticas alimentarias en la Edad del Hierro en Cataluña

The aim of this paper is to provide a state of the research on the eating habits concerning the Iron Age populations of Catalonia, with particular attention to the Iberian period, under the Museu d’Arqueologia de Catalunya project “Eating and Drinking in the periphery of the Graeco-Roman world: cultural and food habits of the northern Iberian (6th-2nd cent. BCE)”. The main goal of this project is the study of food habits in the Catalan Iberian world from a global and interdisciplinary approach that considers all aspects of the food phenomenon (technical, instrumental, social, cognitive) as an expression of a specific cultural reality

Roman Conquest and Changes in Animal Husbandry in the North-East of the Iberian Peninsula: Searching for Patterns, Rates and Singularities

The conquest of the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula by the Roman Empire brought about changes to the socio-political and socio-economic organization of the communities settled in this territory. These changes, however, did not take place all at once, but rather happened throughout the 200 years following the conquest. Bearing this in mind, the aim of this article is to characterise the changes that underwent in livestock management practices in the north-eastern area of the Iberian Peninsula as a result of its Roman conquest, analysing the type and timing of these changes, and evaluating how they affected the different animal species that comprised the livestock at the time. The study of faunal remains recovered from 11 sites located in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula and dated between the fifth century BC and third century AD, and their comparison to the existing archaeozoological data for the area under study, have enabled us to document that the changes in livestock practices did not all arise at the same time and neither did they affect all taxa equally. These results are correlated with the possible roles played by both the local communities and Rome in the achievement and acceptance of these changes.La conquista del nordeste de la Península Ibérica por parte del Imperio Romano comportó cambios en la organización socio-política y socio-económica de las comunidades asentadas en este territorio. Estos cambios, sin embargo, no se produjeron a la vez, sino que se sucedieron a lo largo de los 200 años que siguieron a la conquista. Teniendo en cuenta estas consideraciones, el objetivo de este artículo es caracterizar los cambios que se produjeron en las prácticas ganaderas en la zona nororiental de la Península Ibérica a raíz de su conquista por parte del Imperio Romano, analizando el tipo y el ritmo de estos cambios, y evaluando cómo afectaron a los diferentes animales que conformaban la cabaña ganadera. El estudio de restos de fauna recuperados en 11 yacimientos ubicados en el nordeste de la Península Ibérica y datados entre el siglo V a.C. y el siglo III d.C., y su comparación con los datos arqueozoológicos existentes para el área bajo estudio, han permitido documentar que los cambios en las prácticas ganaderas no se produjeron a la vez y no afectaron a todos los taxones por igual. Estos resultados se vinculan con el posible rol que tuvo tanto la población local como Roma en la consecución y aceptación de estos cambios

Roman expansion and cattle size increase in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula: studying the link through the Zooarchaeology

Zooarchaeological studies have documented an increase in cattle size in the new territories under roman control after being conquered. These evidences show a link between the roman expansion and variations of cattle size and shape. Taking these considerations into account, the aim of this paper is to shed light on this issue through the study of cattle remains from 12 sites located in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula and occupied from the middle 5th century BC to the 3rd century AD

Aportacions de l’arqueozoologia a l’estudi de l’alimentació i la cuina romanes

La major part de restes de fauna que es recuperen en els jaciments arqueològics són deixalles del processament i del consum de productes carnis que van generar les persones que van viure a l’assentament en qüestió. Per tant, el seu estudi aporta informació primordial sobre l’alimentació del grup humà que va generar aquestes deixalles. Tenint en compte aquestes consideracions, amb aquest article volem mostrar les eines que té l’arqueozoologia per estudiar l’alimentació, a partir de la presentació de diversos casos d’estudi que ens permetran incidir en diferents aspectes vinculats amb la dieta càrnia en època romana. L’estudi de la representació taxonòmica i anatòmica, l’estimació dels perfils de mortalitat i l’anàlisi de les pautes de fracturació i de les termoalteracions ens han permès documentar les espècies animals que van ser consumides en vil·les i ciutats, les porcions de carn que van ser adquirides en un centre terrisser, la producció de productes en conserva que es va dur a terme en una ciutat i les diferents tècniques culinàries que van ser utilitzades en diversos assentaments per coure els aliments.Most faunal remains recovered from archaeological sites are waste products generated from the processing and consumption of meat by the people who lived there. Studying such remains thus provides fundamental data on the food consumption of the human communities that generated this waste. Taking into account these considerations, we want to show how the tools of archaeozoology for studying food can help to shed light on various aspects of Roman meat diet, based on the presentation of several case studies. By studying taxonomic and anatomical representation, estimating mortality profiles and analyzing fracture and burning patterns, we have been able to document the animals that were consumed in villas and cities, the portions of meat that were acquired in a pottery kiln site, the production of preserved products that was carried out in a city and the different culinary techniques which were used in various settlements to cook food

Morphometric variability of Roman dogs in Hispania Tarraconensis: The case study of the Vila de Madrid necropolis

The size, body conformation and skull shape of Roman dogs from the ‘Vila de Madrid necropolis’ site, where 1480 dog remains were recovered, are described in this paper to provide evidence of the morphometric variability of Roman dogs in Hispania Tarraconensis. The individualized and detailed morphometric analysis of 10 individuals shows that the proliferation and explosion of the morphological variability already documented in different regions of the Roman Empire (Italia, Gallia, Britannia, Pannonia) are also noted here. The presence of very different individuals in terms of their shape and size, similar to the differences that can at present be noted between Pekingese and Doberman dogs, has been documented at the site. The reasons for the appearance of this morphological variability within those territories that were part of the Roman Empire are also discussed

Roman Tunisian dietary patterns as a feature of Romanitas: an archaeozoological approach

It has been said that the Roman Empire was one of the greatest empires of antiquity. At its height, it spanned the entire Mediterranean basin, from the Iberian Peninsula to the Near East, each territory contributing with its customs and specificities. In this melting pot, dietary preferences were modified, diversified and, sometimes, replaced. With this paper, we aim to study Roman dietary patterns in Tunisia, an area that has been the object of little academic scrutiny and for which only a few studies are available. We investigate this topic with an archaeozoological approach. The relative frequency of taxa, body part representation and kill‐off patterns of faunal remains from 16 pre‐Roman and Roman Tunisian sites shows that, in Tunisia, dietary patterns were modified as a result of the Roman conquest

The Roman introduction and exportation of animals into Tunisia: Linking archaeozoology with textual and iconographic evidence

The Mediterranean basin was the core of the Roman Empire. Large communication networks were constructed and maintained that enabled the trade and distribution of large number of products between distant territories. North Africa, and more specifically Tunisia, was an important trading area. However, little information is available about the animal trade. To characterize this activity and evaluate its economic importance, in this study we examine which species were introduced and exported during the Roman era in Tunisia using archaeozoological data and contextualizing them with written and iconographic sources. This combined approach shows that the Romans were responsible for introducing and exporting numerous animals. We have documented the introduction of commensal animals, such as black rat (Rattus rattus) and house mouse (Mus sp.), wild animals such as fallow deer (Dama dama) and hare (Lepus sp.), and domestic animals such as rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and cat (Felis catus). At the same time, North Africa supplied Rome with wild beasts such as lions, tigers, bears and camels. We suggest that the animal trade was an important economic activity for Tunisia not only for the export of wild animals but also for the import of animals that were mainly used for social purposes