Animals and the Byzantine Environment: Zooarchaeological Approaches

Henriette Baron

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Chapter 5 Animals and the Byzantine Environment: Zooarchaeological Approaches

In: A Companion to the Environmental History of Byzantium

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Henriette Baron

Henriette Baron
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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 137–161

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004689350_007

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Abstract

Based on bone finds from archaeological excavations of early Byzantine sites (the state of research for the later periods is insufficient), different animal exploitation strategies can be reconstructed. Animal husbandry, hunting, fowling, and fishing are activities that are closely linked to regional environmental conditions. Hence, the bone spectra can be utilized to reconstruct these, if all factors that might have determined their composition have been taken into consideration. As livestock bones prevail, the herd compositions give indications of the environmental restraints that animal husbandry had to tackle. In particular, the demands that cattle and pigs have concerning fodder and freshwater set limits on how intensively they can be farmed. Wild species, with their specific ecological preferences, point to past eco-systems in the vicinity of the excavated sites. Finally, two measures are considered that the Byzantines took to enable the availability of fish, a most important aliment for the Christians living on the Mediterranean shores.

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A Companion to the Environmental History of Byzantium

Series: Brill's Companions to the Byzantine World, Volume: 13

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004689350

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 23 Feb 2024

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- History

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Part 1 The Basics: Methods and Evidence

Part 2 Case Studies: Environmental History at Work

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Chapter 5 Animals and the Byzantine Environment: Zooarchaeological Approaches

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A Companion to the Environmental History of Byzantium

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