Hi Richard - interesting idea. For some of the older sources, it would
be worth trawling the annual lists of zooarch reports that Hans-Hermann
Muller used to produce, under the series title 'Bibliographie zur
Archao-Zoologie und Geschichte der Haustiere'. See also the
Bibliography of Archaeozoology produced by Hans Stampfli and Jorg
Schibler in about 1991.
My guess would be that your biggest problem will be resolution of
chronolgy. If the aim is to test for sharp changes in husbandry and
disposal practice either side of an event that occupied only a few
years, then site phasing that refers material to, for example, '14th
century', or 'late13th-mid14th century' will be useless. And with
complex intercutting urban stratigraphy, even if the deposition date is
clearly post-Black Death, you will have to be really careful to ensure
that the content date does not spread into pre-Black Death times because
of residuality of material.
Terry O'Connor
-----Original Message-----
From: Analysis of animal remains from archaeological sites
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Thomas, Dr R.M.
Sent: 15 September 2003 09:01
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ZOOARCH] medieval sites in Europe
> Dear all,
>
> I am currently looking at the potential of a research project to
> investigate the impact of the Black Death on animal husbandry in
> Europe.
>
> Following the population decline and the breakdown of fuedal society
> in the 14th century, it is apparent from the historical literature
that a number of dramatic changes in agricultural practice occurred.
Analysis of a large animal bone assemblage from England appears to have
provided some supporting evidence for these changes - such as,
increasing size of domestic livestock, changes in age profiles and
changes in the relative proportion of different species.
>
> I am now interested in extending my study into Continental Europe, to
> see any patterns can be identified there, which might reflect the
> impact of the Black Death. Consequently, I am trying to draw up a list
> of potential sites (published, unpublished and unstudied) for which
> this issue may be examined. I am intersted in any large assemblages,
> from a variety of site types (castle, ecclesiastical, urban, rural)
> which have a temporal span covering the 12th-15th centuries.
>
> If any of you can suggest any good candidates I would be very
> interested to hear from you.
>
> Many thanks
>
> Richard
>
>
> Dr Richard Thomas,
> School of Archaeology and Ancient History,
> University of Leicester,
> University Road,
> Leicester,
> LE1 7RD
>
> 0116 252 3343
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