With a contribution by Don Brotwell.
In 1974, Dr Graham Webster boldly stated in his book, 'Practical Archaeology': 'It is sad to note that in Britain, animal archaeology is still much in its infancy. There are very few workers in this field and little is available for research funds. The best work has been done in other countries like Holland, Poland and Russia'. His remark is a reasonably accurate appraisal of the situation prior to 1970. However, the emergence and growth of rescue archaeology in Britain during the 1970s led to the unearthing of huge deposits of animal bone, particularly from urban sites, for example at Colchester, Exeter, Lincoln, Southampton, Winchester and York. The interpretation of these remains caused the discipline of British zooarchaeology, that is the study of animal remains from archaeological sites, to evolve along new lines, since the immense quantity of material demanded more improved and refined methods of analysis that were essentially costeffective.
Author(s): Rosemary Luff
Series: Colchester Archaeological Reports, 12
Publisher: Colchester Archaeological Trust
Year: 1993
Language: English
Pages: 238
Acknowledgments
Illustrations
1: THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND
Introduction
Roman Britain
Medieval England
Colchester: the historical Background
Colchester: the archaeological sites and their bone asemblages
Balkerne Lane (BKC; CAR 3, 93-154)
Butt Road (BUTT; CAR 9)
Culver Street (CUL or 1.81; CAR 6, 21 -126)
The Gilberd School (GBS; CAR 6, 127-39)
Lion Walk (LWC; CAR 3, 31-92)
Long Wyre Street (COC; CAR 6, 355-65)
Middleborough (MID; CAR 3, 155-209)
2: AIMS AND METHODS
Introduction
Bone recovery techniques
2.3 Data capture nothing
Taphonomy
Ageing
Long-bone epiphysial fusion
Tooth eruption and wear
Primary and Secondary products
Modelling data:sheep/goat
Modelling the data: Cattle
Sexing
Cattle sexing
Sheep/goat sexing
Metrics and statistics
3: PATTERNS OF BONE FRAGMENTATION AT COLCHESTER: AN APPROACH TO QUANTIFICATION
Introduction
The merits of studying bone fragmentation
Some previous methods of recording bone fragmentation
Methods of recording bone fragmentation at Colchester
The Colchester bone assemblages: the analytical results
An approach to quantification
Roman Colchester, with particular reference to the Gilberd school, Culver Street and Balkerne Lane
Medieval and post medieval Colchester
Cattle Butchery
Summary
4: THE ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION OF DOMESTIC LIVESTOCK
Introduction
Cattle Exploiation
Sheep and goat exploitation
Pig exploiataion
Summary
5: POULTRY AND GAME
Poultry
Bird bone preservation with particular reference to domesticated fowl
Uses of domestic fowl
A metrical study of domesticated fowl
Wild birds
Wild mammals
Summary
6: HEALTH AND WELFARE
The implications of palaeopathology for zooarchaeology
The Colchester palaeopathology
The range in cattle size at Colchester
The range in sheep size at Colchester
A summary of the Colchester palaeopathology
7: A SYNTHESIS OF THE FAUNAL DATA WITH REFERENCE TO OTHER SITES
The hinterland of Colchester
The main domestica stock of historic Essex
Cattle
Sheep and Goat
Pigs
Horses
Dogs and Cats
Domesticated fowl
Wild mammals
Evidence for the redistribution of animal carcasses in the Roman period
Summary
8: A SUMMARY OF THE MAIN BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL RESULTS
Additional bioarchaeological data
Evidence for localised agriculture within the vacinity of Roman Colchester
The towns food supply
Conclusion
Glossary and abbreviations
Bibliography
Abbreviations
References
Index of places and sites
Sites in Colchester excavated 1971-85
Places and sites outside Britain
Places and sites in Britain
Palaeopathology Index
General Index
Tables on microfiche
