The zooarchaeology of economic change and urban decline in the late antique Balkans (c. AD 300-700)
Lead Research Organisation:
University of York
Department Name: Archaeology
Abstract
The timing, pace and scale of social and economic change at the end of Antiquity is the subject of intense debate. Perspectives range from catastrophist, emphasising post-Roman decline (Gibbon 1781; Ward-Perkins 2006), to continuitist, suggesting longer-term stability (Pirenne 1925; Brown 1971), via arguments for significant regional variation (Wickham 2006). Migration, conflict, climate and disease are all cited as key stimuli for change in this period.
Recently, zooarchaeology has helped to nuance understanding of late antique economic change in the Roman West, by showing reduced investment in animal husbandry and economic decline in this period. This approach has yet to be applied systematically to this issue in regions of the Roman East, with its very different set of historical developments. I will address this gap via in-depth zooarchaeological study of the late antique Balkans (c. AD 300-700), in order to assess the timing, pace and scale of economic change and urban decline in this region.
The project has three strands. In each, trends will be tracked against historically and/or archaeologically attested episodes of migration, conflict, disease and climatic change, to assess the impact of these factors.
SPECIES RATIOS can reveal cultural and economic trends. I will review evidence for spatial and temporal variation in species ratios using existing published and archived data from across the Balkans, with analysis in three areas. I will assess ratio of cattle/sheep (requiring extensive pasture) to pig (more suitable for small-scale, domestic husbandry) - increase in pig may suggest reduced scale of husbandry, and change from market-oriented to domestic production. I will review evidence for horsemeat consumption; hippophagy was rare in Roman society, so may suggest cultural change and/or use of marginal resources. I will assess use of wild animal resources - increase in wild:domestic ratio would indicate reduced dietary contribution of livestock, and likely reduced overall meat consumption, suggesting resource shortages.
LIVESTOCK SIZE can show changing investment in animal husbandry, providing a proxy for wider economic developments. The Roman economy incentivised optimised food production for profit, with investment in husbandry leading to livestock size increase (Valenzuela-Lamas & Albarella 2017). In the West, reduced investment due to economic contraction in late Antiquity reversed this trend (Ward-Perkins 2006; Rizzetto et al. 2017; Salvadori 2018). I will examine whether this also occurred in the East. I will collect biometric data from animal bones at key Balkan sites (e.g. Sirmium, Mediana, Serdica), supported by existing data, in order to track size change.
URBAN MICROFAUNA. Settlements provide ecological niches for small mammals, with some commensal species (e.g. black rat) reliant on dense settlement and dispersal via human migration and trade (Armitage 1994; McCormick 2003). Microfauna allow reconstruction of settlement environment and connectivity, with urban decline and reduced trade expected to reduce frequency of rats in particular. This is seen in Italy (Salvadori 2018) but much more markedly in England (my MA dissertation), reflecting differing histories. Preliminary review of Balkan data suggests a similar pattern, albeit later. I will track changing distribution of microfauna by reviewing existing data, studying microfauna from previous flotation at sites in Serbia and Bulgaria, and conducting new flotation at 4th C Viminacium (Serbia) and 4th-7th C Stobi ((FYR) Macedonia).
Social and economic change at the end of Antiquity is a subject of considerable public interest and contemporary relevance, as seen in recent high-profile debate over claims for migration as fundamental to the decline of the Roman Empire.
Recently, zooarchaeology has helped to nuance understanding of late antique economic change in the Roman West, by showing reduced investment in animal husbandry and economic decline in this period. This approach has yet to be applied systematically to this issue in regions of the Roman East, with its very different set of historical developments. I will address this gap via in-depth zooarchaeological study of the late antique Balkans (c. AD 300-700), in order to assess the timing, pace and scale of economic change and urban decline in this region.
The project has three strands. In each, trends will be tracked against historically and/or archaeologically attested episodes of migration, conflict, disease and climatic change, to assess the impact of these factors.
SPECIES RATIOS can reveal cultural and economic trends. I will review evidence for spatial and temporal variation in species ratios using existing published and archived data from across the Balkans, with analysis in three areas. I will assess ratio of cattle/sheep (requiring extensive pasture) to pig (more suitable for small-scale, domestic husbandry) - increase in pig may suggest reduced scale of husbandry, and change from market-oriented to domestic production. I will review evidence for horsemeat consumption; hippophagy was rare in Roman society, so may suggest cultural change and/or use of marginal resources. I will assess use of wild animal resources - increase in wild:domestic ratio would indicate reduced dietary contribution of livestock, and likely reduced overall meat consumption, suggesting resource shortages.
LIVESTOCK SIZE can show changing investment in animal husbandry, providing a proxy for wider economic developments. The Roman economy incentivised optimised food production for profit, with investment in husbandry leading to livestock size increase (Valenzuela-Lamas & Albarella 2017). In the West, reduced investment due to economic contraction in late Antiquity reversed this trend (Ward-Perkins 2006; Rizzetto et al. 2017; Salvadori 2018). I will examine whether this also occurred in the East. I will collect biometric data from animal bones at key Balkan sites (e.g. Sirmium, Mediana, Serdica), supported by existing data, in order to track size change.
URBAN MICROFAUNA. Settlements provide ecological niches for small mammals, with some commensal species (e.g. black rat) reliant on dense settlement and dispersal via human migration and trade (Armitage 1994; McCormick 2003). Microfauna allow reconstruction of settlement environment and connectivity, with urban decline and reduced trade expected to reduce frequency of rats in particular. This is seen in Italy (Salvadori 2018) but much more markedly in England (my MA dissertation), reflecting differing histories. Preliminary review of Balkan data suggests a similar pattern, albeit later. I will track changing distribution of microfauna by reviewing existing data, studying microfauna from previous flotation at sites in Serbia and Bulgaria, and conducting new flotation at 4th C Viminacium (Serbia) and 4th-7th C Stobi ((FYR) Macedonia).
Social and economic change at the end of Antiquity is a subject of considerable public interest and contemporary relevance, as seen in recent high-profile debate over claims for migration as fundamental to the decline of the Roman Empire.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| David Orton (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Sarah Everett (Student) |