Abel Gallego, Lídia Colominas i Josep Maria Palet, de l’equip de recerca GIAP, participen a la 2a Trobada en Zooarqueologia Ibèrica, EZI2021 (abans EZI2020). El congrés, previst per al passat 2020, es va posposar degut a la situació provocada per la pandèmia.

Consulta aquí el programa complet.

Friday 25th June

Session 10. ‘These Romans are crazy… exotic imports and morphotype changes during Roman period and Late Antiquity’
Chair: Cleia Detry

Between 2016 and 2018 archaeological field works have been done on a plot of land of the city of Tarragona (Catalonia). In this location the remains of a Roman large suburban building have been found. This structure has been identified as a horreum or warehouse, used to store grain and other products. Placed outside the walls of the ancient Tarraco, it was near one of the main gates of the city. The foundation of this building is dated between the second half of the 1st century AD and the beginning of the second century AD, and it was abandoned during the 3rd century AD. Later, the place was used as a necropolis and habitat area. During Late Antiquity (4th-6th century AD) a groundwater catchment area was also built.

A unique discovery was done in the foundations of the building. A dog was buried inside an amphora. Despite the taphonomic degradation of the bones, it can be realised that the animal was carefully deposited inside the amphora, and the vessel was placed inside the foundation trench. This find has been interpreted as a foundational deposit.

The osteological analysis of the dog has revealed that it had a series of singularities as its size or the adult dentition formula. The obtained data allow us to propose that this individual is one of the smallest dogs documented for the Roman period in the Mediterranean area.
Keywords: archaeozoology, Canis familiaris, High Roman Empire, Hispania Citerior.

Livestock is an important key aspect to study agro-pastoral societies, as it was influenced and at the same time could influence political and economic aspects of these communities. It improved the sustainability of these societies, providing new means and food resources.
With this communication we want to contribute to this issue, studying animal husbandry patterns in the transition from the Late Roman period (4th c. to 5th c. AD) to the Late Antiquity (6th c. to 8th c. AD) in the Northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, a poorly studied period, with the aim to track the changes and continuities in livestock practices.

To investigate this topic, we used an archaeozoological approach focusing on animal taxa identification, anatomical categorisation and kill-off patterns. We applied this methodology into the study of faunal assemblages from six sites that can be attributed to rural (Pla de l’Horta, Font del Vilar and Puig Rom), urban (Devesa Sud and Santa Margarida d’Empúries) and ecclesiastical (Aiguafreda de Dalt) settlements. These archaeological sites are located in the current North-Eastern Catalonia, an area related with the origins and development of transhumance during Late Antiquity and Early Medieval times.

Data show fluctuation (but also some perpetuities) on animal frequencies between these two periods and changes in kill-off patterns. We suggest that these variations can be linked to changes in herd management and products obtained, but also to reorganisations on settlement patterns and landscape transformations.

Announcement:

Dear colleagues,

The Organising Committee of the 2nd Iberian Zooarchaeology Meeting (formerly EZI 2020, now EZI 2021) has followed the development of the covid -19 pandemic since the start of the year. As things presently stand, it appears that the situation will be unforeseeable in the forthcoming months. For this reason, despite our desire to held a conventional face-to-face meeting, and in order not to hold back for much longer the contributions that were originally submitted, we have taken the decision to held the meeting online.

The conference will take place on the 23rd , 24th  and 25th  of June 2021 and registration will be free of charge.

Oral communications will proceed in the 15 minutes presentation format, followed by 5 minutes for questions. Posters will be turned into 5-minute presentations (maximum of 3 slides) plus 3 minutes for questions.

We believe that despite the current limitations, this is the best option left to keep the dissemination of research going and the exchange of ideas at an acceptable level. We count  on your presence and hope for a fruitful event!