Livestock and animal husbandry in early medieval England

Terry O'Connor

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2013.09.019

Livestock and animal husbandry in early medieval England

Terry O'Connor

Archaeology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Major themes in the zooarchaeological record regarding livestock and animal husbandry in England from the 5th to 11th Centuries AD are reviewed. The 5th–7th centuries, following the end of Roman rule, are particularly challenging, though evidence is emerging of greater continuity of pastoral production than the structural and artefactual record might suggest. The re-emergence of nucleated settlements in the 8th century led to diversification of deposition, especially between monastic and trading sites. Comparing ‘Saxon’ and ‘Danelaw’ regions from the late 9th to early 11th centuries shows some hints of differing traditions, but with regional constraints predominating. For the future, new biomolecular research offers great potential, but will need to be driven by archaeological questions, not analytical opportunism.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-10
Number of pages	10
Journal	Quaternary International
Volume	n/a
Issue number	n/a
Early online date	30 Sept 2013
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.09.019
Publication status	Published - 2013

Bibliographical note

This is the published form of a keynote paper delivered at the conference 'Archaeology of farming and animal husbandry in early medieval Europe', University of Vitoria-Gasteiz, November 2012

Keywords

Zooarchaeology
early medieval
England
livestock

Access to Document

10.1016/j.quaint.2013.09.019

OC2013 QI early medSubmitted manuscript, 2.18 MB

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1040618213007192

Cite this

@article{eb3d9ef3d98547209383d8cd6d4e1889,

title = "Livestock and animal husbandry in early medieval England",

abstract = "Major themes in the zooarchaeological record regarding livestock and animal husbandry in England from the 5th to 11th Centuries AD are reviewed. The 5th–7th centuries, following the end of Roman rule, are particularly challenging, though evidence is emerging of greater continuity of pastoral production than the structural and artefactual record might suggest. The re-emergence of nucleated settlements in the 8th century led to diversification of deposition, especially between monastic and trading sites. Comparing {\textquoteleft}Saxon{\textquoteright} and {\textquoteleft}Danelaw{\textquoteright} regions from the late 9th to early 11th centuries shows some hints of differing traditions, but with regional constraints predominating. For the future, new biomolecular research offers great potential, but will need to be driven by archaeological questions, not analytical opportunism.",

keywords = "Zooarchaeology, early medieval, England , livestock",

author = "Terry O'Connor",

note = "This is the published form of a keynote paper delivered at the conference 'Archaeology of farming and animal husbandry in early medieval Europe', University of Vitoria-Gasteiz, November 2012",

year = "2013",

doi = "10.1016/j.quaint.2013.09.019",

language = "English",

volume = "n/a",

pages = "1--10",

journal = "Quaternary International",

issn = "1040-6182",

publisher = "Elsevier",

number = "n/a",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Livestock and animal husbandry in early medieval England

AU - O'Connor, Terry

N1 - This is the published form of a keynote paper delivered at the conference 'Archaeology of farming and animal husbandry in early medieval Europe', University of Vitoria-Gasteiz, November 2012

PY - 2013

Y1 - 2013

N2 - Major themes in the zooarchaeological record regarding livestock and animal husbandry in England from the 5th to 11th Centuries AD are reviewed. The 5th–7th centuries, following the end of Roman rule, are particularly challenging, though evidence is emerging of greater continuity of pastoral production than the structural and artefactual record might suggest. The re-emergence of nucleated settlements in the 8th century led to diversification of deposition, especially between monastic and trading sites. Comparing ‘Saxon’ and ‘Danelaw’ regions from the late 9th to early 11th centuries shows some hints of differing traditions, but with regional constraints predominating. For the future, new biomolecular research offers great potential, but will need to be driven by archaeological questions, not analytical opportunism.

AB - Major themes in the zooarchaeological record regarding livestock and animal husbandry in England from the 5th to 11th Centuries AD are reviewed. The 5th–7th centuries, following the end of Roman rule, are particularly challenging, though evidence is emerging of greater continuity of pastoral production than the structural and artefactual record might suggest. The re-emergence of nucleated settlements in the 8th century led to diversification of deposition, especially between monastic and trading sites. Comparing ‘Saxon’ and ‘Danelaw’ regions from the late 9th to early 11th centuries shows some hints of differing traditions, but with regional constraints predominating. For the future, new biomolecular research offers great potential, but will need to be driven by archaeological questions, not analytical opportunism.

KW - Zooarchaeology

KW - early medieval

KW - England

KW - livestock

U2 - 10.1016/j.quaint.2013.09.019

DO - 10.1016/j.quaint.2013.09.019

M3 - Article

SN - 1040-6182

VL - n/a

SP - 1

EP - 10

JO - Quaternary International

JF - Quaternary International

IS - n/a

ER -