The Excavations of San Giovanni di Ruoti, Volume III: The Faunal and Plant Remains

291 Pages·2002·17.036 MB·English

by  Michael MacKinnon

The Excavations of San Giovanni di Ruoti
Volume III
The Faunal and Plant Remains
M..R. MacKinnon
This third volume of+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++eries deals with the social, economic, and
environmental information derived from the analysis of zooarchaeological and palaeobotanical remains
found at the fourth-century AD southern Italian villa of San Giovanni di Ruoti. The excavations,
which took place over a seven-year period, have revealed a series of three Roman villas, which span
the period from the beginning of the first century AD to the middle of the sixth century. Volume
I in the series examined the villas and their environment; Volume II examined the small artefacts
found. In this third volume, MR. MacKinnon, A. Eastham, S.G. Monckton, D.S. Reese, and D.G.
Steele use the large collection of organic evidence obtained from the site, including mammal and
bird bones, shells, land snails, and plant remains, to provide information on late Roman diet, food
preparation, economics, trade routes, taxation, local environment and climate, agricultural economy,
and animal husbandry of the time. With both technical analysis and an interpretive component, the
book offers various reconstructions of Roman life, often in combination with quotations from ancient
literary sources, allowing this work to appeal to both the specialist and layperson alike. This thorough
and detailed analysis represents an important advance in the study of faunal and botanical data in
Roman archaeology in Italy, and will be an invaluable resource for all environmental and classical
archaeologists.
M.R. MACKINNON is an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of
Winnipeg.
PHOENIX
Journal of the Classical Association of Canada
Revue de la Societe canadienne des etudes classiques
Supplementary Volume XL
Tome supplementaire XL
M.R. MACKINNON
The Excavations of
SAN GIOVANNI DI RUOTI
Volume III
The Faunal and Plant Remains
with contributions from
A. Eastham
S.G. Monckton
D.S. Reese
D.G. Steele
ALASTAIR M. SMALL and ROBERT J. BUCK
General Editors
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS
Toronto Buffalo London
www.utppublishing.com
© University of Toronto Press Incorporated 2002
Toronto Buffalo London
Printed in Canada
ISBN 0-8020-4865-X
(oo)
Printed on acid-free paper
National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data
Small, Alastair
The excavations of San Giovanni di Ruoti
(Phoenix. Supplementary volume ; 33, 40 = Phoenix.
Tome supplemental, ISSN 0079-1784 ; 33, 40)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents: v. 1. The villas and their environment / with contributions
from B.C. Akroyd ... [et al.] - v. 2. The small finds / CJ. Simpson ;
with contributions from R. Reece, J.J. Rossiter - v. 3. The faunal and plant
remains / M.R. MacKinnon ; with contributions from A. Eastham ... [et al.]
ISBN 0-8020-5948-1 (v. 1) ISBN 0-8020-0631-0 (v. 2) ISBN 0-8020-4865-X (v. 3)
1. San Giovanni di Ruoti site (Italy). 2. Ruoti (Italy) - Antiquities, Roman.
3. Excavations (Archaeology) - Italy - Ruoti. I. Buck, Robert J., 1926-
II. Simpson, CJ. (Chris J.), 1946- . Small finds.
III. Small, Alastair. Villas and their environment.
IV. MacKinnon, Michael R. (Michael Ross), 1966- . Faunal and plant remains.
V. Series: Phoenix. Supplementary volume (Toronto, Ont.) ; 33, 40.
DG70.S238S53 1994 937'.7 C94-931383-1 Rev.
University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial assistance to its publishing
program of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council.
This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Humanities and Social Sciences Federation of
Canada, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial support for its publishing activities of
the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP).
CONTENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS x
LIST OF TABLES xi
LIST OF FIGURES xiv
PREFACE xvii
ABBREVIATIONS xxix
1. The Animal Bones by M.R. MacKinnon 3
A. Introduction 3
B. Methods 5
1. General recovery 5
2. Recovery in middens 6
3. Identifications 8
4. Quantification 9
5. Aging and sexing 11
6. Measurements 13
7. Taphonomic measures 14
8. Butchery and meat weights 14
9. Pathologies 16
C. Results 17
1. General recovery and quantification 17
2. Recovery and quantification in middens 18
3. Taphonomy 22
a. Carnivores 23
4. Cautionary notes 28
5. Frequency of species 28
6. Principal domesticated animals 31
a. Cattle 31
(1) Frequency 31
vi Contents
(2) Body parts 31
(3) Age 34
(4) Sex 34
(5) Size 35
(6) Pathologies 36
b. Sheep/Goats 37
(1) Frequency 37
(2) Body parts 38
(a) Carnivore activity and the sheep/goat sample 40
(b) Differential deposition 43
(3) Age 46
(4) Sex 48
(5) Size 50
(6) Pathologies 50
c. Pigs 50
(1) Frequency 50
(2) Body parts 51
(a) Carnivore activity and the pig sample 54
(b) Differential deposition 57
(3) Size 58
(4) Age 62
(5) Sex 66
(6) Pathologies 68
7. Other domesticated animals 70
a. Equids 70
(1) Identification 70
(2) Body parts 70
(3) Age 70
(4) Size 71
b. Canids 71
c. Cats 71
8. Wild mammals 72
a. Deer 72
b. Lagomorphs 73
c. Brown bear 73
d. Bat 73
e. Porcupine 73
f. Dormice 73
g. Other rodents 74
(1) Mole 74
(2) Shrew 74
(3) Vole 74
(4) Rat 74
(5) Mice 74
9. Other animals, except birds 75
a. Fish 75
b. Reptiles 76
c. Amphibians 76
10. Butchery and meat cuts 76
Contents vii
a. Cattle 77
b. Sheep/goats 78
c. Pigs 79
d. Other mammals 81
e. Meat cuts 82
11. Diet 83
12. Spatial patterning of bones 86
D. Discussion and Interpretations of the Faunal Sample 94
1. UNID component 94
2. ID component 95
a. Introduction 95
b. Wild species 96
c. Domestic mammals 98
(1) Minor domesticates: equids, dogs, cats 98
(a) Equids 99
(2) Cattle 100
(3) Sheep/goats 102
(4) Pigs 107
3. Butchery 116
4. Preservation of meat 118
5. Cooking and consumption 120
E. Conclusions 121
Appendix 1
Measurements of mammalian bones and teeth, arranged by taxon, part of skeleton,
and period / phase 124
Appendix 2
M measurements from domestic and wild pigs from various archaeological sites 165
3+
Appendix 3
Scientific nomenclature of mammalian taxa listed in this report 166
Appendix 4
A human foetus from a midden of Period 3B+by D.G. Steele and M.R. MacKinnon++167
2. The Avian Remains by A. Eastham 171
A. Domesticated bird species 171
1. Callus gallus, domestic fowl 171
a. Domestic fowl bones from the occupation areas 172
b. Topsoil finds 172
c. Period 1 172
d. Period 2 173
e. Period 3 173
(1) Period 3A 174
(2) Period 3B 174
f. The midden deposits 175
viii Contents
2. Anser anser, domesticated goose of greylag type 178
B. Wild bird species 179
1. Notes on the avian aspects of the ecological background 179
2. Site study 180
a. Midden 4 182
b. Midden 5 182
c. Midden 6 183
3. Species notes 183
a.++++++++++++++++++trel 183
b. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Quail 184
c. Columbidae++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 184
d. Piciidae: Picus viridis, Green woodpecker; Dendrocopos medius, Middle spotted
woodpecker 184
e.+++++++++++++++ylark 185
f.+++++++++++++++++++allow 185
g. Anthus campestris I spinoletta, Tawny / Water pipit 185
h++++++++++++++++echat 185
i. Turdidae:+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Song thrush 185
j. Lanius minor, Lesser grey shrike 186
k. Musicapa striata, Spotted flycatcher 186
1. Paridae:+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 186
m. Emberiza calandra, Corn bunting 186
n. Fringillidae: Serinus serinus, Serin; Carduelis cardulis, Goldfinch; Carduelis Moris+,
Greenfinch 186
o. Passer domesticus, Sparrow 187
p. Oriolus oriolus, Golden oriole 187
q. Corvidae: Garrulus glandarius, Jay; Corvus monedula, Jackdaw 187
C. Summary 187
3. Marine and Freshwater Shells by D.S. Reese 189
4. Land Snails by M.R. MacKinnon 195
A. Introduction 195
B. Methods 195
1. General recovery 195
2. Identifications and quantification 197
3. Environmental reconstruction 197
C. Results and discussion 197
1. General environmental reconstruction 197
2. Rooms 199
3. Food species 199
D. Conclusions 200
5. Plant Remains++y S.G. Monckton++01
A. Wood charcoal 201
Contents ix
1. Methods 201
2. Results 202
3. Patterns in wood charcoal deposition 203
B. Charred seeds 206
1. Methods of analysis 206
2. Results and comments 206
BIBLIOGRAPHY 217
ILLUSTRATIONS 227
INDEXES 251
Index of Rooms 251
Index of Features 252
Index of Literary Sources and Inscriptions 252
General Index 253