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Feeding Tarraco: A Zooarchaeological Approach to the Economy of Roman Spain

Year: 2025
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This dissertation explores how the animal economy intersected with the political economy to provision Roman Tarraco (modern Tarragona, Spain) with the animals and animal products required for the city to operate, and Tarraco’s relationship to its hinterlands. Studying ancient animal economies allows us to better understand ancient diets and the social and economic dynamics to which they are inextricably linked. Animals are ubiquitous in the ancient world, used not just for meat, but for companionship, labor, transportation, textiles, dairy and more. Investigating diet through the lens of zooarchaeology provides access to people, places, and events often overlooked by the written record or other archaeological analyses. Despite the interconnected nature of agricultural production, resource control, and wealth, the relationship between animal husbandry and socio-economic growth in Roman Spain on a city-level scale has not been thoroughly investigated. This micro-regional study of Roman Tarraco documents and analyzes how animal economies and food cultures were organized from the 1st century BCE - 4th century CE. To do this, more than 15,000 animal bones recovered from six neighborhoods throughout the city and three villas in Tarraco’s immediate hinterland were examined using animal demographic profiling, including age at death, sex, biometric measures, and skeletal part frequencies. The husbandry methods deployed at three villas were also explored to determine what products were produced and consumed at these rural estates and how these practices change over time. The urban and rural assemblages were then examined together to discover networks and links between them. This data delineates social and economic dynamics within the city and region, providing new insights into how and where different social classes consumed animal products as well as linkages between neighborhoods and villas. Major results include a detailed understanding of the patterns of production and consumption of animal products within the city of Tarraco and between the city and its hinterland. These patterns highlight a venison production and distribution network, city pork production and consumption, and possible cattle size improvement. In addition, major diachronic changes were noted between the 2nd-3rd centuries and 3rd-4th centuries CE, pointing to shift in husbandry methods and economic priorities.
DOI: 10.17615/v38b-z148
Language: English
Subfield: Paleontology
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7077470682
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