A discourse on zooarchaeological assemblages
First, evidence of wild birds eaten
The almost complete skeleton of the jackdaw, found in the cloister of Sekshibah, is likely to have pet origins, as several species of the corvid family are intelligent birds that are often tamed.
Jackdaws, if they grow up from a very young age, are particularly attached to their owners. However, it cannot be ruled out that it was consumed like a poultry, since according to historical sources and ethnographic evidence.
Corvids used to be both fried and used in soups. Two other radii of larger corvids in the same combination are interpreted as an example of this phenomenon.
The only ecclesiastical site in medieval Hungary where evidence of eating wild birds of all types and sizes was the Archbishop's Palace of Esztergom.
Osteologic evidence of the almost complete lack of venison in this settlement may indicate that hunting birds were particularly valued in this religious house.
Due to Esztergom's geographical location at the Danube Bend, at the confluence of the Little Hungarian Plain and the Pilis Mountains, the environmental conditions must be ideal for catching waterfowl, steppe birds and species that inhabit forested areas.
While most of the identified species are resident or summer visitors to Hungary, non-resident blue-green and red-winged birds appear during spring and autumn migrations.
As well as the appearance of wild and spotted nutcrackers by winter tourists, it is clear that poultry activities take place in the area all year round.
In addition, the number of recycled crossbow parts, as well as the large amount of workshop waste in the plane of the crossbow, as well as in the components, points to the planning of the crossbow, indicating that this type of weapon was used to hunt animals.
The expenses in the books of the Archdiocese of Esztergom during the service of Archbishop Hipolito de Este in 1486-1497 included the cost of compensation for the crossbow collected on the list of expenditures.
His mentor Sebastiano da Lugo died on April 4, 1490, 2018, and his legacy includes crossbows made in Prague, among others.
2. Crossbow making in the bishop's residence
Crossbow making in bishops' residences, even if only related to itinerant bone carvers, seems to be common throughout Europe, as artefacts from Salzburg, Austria, and Trondheim, Norway, indicate.
The small bone tubes carved from the ulnar bone of the Goose in the Esztergom assemblage may have been part of the bait whistle used during hunting.
Nevertheless, according to historical sources, wild fowl were also traded at the Archbishop's court. Already cited documents from 1489 mention the purchase of pheasants in addition to poultry and other farm animals.
The purchase records also mention that in the autumn and winter of 1487, a cartload of pheasants was delivered to King Matthias and Queen Beatrix in Vienna.
Both of these exercises can explain the relatively small number of pheasant bones in the combination.
Pheasant remains and other medium-sized terrestrial birds have been found sporadically in Esztergom. The bones of waterfowl, including shiny ibises and various ducks, are also few in number compared to the total composition of birds.
One possible explanation is that fish was a daily food on the archbishop's table, records in household accounting books and abundant fish bones in animal archaeology materials.
Therefore, other aquatic species were not consumed as a substitute for fish, as were several monasteries outside the Carpathian Basin.
3. Zoological archaeological assemblage
17th-century fauna material from the Carthusian monastery in Maulbach, Lower Austria, shows that a large number of fish were supplemented by molluscs, chelas, bones and beavers in the diet of the monks.
Exceeds the number of bones of fish, domestic mammals, birds, and turtles as well as shellfish.
Nevertheless, in Central Europe and England, at least for the elite, it seems that during fasting, the consumption of mistlettle thrushes and wild birds is also allowed.
Analysis of bird bones and egg remains from a 17th-century female monastery community in Coimbra, Portugal, also points to special circumstances in monastic life.
Including more than 4,000 bird remains exposed at this site. Written information shows that sick nuns are exempt from fasting.
Unhealthy living conditions are indicated by successive floods in the monastery area and pathological phenomena observed on human bones found at the site.
The nuns lived in very unfavorable sanitary conditions, which is associated with the formation of this outstanding collection.
Interestingly, the bone collection of Coimbra is very similar to that of Esztergom's bird combination, including the dominance of domestic chickens and the frequency of small hunting birds, partridges, pigeons and thrushes.
Reference: Hungarian Medieval Crow Cultural History Data. 》
#5,000 years of history ##把地球的故事讲给宇宙 #
