Bull. Fla. Mus. Nat. Hist. (2003) 44( 1 ): 159- 170 159 ANIMAL REMAINS FROM LATE MEDIEVAL CAPALBIACCIO: A PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF THE STOCK ECONOMY Diana C. Craderi The results of the analysis of the-animal remains recovered from Building J and Building M at the Capalbiaccio, Italy, site are presented. Capalbiaccio was a fortified hilltop town located in southern Tuscany which was occupied from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries. Residents of the town raised domestic stock and occasionally supplemented their diet with wild game. The faunal assemblages from both buildings are dominated by sheep/goat, pigs, and cattle, but the relative proportions of these groups differ at the two buildings. In Building J, which appears to be a residence, pigs dominate, but decrease through time as sheep/goat becomes more common. This suggests a small shift in stock raising or consumption practices during the later part of occupation of the town. In the area known as Building M , the dense deposit of faunal refuse is dominated by.sheep/goat, rather than pigs, and the area appears to have been used as a garbage dump by residents of the town until it was abandoned. Mortality profiles for domestic stock suggest sheep/goat and cattle were primarily raised for their secondary products, such as milk, wool, or labor, rather than for meat. Key words: animal bones, meat consumption, Medieval Italy, stock economy, zooarchaeology The site of Capalbiaccio is located on a prominent hilltop defense wall was only constructed during the later part of in southern Tuscany, approximately 140 km northwest the occupation of the town, perhaps as a response to civil of Rome. It lies 4.5 km inland from the coast, just insecurity, and that it was never finished. The southern southeast of the modern town of Orbetello and the ancient section of the site, which comprises approximately one- Roman colony of Cosa. Its elevated location (231 m) fourth of the area of the town, has virtually no provides a panoramic view of the surrounding architectural features, but the northern part contains many countryside, including the coastal plain and valleys fragmentary foundations and standing walls. leading into the interion Portions of the site were excavated during three Capalbiaccio was a fortified medieval hilltop town field seasons in 1976,1978, and 1980 under the direction of like so many that still remain in the area today, but it now Dr. Stephen Dyson, then of Wesleyan University (now stands deserted, likely abandoned sometime during the of SUNY Buffalo). These excavations were aimed at fifteenth century (Dyson 1978, 1979, 1984). The delineating the nature of the defensive walls and providing medieval occupation of the site was probably part of the evidence for the reconstruction of the occupation history widespread process of incastellamento in Italy, the shift of the town . Trenches were placed in and around several from dispersed Roman settlements located on the plains of the buildings, which prior to excavation had been given to nucleated hilltop villages (Barker 1995; Dyson 1984). letter designations. These excavations revealed a Written sources suggest Capalbiaccio (referred to as complicated occupation history, with medieval levels at Tricosto in medieval documents) may have played an the top underlain by a hard-packed layer of red earth (terra important role in the area as competing states tried to rossa). In two buildings, deeper stratified deposits also gain control of the coastal Maremma (Dyson 1979). revealed evidence of pre-Roman occupation (Dyson The site is impressive and well preserved. An oval 1979,1981), but those remains will be reported elsewhere. defense wall surrounds the abandoned town, enclosing During excavation, levels were designated by Roman an oblong area roughly 180 m long by 94 m wide (Dyson numerals from top to bottom, so that Level I represents 1984). The interior of the town is subdivided by a the most recent occupation. Pottery and coins recovered transverse wall that intersects a structure, most likely at the site during excavation indicate that Capalbiaccio the church of St. Frediano, which served the community was occupied from the late thirteenth to the early (Dyson 1978). Dyson (1979,1981) believes the outside fifteenth centuries, a time period generally referred to in 'Department of Geography-Anthropology. University of Italy as the Late Medieval (Barker 1995; Hodges et Southern Maine, Gorham, ME 04038, USA. al.1995). Further study of the ceramics by Michelle 160 ZOOARCHAEOLOGY: Papers to Honor Elizabeth S. Wing Hobart of New York University will refine the medieval collection, and some were analyzed in Italy at the Cosa occupation chronology even further, so thatmore specific Museum using reference manuals and comparative dates can be assigned to the levels that were defined photographs. Without adequate non-mammalian during excavation. comparative material, identification of avifauna, reptiles, Capalbiaccio was a small, rural town. Dyson (1981) and fish are preliminary; thus, the results presented here envisions two main phases of medieval occupation. The focus only on the domestic stock. first involved an open village community with a church, Each specimen was identified to taxon and body residences, other buildings, and a separate keep tower. part, following common practice (see Reitz and Wing Later, construction of the outside defensive wall was 1999). Age was initially assessed using four broad undertaken by military engineer5, destroying some of categories (neonate, juvenile, adult, and senile) based on the buildings in the process. According to documentary epiphyseal fusion, bone size and condition, tooth eruption, evidence, the council of Siena ordered the destruction and tooth wear. For domestic stock more specific ages of the town in 1417, although it was not totally abandoned were determined using epiphyseal fusion and eruption until later in the fifteenth century (Dyson 1979, 1984). data given in Silver (1969) and tooth-wear patterns as Two buildings, designated Building J and Building outlined in Grant (1975). Each specimen was also M, were of particular interest and are the focus of the examined for surficial modifications, including burning, zooarchaeological analysis presented here. An analysis butchery marks, gnaw marks, weathering, and of the faunal remains excavated from each provides pathologies. All attributes and identification data were insights into the habitation history of the site, the economic coded and entered into a computer database (see Gifford workings of the town, and differences in the uses of the and Crader 1977) for analysis. buildings. By examining the faunal remains from two The difficulty of distinguishing certain taxa in different contexts, a preliminary picture of the medieval zooarchaeological samples, especially some meat and stock economy of Capabiaccio can be domesticates, is well known (Reitz and Wing 1999). reconstructed. The zooarchaeological evidence can also Sheep and goat bones, notable in this regard, were be examined for changes through time, given the recorded as sheep/goat unless the distinction could be postulated two-phase medieval occupation of the town. made.following criteria outlined in Boessneck (1969) and Results of zooarchaeological Studies of faunal Hildebrand (1955). Similarly, the distinction between remains from medieval sites in Italy have contributed to domestic swine and wild boar is tenuous (Baker and elucidating several key issues regarding stock-rearing Clark 1993), usually based on the larger size of the latter. and herding practices in the area (for reviews see Baker Only if a suid specimen was extremely large was it and Clark 1993 and Clark 1987). Issues,examined using designated wild boar. In the case of fragmentary pieces faunal data from Capalbiaccio include the following: of crania, vertebrae, ribs, and long bone shafts, it was - the range of animals used, both domestic and wild; not possible to distinguish between caprines and suids. - the relative proportion of the main domestic stock Rather than referring such specimens to the non- animals; identifiable category, thus losing valuable body part - changes in stock-raising or stock-consumption information, these were designated as medium-sized practices through time; artiodactyla, meaning sheep, goat, pig, or even small deer. - mortality profiles to assess uses of the major stock A similar situation pertains to distinguishing the larger animals; and ungulates: horse, donkey, cattle, and red deer. The - the overall role of stock-raising in relation to cereal distinction between horse and donkey is usually based crops, labor, and and the production of meat, wool, milk, on size, and when Equus specimens were very small and other goods. they were designated as donkey (Equus asinus). Cattle (Bos taurus) can vary in size depending on whether a MATERIALS AND METHODS cow or ox is represented and, when fragmentary, bones The faunal remains were cleaned, cataloged, and from cattle, horse, and red deer cannot always be organized in the field by Dr. Joanne Bowen, then of the distinguished. Thus, the designation "large ungulate" was American Indian Archaeological Institute (now of used for fragmentary pieces of crania, vertebrae, ribs, Colonial Williamsburg). Some were shipped back to the and long bone shafts that could belong to cattle, horse, United States for identification using a comparative or large deer. CRADER: Animal remains from Capalbiaccio 161 Results are presented using number of identifiable buildings, as numerous faunal remains and a considerable specimens (NISP) and minimum number of individuals amount of medieval pottery were recovered here. It is (MNI), despite the problems of using the latter for from this area of the site that several silver coins from assemblages in medieval Italy involving a market Perugia dating to around 1470 were recovered, indicating economy (Baker and Clark 1993). The MNI was that Capalbiaccio was occupied, perhaps only determined by taking into account the symmetry, age, sporadically, into the late fifteenth century (Dyson 1979). and size of every skeletal element 0f each species. In Excavations here revealed only medieval deposits, order to assess the relative meat contribution of the three with no indication of earlier pre-Roman levels. Based main domestic stock animals (sheep/goat, pigs, and on pottery and coins, the medieval occupation probably cattle), meat weight conversions were applied to the data spans the time period from the late thirteenth to the late following Bedini (1995). fifteenth centuries. Again, starting from the top, the deposits were designated beginning with Level I. Four BUILDING J levels were recognized based on changes in stratigraphy. This is one of the best preserved structures at Capalbiaccio, with an arched doorway and one wall rising RESULTS to the second floor (Dyson 1978, 1979). It is alOx6m BUILDING J structure located along the northwestern part of the A total of 1,568 bones were recovered in the outside defense wall. In fact, it appears that the medieval levels at Building J (Table 1). Far fewerremains construction of the defense wall actually cut off the rear were found in Level I (NISP = 98) compared to the two wall of the building, destroying its main drain (Dyson deeper levels (Level II, NISP = 818, and Level III, NISP 1978, 1981). Excavations here revealed two distinct = 652), suggesting less frequent use of the building near occupation periods: severallevels ofmedieval occupation the time of abandonment of the town. Perhaps the that were underlain in most places by the hard-packed structure was abandoned completely once the terra rossa and, underneath these, evidence for a deep, construction of the outside defensive wall destroyed its stratified (60-70 cm) pre-Roman occupation (not main drain. discussed further here). Taphonomically, the bones bear evidence of Several trenches were excavated inside the building, modification, which helps contribute to understanding first along the north wall and along the eastern side where the depositional history of Building J and the living the doorway was located, then later in the southwest conditions inside the structure. Fifty-five specimens corner, so that virtually the entire interior of the dwelling (3.5%) have been gnawed by carnivores, presumably was excavated. The upper levels contain considerable dogs that were kept as pets by the inhabitants. Another quantities of fourteenth- and fifteenth-century pottery ten bones (0.6%) bore gnaw marks from rodents, and a few late medieval coins that clearly relate to the revealing their presence in the building with the occupation of the building (Dyson 1979). The medieval inhabitants, an unsavory image that coincides with deposits here have been designated into levels that span popular notions about living conditions during the Middle the time range from the late thirteenth to the early Ages. Most of the bones were very well-preserved, but fifteenth centuries, with Level I (at the top) being near some were pitted and crumbly and others were the end of the time range, and Level III (deeper) spanning discolored, either with gray mottling or an orange stain. the earlier part. Of the 1,568 bones recovered, 1,043 (66.5%) were deemed identifiable, while 525 (33.5%) were not. As BUILDING M noted previously, the identifiable specimens include bones The structure referred to as Building M at that were identifiable to body part and some taxonomic Capalbiaccio may not have been a building at all. It was level, even if the species could not be determined. Thus, excavated in 1978 as part of an extension of the Table 1 contains large quantities of bones identifiable excavation of a neighboring structure, Building H (Dyson only as "medium artiodactyl," which represent the 1979). A trench was extended into the open area east of fragmentary vertebrae, ribs, cranial pieces, and long bone Building H where only a few fragmentary architectural shafts of sheep/goat/pigs that could not be further ruins were found. This open space may have been a differentiated. Similarly, the "large ungulate" category garbage pit or dumping ground for the surrounding includes bones of cattle/horse/red deer that could not be 162 ZOOARCHAEOLOGY: Papers to Honor Elizabeth S. Wing Table 1. Faunal remains from Building J by NISP (number of identifiable specimens). Minimum number of individuals (MNI) given in parentheses. Level I Level n Level III Total Ovis aries, sheep 0 - 3 ( 1) 2 (1) 5 (2) Capra hircus, goat 5 ( 1 ) 0 - 1 (1 ) 6 (2) Ovicaprines, sheep/goat 8 (1) 39 (4) 22 (2) 69 (7) Sus scrofa, pig 10 (2) 57 (7) 53 (7) 120 (16) Medium artiodactyl, sheep/goat/pig 34 - 264 = 230 - 528 - Bos murus, cattle 1 ( 1 ) 24 (2) 11 (2) 36 (5) Equus caballus, horse 0 - 2 ( 1) 3 (1) 5 (2) cf. Equus asinus, donkey 0 - 2 ( 1 ) 0 - 2 (1) Large ungulate, cattle/horse/red deer 5 36 - 18 - 59 - Cervus dama, fallow deer 6 (1) 6 (1) 7 (2) 19 (4) Cervus elaphus, red deer 1 ( 1 ) 0 - 2 (1) 3 (2) Capreolus capreolus, roe deer 3 ( 1 ) 0 - 2 (1) 5 (2) Cervidae indet. 0 - 2 - 0 - 2 « Felis sp., wild/domestic cat 0 - 3 (1) 1 (1) 4 (2) Lutra lutra, otter 1 ( 1 ) 0 - 0 - 1 ( 1) Medium-sized carnivore 0 - 8 (1) 11 (1) 19 (2) Small camivore 0 - 0 - 1 - 1 - cf. Lepus capensis, brown hare 2 (1) 2 (1) 0 - 4 (2) Rodentia indet. 0 - 2 (1) 1 (1) 3 (2) Small mammal indet. 0 - 3 - 0 - 3 - Gallus gallus, chicken 1 (1) 9 ( 1 ) 4 ( 1 ) 14 0) Bird indet. 0 - 19 (2) 3 (1) 22 (3) cf. Testudo sp., tortoise 8 (1) 61 (2) 38 (1) 107 (4) Fish indet. 0 - 1 (1) 5 (1) 6 (2) Total identifiable (%) 85 (86.7) 543 (66.4) 415 (63.7) 1043 (66.5) Total non-identifiable (%) 13(13.3) 275 (33.6) 237 063) 525 (33.5) GRAND TOTAL 98 818 652 1568 further identified. If these were eliminated from the diet with wild game. Other smaller species are represented, "identifiable" category, then only 29.1% of the sample including hare, small carnivores, wild or domestic cat, would be considered identifiable. However, the use of and several birds. One interesting find is the relatively these taxonomic categories ensures that the presence large number of tortoise remains (107 specimens, 10.2% of these fragmentary body parts is recorded rather than of the identifiable specimens). These are known from having to consider them as absent from the sample. There many other medieval sites in Italy (Barker 1973; Beck- is a higher proportion of identifiable bone in Level I Bossard 1981; Clark, pers. comm.; Tozzi 1981), and are (86.7%) compared to the other levels, but this is probably probably well represented because the thick carapace due to the small sample size or abandonment of the and plastron pieces preserve well and are easily building, so specimens were not broken up by trampling. identifiable, even when fragmentary. In all levels, the The list of species present at Building J includes the tortoise remains are overwhelmingly comprised of major domestic stock animals (sheep/goat, pigs, and carapace or plastron fragments (85 specimens, 79.4%), cattle; 22.6% of the identifiable fauna), as well as horse, rather than other skeletal elements (22 specimens, 20.6%). donkey, and chicken (Table 1). Wild animals include three This, and the MNI data, reveal that their actual numbers species of deer (fallow, red, and roe), indicating that the were very small, a fact also reported by Barker (1973) inhabitants of Building J occasionally supplemented their for the site ofTuscania. The paucity of bones belonging CRADER: Animal remains from Capalbiaccio 163 to such small species as birds and fish, which are reported For Building J at Capalbiaccio, there is a clear at other medieval sites, (e.g., see Bedini 1995; Jones 1992; dominance of pigs over the other two categories of Sutherland 1992) is undoubtedly due to excavation domestic herd animals, both in terms of number of methods. While some deposits were screened using identifiable specimens and minimum number of 6 mm mesh, others were not. This clearly affected the individuals (Table 2). For all levels combined, pigs recovery of many of the smaller species. comprise 50.8% of the recovered specimens, followed The relative proportion of the three major domestic by sheep/goat (33.9%) and cattle (15.3%). The stock animals is one of the most interesting features of predominance of pigs over sheep/goat and cattle is a medieval Italian zooarchaeological studies (Baker and pattern seen at earlier sites in the area from Roman Clark 1993; Clark 1987). A variety of patterns has been times onward (e.g., see Dyson 1981; King 1999) and at found in medieval Italy, and these demonstrate that the earlier levels (late twelfth to mid-fourteenth centuries) different stock-raising and consumption strategies were of the nearby site of Tarquinia (Clark 1987), as well as practiced in such different contexts as major urban at other medieval sites, such as Castello di Manzano centers, small towns, or rural elite sites (Baker and Clark (Bedini, 1995). The pattern differs from that shown at 1993). Even within similar contexts, patterns have been the later levels of Tarquinia and at the neighboring town shown to vary widely depending on ecological conditions, of Tuscania, where sheep/goat predominate over pigs season, or politics. As noted earlier, Capalbiaccio is (Barker 1973,1978; Clark 1989). However, a closer look probably best considered a small town. The pattern of at Building J data reveals that, although pigs dominate in representation for the three major stock animals at the lowest two levels (Level II and Level III), there is a Building J will be described and compared to that found gradual decrease in their relative proportion through time, at Building M and at other, similar medieval town sites in from 59.5% in Level III, to 46.3% in Level II, to 41.7% the region, particularly Tuscania (Barker 1973, 1978) in Level I, where they are actually outnumbered by and Tarquinia (Clark 1989,2000). sheep/goat. This suggests a small shift in stock raising Table 2. Relative proportion of the major domestic stock animals in the different levels at Building J and Building M by: (A) number of identifiable specimens (NISP) and (B) minimum number of individuals (MNI). Building J Levell Level II Level m Total (A) N[SP % N[SP % NISP % NISP % Sheep/goat 13 54.1 42 34.1 25 28.1 80 33.9 Pig 10 41.7 57 46.3 53 59.5 120 50.8 Cattle 1 4.1 24 19.5 11 12.3 36 15.3 (B) MNI % MNI % MNI % MNI % Sheep/goat 2 40.0 5 35.7 4 30.8 11 32.4 Pig 2 40.0 7 50.0 7 53.8 16 50.0 Cattle 1 20.6 2 14.3 2 15.4 5 15.6 Building M Level I Level II Levels III & IV Total (A) NISP % NISP % NISP % NISP % Sheep/goat 76 48.1 90 49.2 2 33.3 168 48.4 Pig 63 39.9 72 39.3 4 66.7 139 40.1 Cattle 19 12.0 21 11.5 0 0 40 11.5 (B) MNI % MNI % MNI % MNI % Sheep/goat 9 42.9 9 50.0 1 25.0 19 44.2 Pig 9 42.9 6 33.3 3 75.0 18 41.9 Cattle 3 14.2 3 16.7 0 0 6 13.9 164 ZOOARCHAEOLOGY: Papers to Honor Elizabeth S. Wing or consumption patterns during the later stages of suggest multiple uses. Individuals over two or three years occupation at Capalbiaccio, at least as revealed at of age would be considered adults, and six of the 11 Building J. This shift also occurs at Tarquinia, where individuals represented fall into this age range, suggesting pigs dominate in the lowest levels, but then decline they were kept for milk or for wool. Of the other five through time and are outnumbered by sheep/goat in the individuals, one was only about six months old when it later levels (Clark 1987, 1989). died, while the other four were 12 to 24 months old, Mortality data for pigs reveal that animals of all ages suggesting their use as meat. At the nearby town of are represented. These include two piglets aged 3-6 Tuscania, dominated by sheep/goat, the majority of the weeks, one aged 3-12 months, three 12-16 months, four caprines died as adults, suggesting they were primarily 17-22 months, four 24-36 months, and two very old raised for their wool and milk products (Barker 1973). individuals. Given that pigs were raised almost exclusively Among the three major stock animals, cattle rank for meat, it is not Surprising to find remains ranging from third in importance by NISP (15.3%) and MNI (Table immature animals through very old adults. Young pork 2), although meat-weight conversions (see below and and suckling pig were probably highly desirable and, Table 3) suggest they were more important in the meat although animals of all ages are represented, half of the economy than the raw numbers indicate. Given the individuals were killed at around two years of age, confines of the town and the hilltop setting of probably a critical culling point when their maximum Capalbiaccio, large-scale cattle husbandry was probably weight was reached (Cartledge et al. 1992). Among the impossible, although this region of Tuscany is known for pig remains are several specimens that, based on their its cattle production. Like sheep/goat, cattle would have very large size, may belong to wild boar. As noted earlier, competed for arable lands needed to grow crops for it is difficult to distinguish wild boar but, if present, this human consumption. Also, the small size of the sample indicates the inhabitants of Building J were supplementing at Building J precludes developing a clear picture of the their diet with wild game that included boar as well as role of cattle in the overall economy. Mortality data deer. indicate the presence of only one younger animal, less Sheep/goat are not as prominent as pigs among the than two years old When it died. The other four were all remains at Building J (33.9%, compared to 50.8% for adults over three years old, suggesting they were kept pigs), and this may be an indication of their overaillesser for milking or labor, and then used as a source of beef role in the agricultural economy of the town. Given the only after they died, or were killed when their use for grazing requirements of sheep/goats (compared to pigs) these otherpurposes declined. None of the cattle remains and considering the necessity of using arable land for at Building J belonged to extremely large individuals, so farming, it may have been difficult to keep large flocks. the presence of oxen is not indicated here. Pigs could have been kept in sties and fed household Given the interest in understanding the relative scraps, or they could have simply roamed the hillside or importance of the three major domestic stock animals at town, happily grubbing away, and thus may have more medieval sites, researchers have used various meat- easily fit into the overall agrarian pattern. It has been weight conversions to try to estimate the amount of suggested that in some areas sheep/goat may have been available meat that each would have contributed to the raised only in the context of transhumance, with localized diet (e.g., see Barker 1973; Bedini 1995). Such studies movement of flocks exploiting available grazing lands are revealing, but should be viewed with caution, (Barker 1973,1995; King 1999), but it is also possible especially in the context of a market economy where that rural communities, such as Capalbiaccio, could have whole carcasses may not have ever been present. Despite kept small flocks year round. these problems, meat-weight conversions were Mortality data are key for understanding whether determined for sheep/goat, pig, and cattle remains from stock animals, especially sheep/goat and cattle, were Capalbiaccio (Table 3). At Building J, cattle contributed used primarily for meat or for other products, such as more meat to the diet (over 50%) than either pigs or milk or wool, or for labor. Intensive meat production is sheep/goat. This means that, although the inhabitants of generally characterized by a high number of subadults, Building J favored pork over mutton and beef by numbers whereas dairy production, exploitation for wool, or use of animals, by meat-weight they ate more beef. for labor, are shown by a high number of adults (Clark Cultural behaviors relating to processing animals for 1987). The sheep/goat remains recovered from Building J food or other products can be seen in surficial CRADER: Animal remains from Capalbiaccio 165 Table 3. The quantity of meat supplied by the main domestic species at Building J and at Building M, all levels combined, according to: (A) the number of identifiable specimens (NISP) multipled by constants, and (B) the minimum number of individuals (MNI) multipled by constants. The constants used are as follows, after Bedini (1995), converted from pounds given in Barker (1973): 27kg for sheep/goat, 46kg for pigs, and 227kg for cattle. Building J (A) NISP % NISP total meat (kg) % meat Sheep/goat 80 33.9 915.3 13.6 Pig 120 50.8 2336.8 34.8 Cattle 36 15.3 3473.1 51.6 (B) MNI Sheep/goat 11 34.4 928.8 13.7 Pig 16 50.0 2300.0 34.0 Cattle 5 15.6 3541.2 52.3 Building M (A) NISP % NISP total meat (kg) % meat Sheep/goat 168 48.4 1306.8 22.5 Pig 139 40.1 1884.6 32.5 Cattle 40 11.5 2610.5 45.0 (B) MNI Sheep/goat 19 44.2 1193.4 19.0 Pig 18 41.9 1927.4 30.7 Cattle 6 13.9 3155.3 50.3 modifications to the bones. In Building J, a total of 130 I (almost 40% of the specimens recovered) contrasts bones (8.3%) were burned, while 143 (9.1%) bore with the paucity of specimens found in Level I at Building evidence of butchery marks. Four types of butchery J (only 6.3% of that assemblage). This difference in the marks were recorded: cuts (fine incised lines), chops quantity of bones in Level I at the two buildings suggests (deeper, wedge-shaped marks), shears (where the bone very different occupation histories and uses for the two exhibits a flat, planar face where it was hacked through), areas, at least during the later phases of the occupation and saws (fine, parallel marks made by a back-and-forth of Capalbiaccio. The area around Building M apparently motion through the bone). A detailed study of the butchery continued to be used as a repository for bone refuse marks will be undertaken in the future to reveal more right up until the town was abandoned, whereas Building pfecise patterns of dismemberment and consumption. J may have fallen into disuse sometime earlier. What is known at this time is that butchery marks are The trenches at Building M also covered a smaller found on almost all body parts of domestic species, excavated area than at Building J, but faunal remains attesting to separating meat at joints, hacking through were more numerous, suggesting a denser deposit and a the vertebral column, and scraping meat off bones. different pattern of use. At Building M, three 1.5 x 1.5 m pits (6.75 m2) were excavated, yielding 2,285 faunal BUILDING M specimens. In contrast, almost 60 ml were excavated at Faunal remains are most numerous in Levels I and Building J (an area eight times the size of M),,yielding II, then taper offdramatically in the deeper deposits (Table 1,568 specimens. Not only were there more bones 4). Indeed, over 95% of the fauna comes from Levels I recovered from Building M, but they were recovered and II combined. The quantity of specimens from Level from a much smaller area, suggesting a dense bone heap 166 ZOOARCHAEOLOGY: Papers to Honor Elizabeth S. Wing Table 4. Faunal remains from Building M by number of identifiable specimens (NISP). Minimum number of individuals (MNI) given in parentheses. Level I Level II Level III Level IV Total Ovis aries, sheep 6 ( 1 ) 0 0 - 0 - 6 (1) Capra hircus, goat 6 (2) 16 (2) 0 - 0 - 22 (4) Ovicaprines, sheep/goat 64 (6) 74 (7) 0- 2 (1) 140 (14) Sus scrofa, pig 63 (9) 72 (6) 3 (2) 1 (1) 139 (18) Medium artiodactyl, sheep/goat/pig 170 373 27 9 (1) 579 (1) Bos taurus, cattle 19 (3) 21 (3) 0 0 - 40 (6) Equus cabal/us, horse 6 (2) 16 (3) 0 0- 22 (5) ef. Equus asinus, donkey 0 8 ( 1 ) 0 0 - 8 ( 1 ) Large ungulate, cattle/horse/red deer 33 52 - 0 1 (1) 86 (1) Cervus dania, fallow deer 16 (1) 8 (1) 0 0 - 24 (2) C elaphus, red deer 1 (1) 0- 0 0- 1 (1) Capreolus capreolus, roe deer 10 (2) 0 - 0 0 - 10 (2) Cervidae indet. 0 3 - 0 0 - 3 Canis sp., dog/wolf 1 (1) 3 (1) 0 0- 4 (2) ef. Lepus capensis, brown hare 1 ( 1 ) 1 ( 1 ) 0 0 - 2 (2) cf. Sciurus sp., squirrel 2 (1) 1 (1) 0 0- 3 (2) ef. Erinaceus europaeus, hedgehog 1 (1) 0 0 0 1 (1) Rodentia indet. 0-2 0 0 2 Medium-sized mammalindet. 3 - 28 2 (1) 0 33 (1) Small mammal indet. 1 - 30 1 (1) 0 32 (1) Ga/lus ga/lus, chicken 11 (1) 3 (1) 0 0 14 (2) Bird indet. 8 (2) 18 (2) 1 (1) 0 27 (5) cf. Testudo sp., tortoise 84 (1) 145 (1) 5 (1) 0 2.~,234 (3) Fish indet. 1 (1) 4 (1) 1 (1) 0 1&,Rj 6 (3) Total identifiable (%) 507(61.1) 878 (65.0) 40 (51.3) 13 (50.0) 1438 (62.9) Total non-identifiable (%) 323 (38.9) 473 (35.0) 38 (48.7) 13 (50.0) 847 (37.1) GRANDTOTAI 830 1351 78 26 2285 consistent with the notion that the Building M area served refuse at Building M. This lends further support to the as a garbage dump rather than a dwelling. suggestion that the open space at Building M served as There are interesting differences in the surficial a refuse dump that could have been more easily modifications to the bones from Building M compared frequented by rodents than would be true for the interior to those from Building J that also provide clues to the of a residence, as at Building J. different functions and uses of the two areas. At Building Cultural modifications to the bones also differ M, as at Building J, 3.5% of the bones had carnivore between Building J and Building M. Both areas had gnaw marks (presumably from dogs). However, 44 similar percentages of butchered specimens (9.9% at bones ( 1.9%) also exhibit gnawing from rodents. Building M compared to 9.1% at Building J). The types Although this is a small percentage of the assemblage, it of butchery marks were also similar, including cuts, is three times as many as were found at Building J chops, shears, and saws in both assemblages. However, (0.6%), suggesting more rodent activity among the bone the relative proportion of burned bone differed CRADER: Animal remains from Capalbiaccio 167 dramatically between the two areas. At Building M, only from the deeper Levels III and IV at Building M). One 1.5% of the assemblage (35 specimens) showed explanation is that the fauna in.theupper levels at Building evidence of having been burned, whereas at Building J, M represents the culmination of the trend toward more 8.3% of the bones had been burned. This could relate to sheep/goat than pig that was revealed at Building J, so different cooking techniques being practiced in the two that here, by the later stages of occupation of the town, areas. Boiling or stewing meat in a pot would leave little sheep/goat dominate the remains. This coincides with evidence of burning, whereas roasting over an open flame the general trend noted by Clark (1987: 15) that sheep/ might cause exposed bones to become scorched. More goat attain'their greatest importance in the late medieval likely, however, these differences relate to housekeeping period in Italy where they are "numerically dominant at activities in Building J. One of the interesting issues in a greater portion of sites than in the earlier periods." zooarchaeological studies concerns when and how The predominance of sheep/goat over pigs is a pattern specimens actually become burned. Ethnographic studies also seen at the nearby site of Tuscania (Barker 1973) have revealed that a significant amount of burning occurs and in the main levels at the neighboring town ofTarquinia not during cooking, but rather during clean-up, when bone (Clark 1989). At Tuscania, sheep/goat dominate refuse from meals is swept into the fire. The higher overwhelmingly, as high as 87.6 % of the stock animals proportion of burned bone at Building J may be from in one pit (Barker 1973), so that it appears that this such activity, which would be absent in a garbage dump, neighboring town may have been involved in small-scale as at Building M. stock production. Of the 2,285 bone specimens recovered from the The bigger question, however, is what is the meaning area known as Building M, 1,438 (62.9%) were of either this shift (if it is a shift through time) or this identifiable to some level and 847 (37.1%) were non- difference (if it is simply a difference between the use identifiable (Table 4). These proportions are similar to of the two buildings at Capalbiaccio)? Clearly there are those found at Building J (see Table 1), and do not change a number of complex factors that influence stock-raising significantly throughout the various levels. Again, if those choices, including geography, economy, environment, and bones identified only as medium artiodactyl and large politics. The documentary evidence for the region ungulate are removed from the sample of identifiable suggests a general increase in sheep/goat herding during bones, then only 33.8 % would be considered identifiable. this time (Barker 1978), and some researchers have The species represented are consistent with those suggested that this may signify a trend toward raising found at Building J, again showing the predominance of sheep for wool. Alternatively, the differences in the the three major domestic stock animals (sheep/goat, pig, proportions of sheep/goat and pig in Building J and and cattle), which comprise 24.1% of the identifiable Building M may simply be due tovariations in how these specimens. Horse, donkey, and chicken are present, two spaces within the town were used. along with a variety of other species including dog/wolf, Mortality data for sheep/goat indicate a clear hare, squirrel, and hedgehog. Deer specimens indicate predominance of adults over subadults, moreso than at that wild game sometimes supplemented the diet. Building J, a pattern suggesting they were raised primarily Tortoise remains are common (234 specimens, 15.8% for dairy products and wool, rather than meat. Of the 19 of the identifiable specimens), and again they are individuals represented, 14 were over 215 years old when overwhelmingly dominated by carapace and plastron they died, four were 13-16 months old, and one was a fragments (226 specimens, 95.6%) rather than other newborn, 1-5 weeks old at death. The difference in the bones, so that few individuals are actually present. mortality profiles of sheep/goat at the two buildings The Building M assemblage differs from Building J probably relates to their different uses. Building J more in the relative proportions of the three major domestic clearly reflects multiple uses of an individual household, stock animals (Table 2). Sheep/goat, rather than pigs, whereas Building M may reflect the important role of dominate numerically by number of specimens (48.4%) sheep/goat in dairy and wool production for the town. and by minimum number of individuals (44.2 %), but At Tuscania, the majority of the sheep/goats died when pigs are still well represented (NISP = 40.1%, MNI = they were older than two years, suggesting there they 41.9%). Also, the relative proportions of the three major were also raised primarily for products other than,meat. stock animals do not change through time as they do in This predominance of adult sheep/goats contrasts with Building J (disregarding the extremely small sample sizes the pattern found at the main levels at Tarquinia, where 168 ZOOARCHAEOLOGY: Papers to Honor Elizabeth S. Wing most of the individuals were young when they died, thus exchange and specialization developed, although other suggesting they were killed for their meat (Clark 2000). forms of distribution, including self-sufficiency, continued Given its location and larger size, Tarquinia may have (Baker and Clark 1993). It is difficult to evaluate the been involved in some kind of sheep/goat meat relative autonomy of Capalbiaccio in the market production, which was not the case for Capalbiaccio. It is economy. In this regard, Baker and Clark (1993) have possible that, for Capalbiaccio, small flocks of sheep/goats cautioned zooarchaeologists working on medieval faunas could have been kept around the town year round. from Italy to be mindful of the difference between Pigs are again represented by individuals of all ages, consumption and production, and to consider the role of from three piglets only 6 weeks old to, based on extremely animals always in terms of the wider economic system worn teeth, two very old adults. The majority of animals of which they were only a part. (nine individuals) were 2 to 3 years old when they died, Like other towns, such as Tuscania and Tarquinia probably the optimum time for their meat weight. Among (Barker 1973,1978; Clark 1989, 2000), in the area, the the pig remains is evidence for the presence of two wild animal economy at Capalbiaccio was dominated by three boars, based on the extremely large size of some types of stock: sheep/goat, pig, and cattle. Building J specimens, including a canine. This suggests the pork and Building M at the site provide two different glimpses diet was supplemented with wild boar that was hunted. into the animal consumption and production patterns in Cattle are represented in the same kinds of low the town during the late thirteenth to early fifteenth proportions that were found in Building J and at many centuries. Differences in the faunal remains recovered other medieval Italian towns (Barker 1973; Clark 1987, from each building show that these areas had different 2000). Among the remains are several extremely large uses. Building J probably represents a residence that specimens, undoubtedly belonging to two adult oxen. The was abandoned during the later stages of occupation of remaining four individuals include two cows under 21~2 the town, whereas Building M seems to be a dense refuse years old and two over 21/5 years old. The small sample pile that was used by residents until the town was size again precludes fully understanding their role in the abandoned. In terms of the overall economy, it is not economy of the town, but multiple uses are suggested, easy to reconstruct th@·mechanisms of production and including milk, beef, and labor. supply. Certainly the faunal remains do not suggest any Meat weight conversions were also determined for large-scale production of stock for market exchange. the major stock animals at Building M (Table 3). Again, Rather, it seems more likely that the consumers of the although cattle are numerically less common than either animal products represented by the faunal remains were sheep/goat or pig, they still contributed the most meat to largely also the producers, and that no large-scalemeat, the diet. Likewise, although pigs are less common than dairy, or wool production was taking place in the town. sheep/goat, by meat weight they contributed more to One issue deserving further exploration is whether the diet. Thus, as at Building J, the residents in this part the two-phase medieval occupation of the town of the town consumed more beef than pork or mutton envisioned by Dyson (1979,1981,1984) manifested itself despite the numerical dominance of the smaller stock. in any changes in faunal exploitation patterns or stock- reafing practices. One such pattern is suggested: a DISCUSSION gradual shift away from a predominance of pig toward Capalbiaccio is an excellent site for studying a small more sheep/goat. This pattern is widespread in late medieval fortified community as it developed, since this medieval times in Italy, as more sheep/goats were being was a time of important changes in community form in raised in connection with wool production. The central Italy (Dyson 1979, 1984; Hodges et al. 1995). It predominance of pig in the earlier levels probably provides evidence for how one town fit into the evolving represents an important strategy for the town given that nature of the Italian countryside. An examination of the they are easy to raise compared to sheep/goat or cattle, faunal remains reveals the role of animal production and all of which require grazing lands or fodder, and thus consumption in the overall economic system. compete with cereal crops or for arable land where such It is important to appreciate the complex and evolving crops could be grown. nature of the medieval towns and countryside in Italy The results presented here are a first attempt to (Barker 1995; Caferro 1994; Epstein 1993). From the describe some of the faunal remains from Capalbiaccio twelfth century onward, market economies based on and to reconstruct the economic history of the town. CRADER: Animal remains from Capalbiaccio 169 Their interpretation will benefit enormously from a Note: Although I knew of her work long before, I detailed comparison with historical sources, as first met Liz Wing at the Seventh International demonstrated by the work of Clark (1992, 2000), once Conference for Archaeozoology held in Konstanz, the chronology of the levels is further refined. At that Germany, in 1994. She may not remember, but we walked time it should be possible to get a clearer picture of animal through the streets Of Konstanz together one evening production and consumption by the community. In talking about family and about 'Germany. My family addition, analysis of the faunal remains from other (husband and tw6 young sons) had accompanied me to buildings at the site and further study, including butchery the meetings and, at the same time, anether family patterns, pathologies, and metrical analysis of the member was ill back in the United States. She befriended domesticates, will provide a fuller picture of the stock me with her kind words and comforting voice and told economy of the town as it evolved. me that her mother was born in Germany. When asked to contribute to this volume, I decided to select some of ACKNOWLEDGMENTS my European work, since I first met her there where I would like to thank Dr. Stephen Dyson, now of SUNY her family originated. Buffalo, my colleague and friend atWesleyan University, who first introduced me to Italian archaeology by LITERATURE CITED providing access to the faunal remains from Capalbiaccio Baker, R, and G. Clark. 1993. Arehaeological evidence for and arranging for my work at the Cosa Museum in medieval Italy: A critical review of the present state of Ansedonia. The work was supported, in part, by a faculty research. Archeologia Medievale 20: 45-78. grant from Wesleyan University. Thanks are also due to Barker, G. 1973. The economy of medieval Tuscania: The the following former students at Wesleyan who helped archaeological evidence. Paper5 of the British School at Rome41: 155-177.organize and identify some of the fauna as part of their Barker, G 1978, Dry bones? Economic studies and historicalcourse work in zooarchaeology: Judith Chien, Chfistopher archaeology in Italy. Pp. 35-49 in H. M. Blake, T.W. Potter,Diamond, Alison Griffith, Janise Hurtig, June March, and D.B. Whitehouse, eds. Papers in Italian Archaeology Abby Orshefsky, Gerry Podlisny, and Melanie Wright. I: The Lancaster Seminar, recent research in prehistoric, Special thanks are due to Graziano Bannino, caretaker classical and medieval archaeology. Oxford: British of the Cosa Museum, who facilitated my work in Italy, Archaeological Reports, Supplementary Series 41. introduced me to the human side of life in Tuscany, and Barker, G. 1995. A Mediterranean Valley: Landscape has remained my friend for over 20 years . Recently I Archaeology and the Annates History in the Biferno have benefitted enormously from e-mail discussions with Valley. London: Leicester University Press. Dr. Graeme Barker, University of Leicester, and Dr. Beck-Bossard, C. 1981. L'alimentazione in un villagio siciliano Gillian Clark, the British School at Rome at the British del XIV secolo, sulla scorta delle fonti archeologiche. Archeologia Medievale 8: 311-319.Academy. Gill brought me up to date on Italian Bedini, E. 1995. I reperti faunistici del Castello di Manzanozooarchaeology, answered my many questions, and (XI-XIII secc.). Padusa Quaderni 1: 341-347. supplied reprints. With her help, the results from Boessneck J. 1969. Osteological differences between sheep (Ovis Capalbiaccio took on greater meaning. I would also like aries Linnt) and goat (Capm hircus Linn6). Pp. 331-358 in to thank Dr. Gerry Bigelow for generously providing D. Brothwell and E.S. Higgs, eds. Science in Archaeology, resources and sharing his knowledge of medieval 2nd ed. London: Thames and Hudson. archaeology with me. Caferro, W. 1994. City and countryside in Siena in the second Andrew Johnson, Sam Johnson, and Carrie Hight half 6f the fourteenth century. Journal of Economic History assisted with computer data entry. Finally, the work in 54: 85-103. Italy could.not have been completed without the help of Cartledge, J., G Clark, and V. Higgins. 1992. The animal bones from Otranto: A preliminary assessment of the stockmy "lab assistant" and husband, Bob Johnson, who economy. Pp. 315-336 in R D'Andria and D. Whitehouse,cheerfully counted and examined hundreds of eds. Excavations at Otranto, Volume II. The Finds. fragmentary bones, from "NIDS" (non-identifiable Universita di Lecce, Dipartmento di Scienze dell'Antichita, fragments) to long-bone shafts. And to Liz Wing I owe Settore Storico-Archeologica. Collana del Dipartmento 6. a deep debt of gratitude for providing me the opportunity Galatina (LE), Congedo Editore. to return to my work on Italian faunal remains. I, of Clark, G. 1987. Stock economies in medieval Italy: A critical course, take responsibility for all errors. review of the arehaeozoological evidence. Archeologia 170 ZOOARCHAEOLOGY: Papers to Honor Elizabeth S. Wing Medievale 14: 7-26. Review 46: 453-477. Clark, G. 1989. Faunal remains: Faurial remains and historical Gifford, D., and D. Crader. 1977. A computercoding system for archaeology; large mammals. Pp. 202-232, 241 -245 in G. archaeological faunal remains. American Antiquity 42 (2): Clark, L. Costantini,A. Finetti, J. Giorgi, A. Jones, D. Reese, 225-238. S. Sutherland, and D. Whitehouse, eds. The Food Refuse Grant, A. 1975. The use of tooth wear as a guide to the age of of an Affluent Urban Household in the Late Fourteenth domestie animals-a brief explanation. Pp. 437-450 in B. 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The bafe bones speak: The potential and Mediterranean Valley: Landscape Archaeology and the problems of archaeozoology for reconstructing medieval Annales History in the Bifemo Valley, by G Barker. London: daily life. Pp. 63-82 in G. Jaritz, ed. History of Medieval Leicestef University Press. Life and the Sciences. Forschungen des Instituts fur Jones,A. K. G 1992. Thefishremains. Pp. 343-346inR D'Andria Realienkunde des Mittelalters und der Fruhen Neuzeit, and D. Whitehouse, eds. Excavations at Otranto, Vol. II. Diskussionen und Materialien 4. Vienna: Verlag der The Finds. Universita di Lecce, Dipartmento di Scienze 6sterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. dell'Antichita, Settore Storico-Archeologica. Collana del Dyson, S. L. 1978. Report on the Wesleyan Archaeological Dipartmento 6. Galatina (LE), Congedo Editore. program at Cosa, Italy. Manuscript on file at Wesleyan King,A. 1999. 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