ArchAeologiA BAlticA

ARCHAEOLOGIA

BALTICA FRONTIER Societies AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE IN NORTHEAST EUROPE

Klaipėda University Press

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Leidžiama pagal projektą „Periodinių mokslo leidinių leidyba“, projekto kodas VP1-3.2-ŠMM-02-V-02-002

Edited by: Dr Aleksander Pluskowski Dr Alex Brown Dr Miglė Stančikaitė Prof. Dr (HP) Linas Daugnora

Klaipėda, 2013

BALTICA 20

FRONTIER Societies AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE IN NORTHEAST EUROPE

ARCHAEOLOGIA

KLAIPĖDA UNIVERSITY

UDK 902/904 Ar 46

Editorial Board Editor in Chief

Prof habil. Dr Vladas Žulkus (Klaipėda University, Institute of Baltic Region History and Archaeology, Lithuania)

Deputy Editor in Chief

Prof habil. Dr Algirdas Girininkas (Klaipėda University, Institute of Baltic Region History and Archaeology, Lithuania)

Members

Prof Dr Claus von Carnap-Bornheim (Zentrum für Baltische und Skandinavische Archägie; Stiftung SchleswigHolsteinische Archäologisches Landesmuseen Schloß Gottorf, Schleswig, Germany) Dr Rasa Banytė-Rowell (Lithuanian Institute of History, Lithuania) Habil. Dr Anna Bitner-Wróblewska (State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw, Poland) Associate Prof Dr Audronė Bliujienė (Klaipėda University, Institute of Baltic Region History and Archaeology, Lithuania) Dr Agnė Čivilytė (Lithuanian Institute of History, Lithuania) Prof Dr John Hines (Cardiff University, United Kingdom) Prof Dr Rimantas Jankauskas (Vilnius University, Lithuania) Dr Romas Jarockis (Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania) Prof Dr Andrzej Kola (Torun Nicolaus Copernicus University, Poland) Prof Dr Albinas Kuncevičius (Vilnius University, Lithuania) Dr Friedrich Lüth (Deutsches Archäologisches Institut Berlin, Germany) Prof Dr Marika Mägi (Tallinn University, Estonia) Prof Dr Jörn Staecker (Eberhard-Karls Universität, Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalter Abteilung Archäologie des Mittelalters, Tübingen, Germany) Prof habil. Dr Andrejs Vasks (University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia) Archaeologia Baltica has been indexed in EBSCO Publishing Central and Eastern European Academic Source European Reference Index for the Humanities (ERIH) Articles appearing in this journal are peer-reviewed by either internal or external reviewers. English language editor: Joseph Everatt Lithuanian language editor: Roma Nikžentaitienė Design: Algis Kliševičius Layout: Lolita Zemlienė

Cover illustration: A brooch from Laiviai (Kretinga district) © Klaipėda University, 2013 © Article authors, 2013 © Klaipėda University Press, 2013 ISSN 1392-5520

Klaipėdos universiteto leidykla ARCHAEOLOGIA BALTICA 20 F R O N T I E R S o c ieties A N D E N V I R O N M E N TA L C H A N G E I N N O RT H E A S T E U R O P E Klaipėda, 2013 SL 1335. 2013 12 30. Apimtis 26 sąl. sp. l. Tiražas 350 egz. Klaipėdos universiteto leidykla, Herkaus Manto g. 84, 92294 Klaipėda Tel. (8~46) 398 891, el. paštas: [email protected]; spausdino spaustuvė „Petro Ofsetas“, Savanorių pr. 174D, 03153 Vilnius

Algirdas Girininkas. Articles in Volumes 1 to 20 of Archaeologia Baltica (1995 – 2013) 10 I . L I F E at the F R O N T I E R : T H E E C O L O G I C A L Sig n at u re s of H u m a n C olo n i s atio n i n the N O RT H Alex Brown and Aleksander Pluskowski. Medieval Landscape Transformation in the Southeast and Eastern Baltic: Palaeoenvironmental Perspectives on the Colanisation of Frontier Landscapes

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Eve Rannamäe and Heiki Valk. Some Spatial and Temporal Aspects of Animal Utilisation in Viljandi, Medieval Livonia

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Krish Seetah, Aleksander Pluskowski, Daniel Makowiecki, Linas Daugnora. New Technology or Adaptation at the Frontier? Butchery as a Signifier of Cultural Transitions in the Medieval Eastern Baltic

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Per Lagerås. Medieval Colanization and Abandonment in the South Swedish Uplands: a Review of Settlement and Land Use Dynamics Inferred from the Pollen Record

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Daniel Makowiecki and Marzena Makowiecka. The Character of Animal Exploitation and the Environment at the Polish/Prussian Frontier in the Medieval Period: A Case Study

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Linas Daugnora, Andrejs Vasks, Salomėja Sovaitė, Algirdas Girininkas. Zooarchaeological Material from the Padure (Beltes) Hill-Fort in Latvia: Butchering Techniques and the Composition of Species

BALTICA 20

Preface 7

ARCHAEOLOGIA

C o n te n t s

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I I . Neolithic i n E a s ter n E u rope Giedrė Motuzaitė Matuzevičiūtė. Neolithic Ukraine: A Review of Theoretical and Chronological Interpretations

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Ilze Biruta Loze. Tubular Amber Beads from Neolithic Settlement at Zvidze in the Lake Lubāns Wetlands

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Contents

I I I . P R E H I S T O R I C M AT E R I A L S T U D I E S I N L A B O R AT O R I E S AT K L A I P Ė D A U N I V E R S I T Y Gvidas Slah. Rectangular Bladelets Discovered at the Katra I Settlement in the Varėna District of Lithuania: Functional Analysis

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Marijus Grigaliūnas. The first Paleolithic and Mesolithic Settlements in Aukštumala, Šilutė District, the Nemunas River Delta

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Gvidas Slah. Flint Artefact Manufacture Techniques at the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Settlements at Aukštumala in Lithuania, and Traceological Studies of them

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BOOK REVIEWS

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Algirdas Girininkas. Eugenijus Jovaiša, Aisčiai. Kilmė (The Aistians: Their Origin) Lithuanian University of Educological Sciences, Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, Vilnius, 2012 – 379, p.161 illustrations.

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Algirdas Girininkas. Stone Age Dating Issues: in ‘Donkalnis and Spiginas Mesolithic-Neolithic Burial Grounds. The Oldest Burial Sites in Lithuania’ (Donkalnio ir Spigino mezolito-neolito kapinynai. seniausieji laidojimo paminklai Lietuvoje) By A. Butrimas (Vilnius, 2012); and ‘New 14C Dates of Neolithic and Early Metal Period Ceramics in Lithuania’ by G. Piličiauskas, M. Lavento, M. Oinonen and G. Grižas, In Radiocarbon (2011, Vol. 53/4)3.

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Guidelines for Authors

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The five papers included here which relate to this theme focus on the Baltic Sea region during the Medieval period. The region consisted of a series of zones which can be interpreted as shifting linguistic, religious and ethnic frontiers, and all were affected by different waves of colonisation in both the early and later Medieval periods. Each wave of colonisation resulted in a discernible impact on local natural resources and the landscape, which can be seen as cultural and ecological adaptation to the frontier environment. The papers include both regional surveys and site-specific case studies, starting with Brown and Pluskowski’s palynological review of vegetation change associated with colonisation in the 13th century eastern Baltic. Rannamäe and Valk’s case study of faunal exploitation in early and later Medieval Viljandi in Estonia, Makowiecki and Makowiecka’s comparative study of animal exploitation in two central places on the Slavic/ Prussian frontier, a survey of butchery techniques associated with different meat processing at selected sites in the eastern Baltic by Seetah, Pluskowski, Makowiecki and Daugnora, and finally Lagerås’ survey of the palynological evidence for Medieval colonisation and abandonment in the south Swedish uplands.

Whilst these papers provide initial results or present pilot studies, they demonstrate that colonisation was not only associated with changing patterns of environmental exploitation – of adaptation – but also reflected stasis, with little or no discernible changes from the activities of the indigenous population. The reasons for this have yet to be explored in detail, but certain forms of enculturation as a means of adaptation to new surroundings may have played a strong role, even as new cultural forms of political and religious organisation were introduced by the incomers. This aspect of colonisation in the northern hemisphere – interactions between indigenous societies and incomers – has been investigated, particularly interactions between Saami and Norse communities in both the Viking Age and the later Medieval period, as well as the levels of segregation and multi-culturalism associated with the incoming German and Scandinavian groups confronting the indigenous Finno-Ugric and Baltic populations. However, responses to local environments at this time of cultural upheaval clearly represent an important, even fundamental, aspect that has yet to be explored in detail.

ARCHAEOLOGIA

This special volume of Archaeologia Baltica includes papers from a session organised for the annual meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists which took place in Oslo in September 2011. The theme of the session was ‘Life at the Frontier: The Ecological Signatures of Human Colonisation in the North’, and whilst a number of papers aimed to showcase the initial results and background of the Ecology of Crusading project (funded by the European Research Council, European Union Seventh Framework Programme [FP7/2007-2013] under grant agreement No. 263735; see www.ecologofcrusading.com), the aim of the session was to include a broader perspective on the environmental traces of human activity in frontier regions in the northern hemisphere.

BALTICA 20

P re face

Volume 20 of Archaeologia Baltica is supplemented by two closely interrelated chapters, the first of which, Neolithic in Eastern Europe, includes review materials and study-related articles. One of them is ‘Neolithic Ukraine: A Review of Theoretical and Chronological Interpretations’ by Giedrė Motuzaitė Matuzevičiūtė, which reviews the latest research data on the process of Neolithisation in Ukraine. The article ‘Tubular Amber Beads from the Neolithic Settlement at Zvidze in the Lake Lubāns Wetlands’ by Ilze Biruta Loze, the famous amber researcher deals with the typology of amber beads discovered in the Zvidze settlement. The chapter Prehistoric Material Studies in Laboratories at Klaipėda University is devoted to publishing the outcomes of research carried out in the Archaeological Material Research Laboratory at Klaipėda University.

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Aleksander Pluskowski, Alex Brown, Algirdas Girininkas P r e f a c e

In recent years, experimental-traceological studies of quadrangular bladelets discovered in the Katra I settlement of the Late Palaeolithic-Early Neolithic Age have been carried out at the laboratory. The article ‘Rectangular Bladelets Discovered at the Katra I Settlement (in the Varėna District of Lithuania): A Functional Analysis’ by Gvidas Slah presents experimental and traceological data on the use of wetland plants – reeds – in the daily life of Mesolithic-Early Neolithic communities: reeds were used for roofing, manufacturing household items, and footwear. As is witnessed by experimental research carried out in wetlands, a large part of the discovered embedded bladelets were used for reed cutting. The experiments and the traceological studies carried out in the laboratory explain the existence of tools with embedded blades in the Middle Neolithic-Late Neolithic periods, and their difference to the embedded bladelets intended for cutting grain from the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age periods. The article by Marijus Grigaliūnas ‘The first Paleolithic and Mesolithic Settlements in Aukštumala, Šilutė District, the Nemunas River Delta’ deals with the only sites so far known from the Late Glacial and Early Holocene periods in the area of the lower reaches of Nemunas. Article by G. Slah, ‘Manufacturing Techniques of Flint Artefacts from Aukštumala Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Settlements and Traceological Studies of them’, present the latest research from Aukštumala Palaeolithic and Mesolithic site, and the flint artefacts discovered there. The articles discuss the latest archaeological site surveys, the typology and chronology of the flint artefacts discovered there, technical details of tool manufacturing, and the traceology of flint artefacts. Another contribution, by L. Daugnora, Salomėja Sovaitė, A. Vasks, and A. Girininkas, ‘Zoo-Archaeological Material from the Padure (Beltes) Hill-Fort in Latvia: Butchering Techniques and the Composition of Species’, based on data from the Bio-Archaeological Laboratory at Klaipėda University, discusses the zooarchaeological materials discovered in the Late Bronze and Late Iron Age cultural layers of the Padure (Beltes) hill-fort in Latvia, and presents exhaustive statistical and animal species studies, as well as the animal butchering techniques of these periods.

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The Book Review chapter offers a discussion on Stone Age dating problems reflected in two recent publications by Lithuanian archaeologists. These are A. Butrimas’ monograph Donkalnio ir Spigino mezolito-neolito kapinynai. Seniausieji laidojimo paminklai Lietuvoje (Donkalnis and Spiginas Mesolithic-Neolithic Cemeteries: The Oldest Burial Monuments in Lithuania), Vilnius, 2012, and an important article ‘New 14C dates

of Neolithic and Early Metal Period Ceramics in Lithuania’ in Radiocarbon, 2011, t. 53/4, pp.629-643, by G. Piličiauskas, M. Lavento, M. Oinonen and G. Grižas. This volume of Archaeologia Baltica also presents a review of the monograph by E. Jovaiša Aisčiai. Kilmė (The Aestians: The Origin) published at the end of 2012. Archaeologia Baltica marks its 20th anniversary with this volume. From 1995 to 2002, the journal was published by the Lithuanian Institute of History. Since 2006, Archaeologia Baltica has been published by the Institute of Baltic Region History and Archaeology at Klaipėda University. The Anniversary issue presents list of articles published in volumes from 1 to 20 of the journal. Aleksander Pluskowski, Alex Brown, Algirdas Girininkas

A r t i c l e s i n Vo l u m e s 1 t o 2 0 o f A rc h a e o l o g i a B a l t i c a ( 1 9 9 5 – 2 0 1 3 ) Compiled by Algirdas Girininkas

A rt i c l e s i n V o l u m e s 1 t o 2 0 o f Archaeologia Baltica (1995 – 2013) Compiled by Algirdas Girininkas Vo l u m e s o f A rc h a e o l o g i a B a l t i c a Archaeologia Baltica, 1 Western world. Baltic archaeology. Burial practices. Artefacts. V. KAZAKEVIČIUS and R. SIDRYS, eds. Vilnius, 1995 – 199 p. (ISBN 9986-02-116-2). Archaeologia Baltica, 2 The Balts and their Neighbours in the Viking Age. V. KAZAKEVIČIUS, V. ŽULKUS, eds. Vilnius, 1997 – 199 p. (ISBN 9986-34-016-0). Archaeologia Baltica, 3 The Archaeology of Lithuania and Western Norway: Status and Perspectives. V. KAZAKEVIČIUS, A.B. OLSEN, D.N. SIMSON, eds. Vilnius, 1998 – 294 p. (ISSN 1392-5520). Archaeologia Baltica, 4 V. KAZAKEVIČIUS, C. VON CARNAP-BORNHEIM, J. HINES, V. ŽULKUS, eds. Vilnius, 2000 – 269 p. (ISSN 1392-5520). Archaeologia Baltica, 5 V. KAZAKEVIČIUS, C. VON CARNAP-BORNHEIM, J. HINES, V. ŽULKUS, eds. Vilnius, 2002 – 183 p. (ISSN 1392-5520). Archaeologia Baltica, 6 V. ŽULKUS, ed. Klaipėda, 2006 – 220 p. (ISSN 13925520). Archaeologia Baltica, 7 V. ŽULKUS, ed. Klaipėda, 2006 – 236 p. (ISSN 13925520). Archaeologia Baltica, 8 Weapons, weaponry and man (In memoriam Vytautas Kazakevičius). A. BLIUJIENĖ, ed. Klaipėda, 2007 – 394 [+10] p. (ISSN 1392-5520). Archaeologia Baltica, 9 A. GIRININKAS, ed. Klaipėda, 2008 – 102 [+10] p. (ISSN 1392-5520). Archaeologia Baltica, 10 Astronomy and Cosmology in Folk Traditions and Cultural Heritage. J. VAIŠKŪNAS, ed. Klaipėda, 2008 – 276 [+8] p. (ISSN 1392-5520).

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Archaeologia Baltica, 11 The Horse and Man in European Antiquity. Worldview, Burial Rites, and Military and Everyday Life. A. BLIUJIENĖ, ed. Klaipėda, 2009 – 376 [+8] p. (ISSN 1392-5520). Archaeologia Baltica, 12 A. GIRININKAS, ed. Klaipėda, 2009 – 142 [+6] p. (ISSN 1392-5520). Archaeologia Baltica, 13 At the Origins of the Culture of the Balts. Dedicated to the 60th Birthday of Prof Habil. Dr Algirdas Girininkas. A. BLIUJIENĖ, ed. Klaipėda, 2010 – 196 p. (ISSN 1392-5520). Archaeologia Baltica, 14 Underwater Archaeology in the Baltic Region Dedicated to the 65th Birthday of Prof Habil. Dr ŽULKUS. A. GIRININKAS, ed. Klaipėda, 2010 – 248 [+8] p. (ISSN 1392-5520). Archaeologia Baltica, 15 Archaeology, Religion and Folklore in the Baltic Sea Region. D. VAITKEVIČIENĖ, V. VAITKEVIČIUS, eds. Klaipėda, 2011 – 164 [+8] p. (ISSN 1392-5520). Archaeologia Baltica, 16 Settlements and Towns. Dedicated to the 50th Birthday of Associate Prof Dr Gintautas Zabiela. Klaipėda, 2011. – 220 [+8] p. (ISSN 1392-5520). Archaeologia Baltica, 17 The People at the Crossroads of Space and Time (Footmarks of Societies in Ancient Europe), vol. I. Klaipėda, 2012 – 176 [+8] p. (ISSN 1392-5520). Archaeologia Baltica, 18 The People at the Crossroads of Space and Time (Footmarks of Societies in Ancient Europe), vol. II. Klaipėda, 2012 – 280 [+8] p. (ISSN 1392-5520). Archaeologia Baltica, 19 Societies of the Past: Approaches to Landscape, Burial Customs and Grave Goods. Klaipėda, 2013 – 200 p. (ISSN 1392-5520) Archaeologia Baltica, 20 Frontier Societies and Environmental Change in North-East Europe. A. PLUSKOWSKI, A. BROWN, M. STANČIKAITĖ, L. DAUGNORA, eds. Klaipėda, 2013 – 208 p. (ISSN 1392-5520).

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BANYTĖ-ROWELL, RASA. A Roman Iron Age Warrior from Western Lithuanian Cemetery Baitai Grave 23, 2007, 8, 183-194. 9. BANYTĖ-ROWELL, RASA. Characteristics of the End of the Roman Period According to Material from Baitai Grave Site (near Klaipėda), 2000, 4, 27-44. 10. BANYTĖ-ROWELL, RASA. Enamel Disc from Aukštakiemis (Oberhof), 2002, 5, 123-130. 11. BANYTĖ-ROWELL, RASA; BITNERWROBLEWSKA, ANNA; REICH, CHRISTINE. Did they Exist? The Question of Elites in Western Lithuania in the Roman and Early Migration Periods, and their Interregional Contacts, 2012, 18, 192-220. 12. BARLAI, KATALIN. Basatanya revisited: two periods of a Copper Age cemetery in the Carpathian Basin, 2008, 10, 207-210. 13. BELMONTE, JUAN ANTONIO. Second Parts can always be better!, 2008, 10, 18. 14. BELMONTE, JUAN ANTONIO; GARCÍA, ANTONIO CÉSAR GONZÁLEZ; SHALTOUT, MOSALAM; FEKRI, MAGDI; NOEMI, MIRANDA. From Umm al Qab to Biban al Muluk: the orientation of royal tombs in ancient Egypt, 2008, 10, 226-233. 15. BEMMANN, JAN. Weaponry and Weapon Burial Practice in Central Germany in the Late Roman Iron Age and Migration Period, 2008, 8, 69-84. 16. BERTAŠIUS, MINDAUGAS. Horse Graves, Sacrifice, and the Performers of Public Rituals, 2009, 11, 305-313. 17. BERTAŠIUS, MINDAUGAS. The Subject of Battle-Knife Origin in Central Lithuania, 2007, 8, 231-237.

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1. ÄIKAS, TIINA. From Fell Tops to Standing Stones: Sacred Landscapes in Northern Finland, 2011, 15, 16-21. 2. ALLMÄE, RAILI. Observations on Estonian Iron Age Cremations, 2013, 19, 31-47. 3. ANTANAITIS-JACOBS, INDRĖ; GIRININKAS, ALGIRDAS. Periodization and Chronology of the Neolithic in Lithuania, 2002, 5, 9-39. 4. ANTANAITIS-JACOBS, INDRE; RICHARDS, MIKE; DAUGNORA, LINAS; JANKAUSKAS, RIMANTAS; OGRINC, NIVES. Diet in early Lithuanian prehistory and the new stable isotope evidence, 2009, 12, 12-30. 5. APALS, JĀNIS. Über die Entwicklung eines Blockbautyps im Ostbaltikum, 2000, 4, 149-160. 6. ARNBERG, ANNA. To Make a Mark on Land. Fossil fields system and the social implication of agriculture during the Pre-Roman Iron Age on Gotland, Sweden, 2009, 12, 57-73. 7. AVILIN, TSIMAFEI. Astronyms in Belarussian folk beliefs, 2008, 10, 29-34.

18. BERTAŠlUS, MINDAUGAS. Zentrum und Peripherie bei den Westbalten. Zu den Beziehungen zwischen dem Samland und der Region um Kaunas vom 5. bis 8. Jh. n. Chr., 2000, 4, 135-148. 19. BĒRZIŅŠ, VALDIS. Fishing Seasonality and Techniques in Prehistory: Why Freshwater Fish are Special, 2010, 13, 37-42. 20. BITNER-WRÓBLEWSKA, ANNA. Between Curonia and Bavaria. Animal-head Brooches Resulting from Long-Distance Connections During Migration Period, 2000, 4, 181-197. 21. BITNER-WROBLEWSKA, ANNA; BLIUJIENĖ, AUDRONĖ AND WROBLEWSKI, WOJCIECH. Following the Traces of the Lost Ėgliškiai-Anduliai Curonian Cemetery, 2008, 9, 77-91. 22. BLIUJIENĖ, AUDRONĖ AND BUTKUS, DONATAS. Burials with Horses and Equestrian Equipment on the Lithuanian and Latvian Littorals and Hinterlands (from the Fifth to the Eighth Centuries), 2009, 11, 149-163. 23. BLIUJIENĖ, AUDRONĖ. The Livs – neighbours of the northern Balts. Notes on the margin of Roberts Spirĝis monograph “Bruņrupuču saktas ar krūšu važiņrotām un lībiešu kultūras attīstība Dauguvas lejtecē 10.–13. gadsimtā”, Rīga, 2008, 2009, 12, 137-139. 24. BLIUJIENĖ, AUDRONĖ AND BUTKUS, DONATAS. Armed Men and their Riding Horses as a Reflection of Warriors Hierarchy in Western Lithuania during the Roman Iron Age, 2007, 8, 95-116. 25. BLIUJIENĖ, AUDRONĖ AND STEPONAITIS, VALDAS. Wealthy Horsemen in the Remote and Tenebrous Forests of East Lithuania during the Migration Period, 2011, 11, 185-205. 26. BLIUJIENĖ, AUDRONĖ. Armed People of Eastern and South-Eastern Lithuania in the Geocultural Contexts of the Migration Period, 2013, 19, 145-165. 27. BLIUJIENĖ, AUDRONĖ. Investigations at the Užpelkiai cemetery, 1998, 3, 277-290. 28. BLIUJIENĖ, AUDRONĖ. Preface, 2007, 8, 8-10. 29. BLIUJIENĖ, AUDRONĖ. Preface, 2009, 11, 8-11. 30. BLIUJIENĖ, AUDRONĖ. Preface, 2010, 13, 5-9. 31. BLIUJIENĖ, AUDRONĖ. Preface, 2012, 17, 7-12. 32. BLIUJIENĖ, AUDRONĖ. Preface, 2012, 18, 7-9. 33. BLIUJIENĖ, AUDRONĖ. Preface, 2013, 19, 7-8. 34. BLIUJIENĖ, AUDRONĖ. Some Notes on Curonian Women’s Bead Sets with Bronze Spacer Plates in their Headbands, Headdresses Made of Cloth and Unaccountable Ware during the Viking

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Articles

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Age and Early Medieval Times, 2006, 6, 126142. 35. BLIUJIENĖ, AUDRONĖ. The Bog Offerings of the Balts: ‘I Give in Order to Get Back’, 2010, 14, 136-165. 36. BLIUJIENĖ, AUDRONĖ. The Main Stylistic Features of the Baltic Crossbow Brooches in the Migration Period, 2002, 5, 145-161. 37. BLIUJIENĖ, AUDRONĖ; STANČIKAITĖ, MIGLĖ; KISIELIENĖ, DALIA; MAŽEIKA, JONAS; TARASKEVIČIUS, RIČARDAS; SZWARCZEWSKI, PIOTR; MESSAL, SEBASTIAN; KUSIAK, JAROSLAW; STAKĖNIENĖ, RIMUTĖ. Skomantai Hill-Fort in Western Lithuania: A Case Study on Habitation Site and Environment, 2012, 17, 101-135. 38. BOBROWSKI, PRZEMYSLAW; SOBKOWIAK-TABAKA, IWONA. How Far East did Hamburgian Culture Reach?, 2006, 7, 11-20. 39. BOCHNAK, TOMASZ; HARASIM, PRZEMYSLAW. Interregional and Multidirectional Contacts of Local Elites: A Case of Scabbards with Crossbars Decorated with Three or More S-figures in Northern Poland, 2012, 18, 59-82. 40. BRAČIULIENĖ, RAMUNĖ. The Footwear of Klaipeda Dwellers in the 16th and 17th Centuries, 2011, 16, 186-210. 41. BRATHER, SEBASTIAN. Zwischen „Fluchtburg” und „Herrensitz”. Sozialgeschichtliche Interpretationen früh- und hochmittelalterlicher Burgwälle in Ostmitteleuropa, 2006, 6, 40-57. 42. BRAZAITIS, DŽIUGAS. The Analysis of Materials from Papiškės IV Site Using Computer Databases, 1998, 3, 175-186. 43. BRAZAUSKAS, MINDAUGAS. The Dendrochronological Dating of Barrel Heads Finds from the Second Part of 16th in Klaipeda / Memel, 2006, 6, 190-197. 44. BROWN, ALEX; PLUSKOWSKI ALEKSANDER. Medieval Landscape Transformation in the South-Eastern and Eastern Baltic: Palaeoenvironmental Perspectives on the Colanisation of Frontier Landscapes, 2013, 20, 24-46. 45. BRŪZIS, RŪDOLFS AND SPIRĢIS, ROBERTS. The Ogresgala Cabas Cemetery and Horse Sacrifice, 2009, 11, 283-294. 46. BRŪZIS, RŪDOLFS. The Luxury Lifestyle in the Nurmuiža Manor, 2011, 16, 143-149. 47. BUDVYDAS, UGNIUS. About Some Aspects of Scalvian Armament on the Basis of Investigations in Viešvilė Cemetery, 2007, 8, 205-213. 48. BUDVYDAS, UGNIUS. Rare Brooches from Viešvilė Cemetery III Lithuania, 2013, 19, 167175. 49. BŪGIENĖ, LINA. The Supernatural Milk-Stealer in Lithuanian Folklore and its Counterparts in Other National Traditions of the Baltic Sea Region, 2011, 15, 99-104.

50. Von CARNAP-BORNHEIM, CLAUS. Einige jüngerkaiserzeitliche Beispiele überregionaler Trachtbeziehungen zwischen dem baltischen und germanischen kulturbereich, 2000, 4, 45-61. 51. Von CARNAP-BORNHEIM, CLAUS AND MATESIC, SUZANA. The Thorsberg Bog Find: Some Remarks on Roman-Germanic Relationships Regarding Early Third Century Militaria, 2007, 8, 133-140. 52. Von CARNAP-BORNHEIM, CLAUS; WEMHOFF, MATTHIAS; EILBRACHT, HEIDEMARIE; PRASSOLOW, JAROSLAW; IBSEN, TIMO. Continuity of Research and Research of Continuity: Basic Research on Settlement Archaeology of the Iron Age in the Baltic Region. A New Long-Term Research Project by the Academy of Science and Literature in Schleswig and Berlin, 2012, 17, 16-20. 53. CAUNE, ANDRIS. Einige Merkmale der Kulturbeziehungen zwischen den Einwohnern des Dünamündungs- und des südwestlichen Ostseeküstengebiets im frühen Mittelalter, 1997, 2, 59-68. 54. CEPITIS, JANIS; JAKUBENOKA, LILIJA. Mythical Creatures, the Making of Wearing Apparel, and the Landscape, 2011, 15, 35-44. 55. CHARNIAUSKI, MICHAL; CHARNIAUSKI, MAXIM. The Excavation of Kryvina Peatbog Settlements in Northern Belarus between 2000 and 2009, 2010, 14, 100-119. 56. CIGLIS, JĀNIS. The Origin of Burial Sites in Eastern Latvia Consisting of Typical Stone Graves, 2013, 19, 104-117. 57. ČIVILYTĖ, AGNĖ. In Search of a Theoretical Assessment of Bronze Age Society in the Baltic Countries, 2012, 18, 14-27. 58. ČIVILYTĖ, AGNĖ. Is a Warrior without a Weapon not a Warrior? Some Ideas about Bronze Age Warfare in the Eastern Baltic Region, 2007, 8, 39-46. 59. CURTA, FLORIN. A note on the “Slavic” bow fibulae of Werner’s class IJ, 2009, 12, 124-136. 60. CYREK, KRZYSZTOF. Spätpaläolithikum und Mesolithikum im Wisłatal zwischen Toruń und Grudziądz, 2006, 7, 43-57. 61. CZARNECKA, KATARZYNA. “Brothers-inarms”? Graves from the Pre-Roman Period Furnished with a Double Set of Weaponry, 2007, 8, 47-57. 62. CZARNECKA, KATARZYNA. A Parade Shield from the Przeworsk Culture Cemetery in Czersk, near Warsaw, Poland: An International Sign of Status in the Early Roman Period, 2012, 18, 97108. 63. DAUGNORA, LINAS AND GIRININKAS, ALGIRDAS. Neolithic and Bronze Age Mixed Farming and Stock Breeding in the Traditional Baltic Culture-Area, 1995, 1, 43-51.

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219. McCLUSKEY, STEPHEN. C. Conference summary: a historian’s perspective, 2008, 10, 19-20. 220. MERKEVIČIUS, ALGIMANTAS. The Vaškai Hoard, 2006, 6, 32-38. 221. MESSAL, SEBASTIAN; ROGALSKI, BARTŁOMIEJ. Early Slavs in the Southwest Baltic Region: Initial Investigations in Dobropole Pyrzyckie (Poland), 2012, 17, 80-90. 222. MICHELBERTAS, MYKOLAS. Römische Münzen in den Gräberfeldern Litauens, 1995, 1, 81-87. 223. MICHELBERTAS, MYKOLAS. Zu den Handels-und Kulturbeziehungen der Bewohner Litauens mit Skandinavien in der römischen Kaiserzeit, 2000, 4, 63-70. 224. MIKHAILOVA, NATALIE. The Cult of the Deer and “Shamans” in Deer Hunting Society, 2006, 7, 187-198. 225. MILIAUSKIENĖ, ŽYDRŪNĖ; JANKAUSKAS, RIMANTAS. Dental wear patterns in Lithuanian and Latvian paleoanthropological samples, 2009, 12, 88-94. 226. MIRANDA, NOEMI; BELMONTE, JUAN A.; MOLINERO, MIGUEL ANGEL. Uncovering Seshat: new insights into the stretching of the cord ceremony, 2008, 10, 57-61. 227. MOE, DAGFINN. Natural scientific methods, a potential, or more needed in future archaeology?, 1998, 3,103-108. 228. MORIESON, JOHN. The case study of the Boorong, 2008, 10, 258-262. 229. MOTUZAITĖ-MATUZEVIČIŪTĖ, GIEDRĖ. Living above the Water or on Dry Land? The Application of Soil Analysis Methods to Investigate a Submerged Bronze Age to Early Iron Age Lake Dwelling Site in Eastern Lithuania, 2008, 9, 3346. 230. MOTUZAITĖ MATUZEVIČIŪTĖ, GIEDRĖ. Neolithic of Ukraine: A Review of Theoretical and Chronological Interpretations, 2013, 20, 136-149. 231. MUGURĒVIČS, ĒVALDS. Die Balten im frühen Mittelalter nach schriftlichen Quellen, 2000, 4, 71-80. 232. MUGURĒVIČS, ĒVALDS. Kurlands Siedlungsplätze in frühgeschichtlicher Zeit, 1997, 2, 8594. 233. MÜLLER, ULRICH. Holzfunde im frühen Mittelalter: Bemerkungen zu einer Materialgruppe anhand zweier Beispiele aus Elisenhof und Groß Raden, 2000, 4, 239-254. 234. MÜLLER-WILLE, MICHAEL. Frühstädtische Siedlungen und ihr Umland in der Zeit von 8001200. Einige Beispiele aus dem Ostseeraum, 1997, 2, 27-39. 235. MUNSON, GREGORY E.; BATES, BRYAN C.; NORDBY, LARRY V. Reading, writing, and recording the architecture: how astronomical cycles may be reflected in the architectural con-

ARCHAEOLOGIA

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250. PANKENIER, DAVID W.; LIU, CIYUAN Y.; DE MEIS, SALVO. The Xiangfen, Taosi Site: a Chinese neolithic “observatory”?, 2008, 10, 141148. 251. PILIČIAUSKAS, GYTIS AND OSIPOWICZ, GRZEGORZ. The Processing and Use of Flint in the Metal Ages. A Few Cases from the Kernavė and Naudvaris Sites in Lithuania, 2010, 13, 110125.

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THE ECOLOGICAL S ignat u res of

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ALEX BROWN, ALEKSANDER PLUSKOWSKI

Medieval Landscape Tr a n s f o r m a t i o n i n t h e Southeast and Eastern Baltic: Palaeoenvironmental Perspectives on the Colonisation of Frontier Landscapes

M E D I E VA L L A N D S C A P E T R A N S F O R M AT I O N I N T H E S O U T H E A S T A N D E A S T E R N B A LT I C : PA L A E O E N V I R O N M E N TA L P E R S P E C T I V E S O N T H E C O L O N I S AT I O N O F F R O N T I E R L A N D S C A P E S ALEX BROWN, ALEKSANDER PLUSKOWSKI Abstract The history of the medieval Baltic is dominated by the crusading movement of the 13th to 15th centuries. The crusades resulted in significant changes to the organisation, ownership and administration of the landscape, with a significant shift in patterns of land use. However, our understanding of the environmental impact of the crusades has been almost exclusively informed by written sources. This paper synthesises existing palynological evidence for medieval landscape transformation in the southeast and eastern Baltic, focusing on the ecological impact of the crusading movement, and considers some key questions, challenges and priorities for future research. Key words: Crusades, human impact, woodland clearance, agricultural intensification, palynology. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15181/ab.v20i0.806

Introduction Palynological studies in the southeast and eastern Baltic have contributed significantly to our understanding of the vegetation history of Europe during the 11,500 years since the end of the last (Weichselian) Ice Age (e.g. Saarse, Veski 2001; Poska, Saarse 2002; RalskaJasiewiczowa et al. 2004a; Niinemets, Saarse 2007; Stančikaitė et al. 2004). In addition to preserving valuable records of past vegetation and environmental change, pollen from Baltic peat bogs and lakes also retain important evidence on human impact histories, often in the form of evidence for woodland clearance and agricultural activity, reflecting successive periods of settlement expansion and abandonment. The majority of palynological investigations, however, have tended to focus on reconstructing patterns of vegetation change and land use by prehistoric agrarian and pre-agrarian hunter-gatherer communities, with much less attention paid to landscape transformation during the medieval and post-medieval periods.

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What characterises the upper portion of many pollen profiles across the southeast and eastern Baltic is the evidence for vegetation change and land use of a scale not previously encountered. Earlier phases of woodland clearance and agricultural activity are typically smaller in scale and often more limited in duration, followed by woodland regeneration. Vegetation and land use changes from the medieval period are characterised by a significant and often prolonged decline in woodland, particularly in Prussia (present-day northeast Poland), accompanied by an intensification of agricultural ac-

tivity, marked by a continuous cereal-pollen curve. However, this key horizon in pollen profiles is often poorly dated and studied at a low temporal resolution, presenting difficulties in connecting the palynological data with the wider archaeological and documentary evidence for land use change. The medieval period, beginning in the tenth century in northern Poland with the formation of the Polish state (Piast dynasty), the 13th century in Latvia and Estonia, and the late 14th century in Lithuania, is a time of significant social, economic and political development, with consequent changes in vegetation and land use. Here, the medieval period can be characterised by the introduction of Christian beliefs and institutions comparable to the rest of Europe. The Teutonic State is unique in being a theocracy established through conquest and run exclusively by military orders and bishops. Christianisation was accompanied by colonisation, particularly in Prussia by German and Polish settlers, marked by the development of networks of towns and settlements, all secured with heavily fortified castles. Conquest, colonisation and religious conversion occurred in tandem with economic expansion and the growth of pan-European trading networks; most notably the development of the Hanse from the 13th century, and the growing trade in Baltic timber and grain (Hybel 2002; Haneca et al. 2005; Ważny 2005). These interlinked processes had a significant impact on the medieval landscapes of the southeast and eastern Baltic that are detectable today in the pollen record.

Study area The archaeological and historical background The Baltic crusades involved the conquest, colonisation and Christianisation of present-day northeast Poland, Latvia and Estonia by the Teutonic and Livonian Order (Fig. 1), beginning with the conquest of the Livs (1198–1209) and Estonians (1208–1227) by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. The island of Saaremaa remained unconquered until 1261. Following their defeat by the Samogitians in 1236, the Livonian Brothers of the Sword were merged into the Teutonic Order, known thereafter as the Livonian Order. Northern Estonia was subsequently ceded back to the Danish crown, but was later reoccupied by the Teutonic Order in 1343. The conquest of Prussian tribal lands by the Teutonic Order occurred from 1235 to 1287, followed by the annexation of Gdańsk and Pomeralia in 1309, and the purchase of the New March in 1402 from King Sigismund of Luxemburg. The Teutonic Order also held additional land within the Polish Kingdom, but only for relatively short periods of time, including the territories of Słupska (1329–1341), Kujawy (1332–1343), Dobrzyńska (1329–1343, 1352–1355, 1392–1405, 1409–1410), Zawkrzeńska (1384–1399, 1408–1411), Wiska (1382–1402) and Żmudź (1398–

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1409) (Biskup et al. 2009, Map 6). It was not until their defeat at Grünwald (Tannenberg) in 1410 that the Teutonic Order’s influence began to wane, with their territories progressively disintegrating over the following century, ending in the secularisation of Prussia in 1525. The Livonian Order persisted until 1561, following their defeat by the Russians during the Livonian Wars (1558–1583). Today, many of the Order’s castles have disappeared or lie ruined and abandoned, but during the 13th to 15th centuries they were centres for reorganising indigenous tribal territories, and along with towns and colonising settlements, formed the backbone of the new Christian states.

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Previous studies of the environmental impact of crusading have been almost exclusively informed by written sources. These sources, often in the form of inventories, demonstrate the diversity and intensity of resource exploitation (Joachim 1973), but date predominantly from the end of the 14th century and lack the longer-term perspective available from the palynological record. This paper aims to demonstrate the contribution that palaeoecological analytic techniques can make to the study of the ecological impact of crusading by providing a synthesis of the available palynological data for medieval landscape transformation from the southeast and eastern Baltic region. By taking a longer-term perspective, it is possible to examine changing patterns of land use over several centuries, and assess the extent to which local environments in the Baltic were transformed from the 13th century as a result of the crusading movement. How is the evidence for landscape change in the medieval period distinct from earlier phases of human disturbance in the preceding Iron Age? Are differences apparent in the nature and timing of landscape transformation, within and between Prussia (Poland) and Livonia (Latvia and Estonia), and between frontier and heartland areas? What are the key questions and priorities for future research?

Geographical background The east and southeast Baltic form the northwest part of the European plain, located within the boreo-nemoral forest zone. The physical landscape is characterised by a uniformly low relief, formed in part as a consequence of successive glaciations; the vast majority of the terrain lies below 100 metres a.s.l., with the highest points in Estonia and Latvia little more than 300 metres a.s.l. There is, however, significant variation in landforms, from upland plateaus to lowlands, marked by numerous lakes and mires, constituting a sizeable proportion (around 10%) of the study area. Woodland remains an important feature of the landscape, accounting for 44% (Estonia), 42% (Latvia), 33% (Lithuania) and 28% (Poland) of the present-day land area. Pine and spruce form the primary component of these woodlands, although much of this is semi-natural or planted; the remaining land comprising a mixture of arable fields and meadows. The study area lies at the transition between continental and oceanic climates, with mean average January and July temperatures varying between -7°C and 17°C in Estonia, and -5°C to 18.5°C in northeast Poland. During winter, the expansion of Siberian high pressure systems can lead to temperatures falling as low as -30°C, with significant southern expansion of sea ice across the eastern Baltic. Mean annual precipitation is between 500 and 700 milimetres per year.

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Methods Pollen studies have been included in this review only if they have accompanying radiocarbon dates ≤ 1500 14C years BP (dating from approximately the fifth to the seventh centuries), providing a broader chronological context for landscape transformations apparent during the medieval period. In total, 72 sequences meet the criterion (Appendix). Many other sequences were excluded from this review, either because they lack deposits of the relevant age, or contain medieval deposits

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Fig. 1. Map showing: a) part of the Baltic in detail; b) the territories of the Teutonic and Livonian Order, the bishops and the lands of the Holy Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and Russia; c) and d) Prussia and Livonia (see Figs. 5, 6).



The palynological resource, its potential and limitations The palynological studies discussed here cover those lands conquered by the military orders as well as ‘contested land’ bordering the Grand Duchy of Lithuania along the eastern borders of Prussia and southern Livonia (Fig. 1). Of the 72 pollen sequences (Appendix A), 42 are located within Livonia (Estonia 30, Latvia 11, Lithuania one), 28 within Prussia (Poland 26, Russia one, Lithuania one), and two within contested land (Lithuania). There is significant variation in the quality of the pollen data, which requires consideration when synthesising multiple sequences across a large geographical area; it is not the intention here to review the pre-depositional formation processes of the pollen record, which are already covered in detail elsewhere (see Moore et al. 1991 for a comprehensive review), except, for example, where these may affect the choice of sampling location. Chronological resolution varies enormously between sequences dependent on the sampling inter-

However, the distribution and coverage of 14C dates is also variable. A significant number of sequences include 14C dates predating the medieval period, particularly those sequences with only single 14C dates ≤ 1500 14Cyrs BP (Fig. 3). Subsequent patterns of vegetation change, therefore, lack a precise chronological context. Sequences with multiple 14C dates at least provide the opportunity to develop depositional models, and here there is more balanced radiocarbon cover-

Fig. 2. The total number of radiocarbon dates (≤ 1500 14C years BP) per pollen sequence.

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val and number of radiocarbon dates. Long pollen sequences covering several thousand years often lack the sample and chronological resolution required to resolve rapid or short-term changes in vegetation occurring at the sub-centennial to decadal scale. Of the 72 pollen studies, comprising 158 14C dates, half (35 sequences) have only one 14C date ≤ 1500 14Cyrs BP (Fig. 2). This significantly limits the chronological resolution of pollen sequences, irrespective of the sample interval. Issues of chronological precision are particularly important for the medieval period where the resolution offered by documentary sources and key artefact typologies is significantly more precise than the palaeoenvironmental record. Single 14C dates when calibrated may cover a century or more, dependent on the uncertainty and relationship to plateaus on the calibration curve, and can create difficulties in distinguishing between events that may be of either Late Iron Age or medieval date. Multiple 14C dates are therefore necessary to develop more accurate depositional models that enable more precise correlation between the chronological, vegetational and archaeological data.

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that were not directly radiocarbon dated. This by no means represents a complete inventory of pollen cores from the study area, but every effort has been made to include the most relevant sequences. All radiocarbon dates are quoted in uncalibrated years BP, followed by the laboratory code (where provided) and calibrated years AD at 95.4% confidence. Radiocarbon dates with uncertainties >150 years are also excluded.


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Fig. 3. The plot of the calibrated date ranges for pollen sequences with single radiocarbon dates ≤ 1500 14C years BP in relation to the principal archaeological periods.

age of the Late Iron Age and medieval periods (Fig. 4). However, of the 36 sequences with multiple 14C dates, only 20 include three or more 14C dates (Fig. 2) that enable the development of more detailed depositional models. Although many sequences may show similar patterns of vegetation change, whether poorly dated or not dated at all, the lack of chronological context only serves to dilute the pattern apparent in those sequences where a clear chronological context can be established. The general caveat advocated here, therefore, is to avoid applying greater levels of chronological precision to vegetation changes than the 14C dates allow, irrespective of sample interval.

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The pollen sequences derive from a range of depositional contexts (Appendix); the majority are from mires (37) and lakes (27), but with a small number from river flood plain (two), deltaic (one) and lagoon-shore (two) environments, as well from on site cultural layers (two) and buried soils (one). Differences in depositional context affect the taphonomy of the pollen record, but also the relative source area of pollen. The latter is very much linked to the size of the depositional basin; the smaller the basin, the smaller the relative source area (RSA) for pollen. Although the relationship is nonlinear, computer simulation techniques increasingly allow for refined statistical estimates of RSA range (see Gaillard et al. 2008; Hellman et al. 2009). Smaller

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Fig. 4. The plot of the calibrated date ranges for pollen sequences with multiple radiocarbon dates ≤ 1500 14C years BP in relation to the principal archaeological periods.

depositional basins are therefore better for studying local vegetation changes; larger basins will increasingly reflect the regional pollen catchment. The type of depositional basin and location of pollen core are also important in detecting evidence of human activity. Anthropogenic signals are typically stronger in lake cores where cultivation results in the increased erosion and input of soils and sediments from surrounding fields. By comparison, people generally avoided bogs, and although they may have cultivated suitable surrounding land, the in situ vegetation of the bog surface acts both as a physical barrier impeding the effective dispersal of pollen from the adjacent dry

ground, and in producing pollen which further dilutes the cultural signal. The strongest cultural signals are therefore present in pollen cores closest to the interface between bog and dry ground, where the filter effect of the wetland vegetation is weakest, and where agricultural sediments may erode into the bog-edge; cultural signals become progressively weaker further into the bog or as the bog expands. The filter effect also applies in situations where lakes are surrounded by thick vegetation, but the effect is less pronounced where lakes are foci for human activity, or where inflowing streams bring sediment containing pollen from the surrounding catchment.

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Riverine, estuarine and lagoon sediments, by comparison, will include pollen transported over perhaps considerable distances, including from sediments and soils of both Holocene and pre–Holocene age within their respective fluvial catchments. The water bodies of estuaries and lagoons will also include a reservoir of pollen that may have been held in suspension for many years (Dark, Allen 2005). Pollen within cultural layers, including buried soils, may also be mixed or percolated down through a soil/sediment profile as a result of both bioturbation (e.g. earthworm activity and rooting) and anthropogenic processes. The latter may introduce pollen from sources related to very specific activities, for example, organic additions to soils (e.g. manure), food waste and pollen contained within materials transported to the site from varying distances.

Prussia (Fig. 5) The Kulmerland The early crusades during the first half of the 13th century were focused on the Kulmerland, representing an active frontier region between the expanding Teutonic state and the Kingdom of Poland. Prior to the crusades, the Kulmerland was a contested zone between Polish magnates and Prussian tribes, and witnessed active Slavic colonisation from the tenth century. The region thus witnessed two phases of colonisation, from the tenth and 13th centuries.

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Pollen sequences from the Kulmerland, in common with much of northern Poland, show a predominantly wooded environment during the preceding late Iron Age, characterised by hornbeam-oak (CarpinusQuercus) dominated woodland. Hornbeam in particular reaches its highest Holocene pollen values from ca. 1500 BP (fifth to seventh centuries), at a time of general forest regeneration during the Migration Period (Ralska-Jasiewiczowa et al. 2004b), but subsequently declines in importance by about the tenth century. Pollen data from Linje mire (P–5; Noryśkiewicz 2005), Chełmno/Rybaki (P–15; Noryśkiewicz 2004a), Uść (P–16; Noryśkiewicz 2004b) and Radzyń Chełminski (P–22; Wynne 2011) show a consistent picture of declining woodland, associated with a rise in pollen taxa indicative of increasing human impact from around the tenth century. This is typically characterised by the start of a continuous cereal pollen curve, and an increase in herbaceous pollen taxa strongly associated with human activity, including plants such as cornflower (Centaurea cyanus), a weed typically associated with cultivation, and which has been argued to reflect the presence of permanent rye fields (Vuorela 1986). At Linje mire and Radzyń Chełminski, this horizon produced similar

dates of 1015±50 BP (Gd–15645, cal. AD 943 to 1155, Noryśkiewicz 2005) and 1035±30 BP (GU–24507, cal. AD 890 to 1040, Wynne 2011). At Uść however, the increase in anthropogenic indicators occurs midway between two closely spaced dates of 1340±35 BP (Poz–3633, cal. AD 640 to 772) and 830±70 BP (Ki– 10270, cal. AD 1040 to 1281, Noryśkiewicz 2004b), whilst at Chełmno/Rybaki the increase in cereal pollen occurs between dates of 1360±70 BP (Ki–9673, cal. AD 640 to 772) and 1030±70 BP (Ki–9672, cal. AD 863 to 1175, Noryśkiewicz 2004a). Similar increases in the pollen of cereals and weeds and taxa characteristic of pasture and disturbed land are also apparent in nearby sequences from Czystochleb (P–19), dated prior to 1250±120 BP (cal. AD 425 to 829), and Napole (P–3), prior to 959±190 BP (cal. AD 675 to 1310), but in both cases the pollen data lack chronological precision due to the single dates and large uncertainties; neither sequence includes subsequent dates within the medieval period (Filbrandt-Czaja, Noryśkiewicz 2003). The significant levels of early medieval woodland clearance, yet relatively small increase in cereal pollen compared to the later medieval period, have led to suggestions that communities may have been cultivating more millet (Panicum) in the early medieval period (Latałowa, personal communication), with rye (Secale) becoming more popular in the later medieval. The dominance of millet over other cultivated plants in archaeobotanical samples from early medieval urban contexts, including Gdańsk (Badura 2011), emphasises its importance at this time, yet it is palynologically invisible, as its pollen is indistinguishable from that of grass. The top of the Chełmno/Rybaki sequence pre-dates the crusades, but at all the other sequences there is a second increase in cultural indicators, with a marked intensification in cereal cultivation, particularly rye, dated at Linje mire to 670±110 BP (Gd–16255, cal. AD 1153 to 1448), Radzyń Chełminski to 690±30 BP (GU–24506, cal. AD 1260 to 1390), and at Uść after 830±70 BP (Ki– 10270, cal. AD 1040 to 1281). These two phases of intensifying human activity, although poorly resolved chronologically, could thus be argued to relate to Slavic and Germanic colonisation occurring from the tenth and 13th centuries respectively. Subsequent fluctuations in cereal pollen values are apparent, which may reflect instability within this frontier zone. Pomesania and Pogesania The lower Vistula and its tributary the Nogat represented an active frontier zone between Slavic Pomeralia (eastern Pomerania) and Prussian Pomesania. Pomeranian settlements, strongholds and ceramics are recorded east of the Nogat in the 11th and 12th cen-

Fig. 5. The location of pollen sequences in Prussia (see Appendix for site name).

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turies, followed in the early 13th century by Prussian expansion and the arrival in 1236 of the Teutonic Order moving north from the Kulmerland. Despite the concentration of pollen diagrams within the Vistula basin (Ralska-Jasiewiczowa et al. 2004a, Fig. 107), few of these sequences include deposits with associated radiocarbon dates ≤ 1500 14C years BP (Fig. 5). However, a pollen core three kilometres south of Malbork (German Marienburg) (P–7) produced evidence for the significant clearance of woodland and agricultural intensification during the medieval period. Although the sediments are highly compressed, the start of a continuous rye pollen curve is dated 865±30 BP (Wk–24853, cal. AD 1040 to 1260) with values increasing significantly by 515±30 BP (GU–20433, cal. AD 1320 to 1450), coinciding with the construction and expansion of the castle at Malbork (Brown, Pluskowski 2011). Additional pollen cores from the Malbork commandery landscape will further elucidate the nature of vegetation changes during the medieval period. Several cores, currently under analysis by the author, have been taken from within and along the margins of the forest of Sztum; an area of extant woodland that documentary sources suggest remained wooded and was surrounded by several medieval settlements and manors. Initial assessment of pollen cores support the view that the woodland survived large-scale clearance, parts of which may also have been managed as an important resource, as documentary sources suggest (Chęć, Gancewski 2009). Further to the east, pollen analysis from Lake Druzno, although undated beyond 6440±50 BP, shows two sequential phases of increasing woodland clearance and agricultural intensification within the top metre of sediment (Zachowicz et al. 1982; Zachowicz, Kępińska 1987) similar to that seen in sequences from the Kulmerland. The first phase follows the characteristic decline in hornbeam, well dated in other pollen sequences to around the tenth century, with the second phase characterised by an additional increase in the pollen of cereals and ruderals. The location of the sequence is significant, being in close proximity to the important early medieval (ninth to 12th century) trading emporium of Truso (Buko) and the Teutonic Order town of Elbląg (Fig. 1), administrative headquarters of the Teutonic state, and an important centre in the grain trade (Hybel 2002). Plant macrofossil analysis from urban deposits in Elbląg produced few actual cereal remains, but did include significant quantities of weeds associated with millet and root crops (Latałowa et al. 2003).

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Pomeralia (Eastern Pomerania) There are several radiocarbon-dated pollen sequences to the west of the Vistula within Pomeralia (Fig. 5), concentrated in the Tuchola region and along the Baltic coast, with several unpublished and ongoing sequences from Gdańsk and its hinterland (Latałowa, personal communication). The pollen evidence from Pomeralia suggests phases of increasing human impact during the early medieval period, which can be related to archaeologically and historically attested phases of Slavic settlement. The region did not come under the control of the Teutonic Order until 1309, although there is significant variation apparent in the pollen evidence. Studies within the Tuchola National Park at Tuchola Peatland (P–17) suggest an increase in cereals and anthropogenic indicators from ca. AD 1000 (Lamentowicz et al. 2008b), although the horizon is poorly dated, with a more substantial increase in rye pollen values in subsequent centuries. Pollen analysis from the Wierzchlas site also shows an increase in cereal pollen from around the tenth century, with a later undated intensification (Pidek et al. 2009). A nearby pollen study from Jelenia Wyspa (P–1) likewise shows a small increase in cereal pollen from ca. AD 1000, with the start of a continuous rye pollen curve in the 15th century, but only increasing substantially more recently, within the last 150 years (Lamentowicz et al. 2007). However, pollen data from Lake Wielkie Gacno (P–23) show a significant drop in arboreal pollen and an increase in cereal pollen from the eighth century, with a distinct increase in human influence from the late tenth century, followed by increasing grazing indicators from AD 1300 (Hjelmroos 1981). Nearby sequences at Lake Maly Suszek, Suszek and Lake Kęsowo exhibit similar pollen profiles, with evidence of significant woodland clearance and agricultural expansion, dated by comparison with the Lake Wielkie Gacno sequence to the medieval period (Miotk-Szpiganowicz 1992; Berglund et al. 1993). The Kęsowo sequence in particular is argued to show a clear increase in cereals from the 11th century, intensifying through the 12th to 16th centuries, with the almost complete disappearance of oakhornbeam-dominated deciduous woodland around AD 1200, with further intensive clearings in the 14th and 15th centuries (Miotk-Szpiganowicz 1992). The evidence for intensifying human impact in the Lake Wielkie Gacno, Kęsowo, Maly Suszek and Suszek pollen sequences is mirrored by an increase in archaeological evidence of human settlement of medieval date in the region. There is a dense distribution of both early medieval open settlements and fortified strongholds from the ninth to the 12th centuries, as well as settlements from the 13th century (Miotk-Szpiganowicz 1992, Fig. 7).

The Great Masurian Lakelands The landscape of northeast Prussia is characterised by numerous connected lakes, rivers, streams and marshes, surrounded by broad swathes of woodland. Paradoxically, despite the palynological potential and numerous pollen studies of the many lakes and bogs (e.g. Wacnik, Madeyska 2008), this vast area is the least well supported by relevant pollen data on the Late Iron Age and medieval period; only three studies, Lake Miłkowskie (P–2; Majeda et al. 2010), Lake Wojnowo (P–26, Wacnik 2009) and Lake Wigry (P–10; Kupryjanowicz 2007), have accompanying 14C dates ≤ 1500 14C years BP. In other cases, it is apparent that more recent organic deposits have been lost or degraded, perhaps as a result of peat cutting or agricultural drainage. For example, the top of the sediment profile of the former Lake Staświńskie, a large mire system located about two kilometres to the east of Lake Wo-

Prior to the crusades, Prussia was inhabited by several tribes, including the Galindians within the Great Masurian Lakelands. The territory of Galindia is described by Peter of Dusburg as ‘terra desolata’ (desolate land), specifically recounting the destruction of the Galindians by a neighbouring tribe (of unknown name), resulting in a depopulated wilderness (Nowakiewicz, Wróblewski 2003). Much the same description of the landscape applies to Sudovia, located to the east, inhabited by a powerful Prussian tribe (Sudovians), defeated by the Teutonic Order in 1283. Following their defeat, the remaining Sudovians were resettled to the west, apparently leaving a depopulated country that developed into an extensive wooded wilderness, a formidable natural barrier separating Teutonic Prussia from Lithuania (Urban 2003). The area remains an unstable military frontier throughout the 14th century, with only limited colonisation before the 15th century. However, pollen analysis from Lake Wigry, located at the boundaries of Galindia and Sudovia, indicates the regeneration of woodland in the second half of the first millennium AD, with decreasing levels of human indicators, a picture at odds with the archaeological evidence for intensive colonisation at this time (Kupryjanowicz 2007). Moreover, the subsequent phase (cal. AD 1274 to 1601) is characterised by decreasing woodlands and an increase in cereal cultivation, including rye and buckwheat, again at odds with archaeological evidence that the area was uninhabited between the 13th and 15th centuries. Pollen analysis from Lake Miłkowski also seems to contradict the ‘desolate land’ description of Galindia by Peter of Dusburg. There is rapid and almost complete deforestation of the lake catchment from cal. AD 1000 to 1150, with intensive cultivation of cereals, hemp (Cannabis sativa) and buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) in the 13th century (Majeda et al. 2010). The ecological signature is repeated to the north at Lake Wojnowo, likewise showing evidence of substantial deforestation and cultivation (Wacnik et al. 2012). Importantly, Lake Wojnowo is located below the Prussian stronghold of Swięta Góra, where recent excavations have produced cultural material from pits demonstrating settlement continuity from Prussian to Teutonic periods; a situation unique in the region, as all other tribal strongholds have failed to produce cultural material beyond the 13th century (Karczewski et al., forthcoming). The apparent contradiction between pollen and documentary sources emphasises the potential dangers in generalising entire regions from often

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jonow, dates from the early medieval period at the very latest (Wacnik, Ralska-Jasiewiczowa 2010; Wacnik, personal communication).

ARCHAEOLOGIA

Further to the north at Stazki mire (P–8), located within the Kaszuby lakelands, pollen of rye and wheat (Triticum) are present, although in small quantities, from the base of the sequence dated ca. AD 800, but do not increase, along with other anthropogenic indicators, until the early 16th century (Lamentowicz et al. 2008a). In addition, there are several pollen sequences with medieval-dated deposits along the Baltic coast west of Gdańsk (Danzig). Although of low chronological and sample resolution, pollen data from Gizdepka (P–11) and Beka (P–12) show an increase in wet meadows, with an associated increase in cereal pollen during the medieval period. This is dated at Gizdepka just prior to 600±75 BP (cal. AD 1276 to 1438), and at Beka from 980±100 BP (cal. AD 868 to 1263), although the Beka sequence does not extend beyond 885±105 BP (cal. AD 966 to 1293) (Miotk-Szpiganowicz et al. 2010). Pollen data from Gołebiewo (P–14), located a few kilometres west of Gdańsk, shows large-scale deforestation of oak-hornbeam forests from the tenth and 11th centuries, associated with the development of early medieval Gdańsk (Latałowa et al. 2009). Archaeobotanical samples from both early and later medieval contexts within Gdańsk indicate that millet was the most prevalent cereal in the early medieval period, with rye and wheat becoming the most popular cereals in the later medieval period (Badura 2011). From the 14th century, Gdańsk developed into a major transit port for the export of grain, chiefly rye, throughout the Baltic and the North Sea, becoming the foremost economic power in the Baltic by the 15th century. The economic status of Gdansk is further emphasised by the numerous finds of exotic plants, reflecting the wealth of the city burghers, who must have consumed some of these.


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localised sources of data, and instead underlines the importance of developing a more nuanced picture of land use. Whilst the chronicles of Peter of Dusburg record the destruction of many tribal strongholds, in cases supported by archaeological data, it is equally clear from the Lake Miłkowskie and Wojnowo pollen sequences, and excavations at Swięta Góra, that pockets of settlement continued into the 14th century and beyond.

Livonia (Fig. 6) Southern Livonia (Latvia) and Samogitia (northwest Lithuania) The Livonian crusade began with the conquest of the Livs and Latgalians (1209 to 1227) (eastern Latvia) by the armies of the Bishops and Sword Brothers (the Livonian Order after 1237); and later, following the conquest of Estonia, by partially successful crusades in western Latvia (1219 to 1290), resulting in the subjugation of Curonia and northern Semigalia. Samogitia remained unconquered, forming contested territory between Livonia and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Although research into the Holocene vegetation history of Latvia has taken place since the early 20th century, the Late Iron Age and medieval periods are poorly supported by well-dated pollen studies (Fig. 6; Appendix). The evidence from the small number of 14C dated pollen sequences suggests only intermittent and small increases in pollen taxa indicative of human activity at this time, despite the archaeological and historical evidence that the Late Iron Age in the east Baltic was a period of demographic and economic expansion (Kihno, Valk 1999). Most pollen diagrams suggest that tree pollen does not decline significantly until perhaps the end of the 15th century. Written sources suggest that there was little management of Latvian woodlands, with no evidence of coppicing, whilst many sacred forests, mainly oak and lime (Tilia), were tolerated by the Order until the arrival of the Jesuits in the 16th century (Kļaviņš 2011). However, written sources relating to Riga indicate that there was a lack of timber resources in the surrounding region by AD 1255, with a subsequent increase in the exploitation of woodlands along the Dauga River and its tributaries. Oak wainscots (highquality timber boards) are also recorded as an important export from Riga (Zunde 1998/1999), although woodland exploitation appears to have been limited in extent beyond Riga. Pollen analysis from Eipurs and Dzelve-Kronis bogs (La–2–3; Kušķe et al. 2010) show only small increases in pollen indicative of pasture/

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meadow and arable land during the medieval period, at Eipurs bog from a level dated 689±50 BP (cal. AD 1228 to 1398) and at Dzelve-Kronis bog after 757±55 BP (cal. AD 1169 to 1381), in both cases following the crusades. Indications of human activity are likewise sparse from Nineris mire (La–1), three kilometres north of the headquarters of the Livonian Order at Cēsis, with preliminary analysis suggesting little or no cereal cultivation in the vicinity of the mire before 205±30 BP (GU–23349, cal. AD 1640 to 1960). An earlier although small increase in pasture and arable land was recorded in the Lake Kūži (La–4) sequence from a level dated 925±30 BP (cal. AD 1029 to 1180, Kangur et al. 2009). In eastern Latvia, pollen analysis from Lake Kurjanovas (La–7) produced evidence of an increase and continuous curve in cereal pollen from the Bronze Age, with an increase in rye, albeit intermittent, from around the tenth century (Heikkilä, Seppä 2010). In northeast Lithuania, a reduction in woodland and an increase in agricultural activity of Late Iron Age date is apparent in pollen sequences from Lake Biržulis (Li–2; Stančikaitė et al. 2006), the Baltija Uplands (Li–4; Stančikaitė et al. 2004) and from Impiltis Iron Age hill-fort on the Curonian coast (Li–1; Stančikaitė et al. 2009), followed by a regression in human activity during the medieval period. This is most obvious from Impiltis, where there is significant woodland regeneration and a reduction in agricultural activity from ca. AD 1250, which is argued to reflect the changing social and political situation in Curonia at this time (Stančikaitė et al. 2009); the area remained an active frontier zone between Livonia and Lithuania into the 16th century. Written sources nonetheless show that Lithuanian timber was being exported to Königsberg and Danzig from the early 15th century, increasing after the defeat of the Teutonic Order at Grünwald in 1410, but that Lithuanian woodlands were most extensively exploited from the mid-16th century (Pukienė, Ožalas 2007). Northern Livonia and the Duchy of Estonia (Estonia) The conquest of northern Livonia took place on multiple fronts; the Sword Brothers were engaged in a protracted and bloody crusade in southern Estonia (1208 to 1227), whilst the Danes invaded northern Estonia (1219), and the Swedes unsuccessfully invaded western Estonia (1220). Although northern Estonia was briefly conquered by the Sword Brothers, it was ceded back to the Danish crown (the Duchy of Estonia), but was later annexed by the Teutonic Order in 1343. Saaremaa, inhabited by the Osilians, was only conquered in 1261, after several unsuccessful attempts

Fig. 6. The location of pollen sequences in Livonia and adjoining territories (see Appendix for site name).

I

L I F E at the F R O N TIER:THE ECOLOGICAL S ignatures of H uman C olonisation in the N O RT H

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36

by Denmark, the Livonian Order and the Bishopric of Ösel Wiek to subdue and Christianise the island. During the Late Iron Age (AD 800 to 1300), Saaremaa is argued to have been the most developed part of Estonia, perhaps in part as a consequence of contacts with Scandinavia and its favourable position on the Baltic-Black Sea trade route. Documentary sources highlight the increasing power of the Osilian navy during this time (Magi 2004). The archaeological material points towards rapid development from the tenth century, with the Danish book of land taxation (Liber Census Daniæ) listing 3,000 farmsteads by AD 1300 (Ligi 1992). Several pollen studies from across Saaremaa demonstrate increasing human impact on the landscape during the Late Iron Age (ca. AD 800 to 1300). At Surusoo and Vedruka mire (E–6), peaks in rye, barley (Hordeum) and cornflower suggest the existence of permanent arable fields from around AD 850 (Poska, Saarse 2002), with a small peak in cereal pollen at Jõvikasoo mire (E–24) dated to between the eighth and tenth centuries (Hansson et al. 1996). Subsequent increases in cereal pollen, particularly rye, are apparent in all three sequences. Only at Vedruka mire has this been radiocarbon dated, producing a date of 590±30 BP (Ta–2572, cal. AD 1307 to 1403; Poska, Saarse 2002), perhaps suggesting an increase in cultivation following the final conquest and Christianisation of Saaremaa. However, there is little or no evidence for agricultural activity in pollen sequences from lakes Järvesso (E–30) or Karujäva (E–17) (Saarse, Königsson 1992). As a whole, the medieval period on Saaremaa remains poorly supported by well-dated pollen sequences, whilst archaeobotanical studies are largely limited to urban contexts from mainland Estonia. Pollen studies from the north coast of Estonia (Fig. 6; Duchy of Estonia) likewise suggest an increase in agricultural activity during the Late Iron Age, intensifying in the medieval period, although the chronological resolution of the pollen data remains an issue. Pollen studies from Kahala (E3, E22) show continuous values for cereal pollen from AD 700, and rye from AD 850, the latter peaking in value around AD 1200. Documentary sources record the presence of three villages and 40 plots of arable land in the Kahala region in AD 1240 (Poska, Saarse 1999). Rye pollen also increases in sequences from Lake Viitna Linajärv (E–9) from 885±70 BP (cal. AD 1010 to 1265, Punning et al. 2007) and Lake Viitna Pikkjärv (E–5) dated to 650±45 BP (Tln–2141, cal. AD 1275 to 1400). Estimated dates for increases in cereal cultivation are also proposed for pollen sequences close to Tallinn, including from Lake Maardu around AD 1000 and 1300, perhaps associated with an increase in village settlements and the development of rotational field systems recorded from

the 11th century (Veski, Lang 1996). Likewise, from nearby Tondi mire, there are indications of agricultural intensification from both the Viking Age and the medieval period, the latter archaeologically well-attested to, with 13 farms and villages from the 13th century recorded in the vicinity of the mire (Lang, Kimmel 1996; Kimmel et al. 1996). In southern Estonia, pollen studies likewise indicate the cultivation of a range of crops throughout the Viking Age and the Late Iron Age, including rye, wheat, cannabis and flax (Linum usitatissimum). For example, pollen from Lake Verijärv (E–1) shows a continuous cereal curve from the seventh century, with a continuous increase in wheat from cal AD 1250 (Niinemets, Saarse 2009), whilst there is an increase in cultivated land from the eighth century onwards from Lake AlaPika (E–23) (Kihno, Valk 1999). However, it is apparent from other pollen sequences that agricultural intensification occurs only after the crusades/conquest, or is accompanied by fluctuations in cereal pollen resulting from the impact of warfare or as a consequence of disease, famine or climate. Pollen within varved sediments from Lake Tōugjärv (E–20) shows a generally wooded landscape prior to AD 1200, but with an increase in agricultural activity apparent only from AD 1350 (Veski et al. 2005). The surroundings of Lake Lasva (E–2) were likewise densely forested between AD 1000 and 1150, with extensive arable farming occurring only after the conquest, with a large increase in charcoal and pollen from grasses and a range of cereal pollen. A subsequent decline in cereal pollen during the 14th century is argued to reflect the impact of the Black Death (Niinemets, Saarse 2009; Niinemets 2010). From Ärikulä mire (E– 12), a continuous cereal pollen curve does not occur until the level dated 540±30 BP (Gu–23343, cal. AD 1316 to 1437). Interestingly, at Parika mire (E–4), an increase in agricultural activity from AD 1100 is followed by a small decline in cereal pollen at the end of the Iron Age, disappearing completely in about AD 1200 to 1250, only to reappear later. The collapse in arable farming is ascribed to the effects of both battles and plagues (Niinemets et al. 2002). In the majority of the above cases, arable farming does not appear to intensify/re-intensify until the 14th century, although there are obvious problems in relating historically documented events with, in cases, poorly chronologically resolved pollen data. The first decades after the conquest probably saw no major changes in everyday life; there was limited colonisation beyond the towns and castles, and it took most of the 13th century to fully conquer and stabilise the territory of Estonia. However, it is possible to hypothesise that the

Discussion and conclusions The medieval period, dominated by the crusading movement, witnesses a significant change in the ownership, organisation and administration of the landscape, with significant changes in patterns of land use from the preceding Late Iron Age. These changes cannot be characterised in the same manner or intensity across the entire Baltic region. The timing and the scale of human impact result from a complex interrelationship between changes in political geography and patterns of warfare and colonisation across the Baltic, combined with variations in vegetation, topography, population density and the agricultural capacity of the landscape. Differences in the temporal and spatial impact of human activity are apparent in the pollen record both within and between Prussia and Livonia, although variations in chronological resolution and pollen coverage between regions place unavoidable limits on the details of these observations and comparisons. However, two broad observations can be made: that these woodlands came under increasing human impact from the Late Iron Age as a consequence of demographic and economic expansion, and that this occurs most intensively within Prussia rather than Livonia. In addition, it is also possible with the pollen data to differentiate broadly between intensively colonised ‘heartland’ areas, and sparsely populated ‘frontier’ areas, where the effects of the crusades result in contrasting patterns of agricultural intensification and landscape regression. One of the key defining features of the medieval period in the Baltic is the appearance of towns and cas-

In Prussia, human impact is most apparent in the pollen record from the Vistula basin, associated with extensive Slavic and Germanic colonisation from around the tenth and 13th centuries respectively. This no doubt has much to do with the importance of the Vistula and its tributaries as key arteries for trade and communication linking the Polish and Prussian hinterlands with the Baltic Sea. The crusades follow the course of the Vistula, and estimates suggest that by the beginning of the 14th century, the population of Prussia stood at around 220,000 (Biskup 2002), concentrated most densely around the many towns and castles extending from Thorn (Toruń) in the south to Danzig (Gdańsk) in the north. By comparison, the eastern regions of Prussia, such as Masuria, were more sparsely populated, and witnessed significant disruption of indigenous settlement patterns as a result of the crusades, with only limited colonisation until the 15th century. However, the environmental context for the Late Iron Age and medieval periods is poorly resolved. The focus of existing pollen studies is not restricted to the late Holocene, and although pollen data suggest a broad measure of continuity in land use (e.g. Madeja et al. 2010 ; Wacnik et al. 2012), the extensive pollen source area of these lakes may reflect the average human impact over a larger area. Targeted fine-resolution pollen analysis, for example of smaller peat and lake deposits, may help in providing more localised comparative pollen data on potential variability in land use. Does this support the archaeological picture of widespread settlement discontinuity in the 13th century? And is this followed by evidence for renewed agricultural intensification accompanying colonisation in the 15th century? In contrast, the Sambian Peninsula to the north (encompassing the Kaliningrad Oblast) was one of the more densely settled parts of Prussia. Sambia was a major cultural and economic power from the eighth century, before being virtually destroyed by the crusaders and further assimilated by subsequent Germanic colonisation. Königsberg thereafter emerges as a major trading centre from the 14th century. However, the

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tles and new forms of organisation and administration of the landscape. Towns became new centres for food consumption and trade, whilst the castles and manors of the Order and the bishops earned revenue in part through taxing local agricultural produce. Demographic and economic expansion created increased demand for agricultural produce, as a consumable, taxable and tradeable commodity. The impact on woodland resulting from the increased requirement for constructional timber must also have been considerable, particularly around the main urban centres and castles; many of the early buildings would have been constructed of timber before being replaced or augmented by brick.

ARCHAEOLOGIA

increase in cereal pollen during the 14th century may be linked to increased political stability, the growth of urban centres, the growing significance of the Hanseatic League and foreign trading networks, and the establishment of serfdom, creating an increased demand for agricultural produce (Raun 2002; Kala 2005). The importance of agricultural produce, particularly rye, is demonstrated not only from the pollen record, but also through documentary and archaeobotanical evidence for its significance as a consumable, tradable and taxable commodity. Remains of rye, along with barely, are typically the most important cultivated plants within archaeobotanical samples in urban contexts from Tallinn, Tartu, Pärnu and Viljandi. Lesser quantities of wheat, millet and buckwheat are also recorded, along with a range of legumes, wild and exotic plants (fruits, spices and oil/fibre plants), the latter reflecting the development of longer-distance trade routes (Sillasoo, Hiie 2007).


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region represents a virtual blank on distribution maps of pollen studies, although recently published pollen data from Velikoye bog (P27; Fig. 5) in northeast Kaliningrad (in Prussian Nadrowia) does point towards increasing human impact from around the ninth century (Arslanov et al. 2011). There is significant further potential, therefore, to investigate the comparative environmental impact of Iron Age and medieval cultures on the landscape of the Sambian Peninsula. Livonia did not witness the same intensity of colonisation as Prussia; the population was sparser, and the extent of human impact was more localised around urban and rural centres. Human impact is most intensively seen on Saaremaa from the Viking Age, but the pollen record is poorly resolved for the medieval period. In northwest Estonia, there are indications of agricultural intensification during both the Viking Age and medieval periods, yet in southern Estonia there is evidence from several pollen sequences that this intensification does not occur until around the 13th or 14th century. The difference in pollen signals between north and south may reflect differences in settlement density, and the greater political, cultural and economic importance of the islands and northwest Estonia in the Iron Age. Further explanation for the difference in pollen signals may also lie in a border zone running southwest to northeast across Estonia, defining differences in physical geography and vegetation. This is most apparent in southwest Estonia, where a large belt of uninhabited bog and forest separates inland areas from the coast. This natural border zone also defines the border between medieval Estonia and the northern tip of Livonia, encompassing present-day southwest Estonia (Valk 2009). This border zone may have formed a natural barrier limiting communication and movement between the coast and the interior during the Iron Age, but that changed with the crusades. The location of other pollen sequences in marginal and otherwise sparsely settled areas may also explain why some sequences have weak anthropogenic signals. Pollen evidence for the environmental impact of the crusades in Latvia (southern Livonia) is comparatively limited at present, although several pollen cores have recently been sampled by this author from within the Cesis commandery as part of the ‘Ecology of Crusading’ project. However, existing pollen studies along the Curonian coast, Semigalia and Samogitia suggest that the effect of the crusades was to create an unstable military frontier zone during the medieval period between Livonia and Samogitia/Grand Duchy of Lithuania, characterised by woodland regeneration rather than agricultural intensification. Palynological analysis within the Cesis commandery will therefore be impor-

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tant in comparing the ecological signals of a frontier and heartland area within southern Livonia. It is perhaps no surprise from the pollen record, despite the evidence for agricultural intensification, that woodlands remain an important feature of Baltic landscapes, particularly within Livonia and the more sparsely populated frontier zones. Woodlands are equally important in understanding how societies perceived and exploited the landscape. Aspects of the natural world were especially sacred to Late Iron Age pagan communities across the Baltic, and written sources often refer to the cultural significance of sacred woodlands and trees (Kļaviņš 2011). Moreover, written sources demonstrate that the Order also recognised the importance of preserving and managing woodlands as a resource. For example, industrial processes, such as iron smelting and brick manufacture, the latter vital in Prussia in the absence of a suitable stone source, would have required significant quantities of charcoal for fuel, itself necessitating large volumes of wood, perhaps from managed sources. However, it remains unclear whether timber requirements within commanderies were satisfied from the immediate landscape or from further afield. Much, no doubt, would have depended on the political geography, resources and provisioning networks within specific commanderies. For example, the forest of Sztum, located ten kilometres south of Malbork castle, is documented as actively managed woodland in the 14th and 15th centuries, although these sources lack precise details on the nature and the extent of this management. The analysis of written documents relating to the provisioning of specific castles may highlight potential timber sources. Detailed pollen analysis may reveal evidence for specific forms of management, perhaps visible as subtle changes in woodland composition. An initial assessment of pollen-bearing deposits within the forest of Sztum shows little evidence of woodland clearance, whilst the analysis of animal bones from nearby excavations at Biała Gora indicates the exploitation of a range of woodland and wetland species. The Teutonic Order clearly had the resources to transport materials over long distances. Documentary sources demonstrate that the provisioning network for castles extended across and beyond the Order’s state. Written documents on the timber trade are rare before the 16th century, but some sense of scale is provided by documents showing that the Teutonic Order brought almost one and a half million pieces of timber between 1389 and 1415, mostly from Masovia, in the form of wainscots (high-quality timber boards). Large quantities of Baltic timber were exported to Western Europe; the principal source of this timber in the 14th century was from within the catchment of the lower Vistula, but



Fig. 7. The ecology of crusading macro-region case studies (shaded).

moved to Masovia in the 15th century as local timber supplies declined (Haneca et al. 2005; Ważny 2005). The existing palaeoenvironmental record from the southeast and eastern Baltic raise several priority areas of potential research within the context of the ‘Ecology of Crusading’ project (see Pluskowski, this volume, p.7). An important methodological aspect of the project is the focus on the retrieval of a range of environmental data from archaeological excavations (Iron Age strongholds, the Teutonic Order’s castles and urban sites) and the comparison with the longer-term palynological record from offsite contexts, i.e. bogs and lakes. A total of 29 pollen cores have thus far been sampled from across Prussia and Livonia, with further programmes of lake and peat coring planned. The coring has focused on a series of macro-regions relating

to the commanderies of several Teutonic Order castles; Marienburg (Malbork) and Lötzen (Giżycko), Wenden (Cēsis), Karkus (Karksi) and Fellin (Viljandi) (Fig. 7). The object is to produce high-resolution palynological sequences covering the Late Iron Age to post-medieval periods that enable the detailed comparative analysis of the degree to which the crusades modified the landscapes of the southeast and eastern Baltic. The existing pollen record already highlights interesting differences in ecological signatures between the Iron Age/medieval periods, Prussia/Livonia, and heartland/frontier, which further pollen analysis can test and refine. Pollen analysis will be supported by an extensive programme of radiocarbon dating that will develop a robust chronological framework. This is essential if useful comment is to be made on patterns of vegetation change and human impact that are applicable to specific data

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from on-site contexts and of equal relevance in view of important contemporary cultural changes. Each lake and peat core will also be analysed for the presence of microscopic particles of volcanic ash (crypto-tephra) ejected during Icelandic volcanic eruptions and transported in ash plumes across northern Europe. Over 200 eruptions have been identified in Iceland during the last 1,000 years (Wastegård, Davies 2009), but only comparatively recently has tephra been identified in the eastern Baltic. The analysis of cores from Mustjärve and Parika in Estonia, identified small quantities of crypto-tephra of mid-Holocene date that suggest that the eastern Baltic is at the very limits of Icelandic tephra distribution (Hang et al. 2006). Thus far, no late Holocene tephra has been identified in the eastern Baltic, although the preliminary analysis of cores from Radzyń Chełminski in Poland indicates the presence of potential tephra horizons of medieval date (Wynne 2011). The geochemical analysis of tephra from cores may show a correlation with known volcanic eruptions, identifying isochronous marker horizons that can assist in further developing and validating chronological models for palaeoenvironmental sequences. This may in practice prove more challenging, since it is often difficult to identify the source of tephra to specific eruptions (Wastegård, Davies 2009). The results of these analyses will be reported in due course.

Acknowledgements The research leading to this publication has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under grant agreement No.263735. We would like to thank the following people for access to unpublished material, and for discussions regarding aspects of palynological, archaeological and historical research across the south and southeast Baltic region: Monika Badura, Laimdota Kalniņa, Gundars Kalniņš, Kaspars Kļaviņš, Maciej Karczewski, Małgorzata Latałowa, Daniel Makowiecki, Agnieszka Noryśkiewicz, Normunds Stivriņš, Heiki Valk, Siim Veski and Agnieszka Wacnik. Received: 09 September 2012; Revised: 21 October 2013; Accepted: 19 December 2013

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WYNNE, A.D., 2011. Palaeoenvironmental impact of medieval colonisation and expansion at Radzyń Chełminskie,

north–central Poland. University of Reading, Unpublished MSc dissertation.

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Alex Brown, corresponding author Department of Archaeology School of Human and Environmental Sciences University of Reading Whiteknights, PO Box 227 Reading RG6 6AB United Kingdom E-mail: [email protected] Aleksander Pluskowski Department of Archaeology University of Reading Reading United Kingdom E-mail: [email protected]

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Appendix 1. Pollen sequences from the southeast and eastern Baltic, w i t h a s s o c i a t e d r a d i o c a r b o n d a t e s ≤ 1 5 0 0 1 4 C y e a r s B P. (List of pollen studies complete as of 2012). Site Code

Site Name

Deposit type

14C dates ≤ 1500 14Cyrs BP

References

ESTONIA E-1

Lake Verijärv

3

Lake

E-2

Lake Lasva

2

Lake

E-3 E-4 E-5 E-6 E-7 E-8 E-9 E-10 E-11 E-12 E-13 E-14

Lake Kahala Parika mire Lake Viitna Pikkjärv Vedruka mire Kōivasoo Mire Lake Punsu Lake Viitna Linajärv Lake Paidre Lake Raigastvere Ärikulä mire Männikjärve mire Lake Juusa

3 2 1 2 1 6 1 2 1 4 14 2

Lake Mire Lake Mire Mire Lake Lake Lake Lake Mire Mire Lake

E-15 E-16 E-17 E-18

3 2 2 4

Mire Mire Lake Mire

1 1

Lake Lake

1 1 1 1 1 1

Lake Mire Lake Mire Mire Mire

Saarse et al. 1996 Veski et al. 2005; Saarse, Niinemets 2007 Niinemets, Saarse 2009 Poska and Saarse 1999 Kihno and Valk 1999 Hansson et al. 1996 Koff 1996 Saarse, Rajamäe 1997

E-27 E-28 E-29 E-30

Kalsa mire Vöhma Mire Lake Karujärv Välamäe Kettle Hole (VI/VIII) Lake Tuuljärv Lake Touglärv, Rouge Lake Plaanis Kahala Mire Lake Ala-Pika Jōhvikasoo Mire Niinsaare Mire Kirikumäe Mire (core 43) Nigula Alkali Imatu Mire Järvesoo

1 1 1 3

Mire River-bank Mire Mire

European Pollen Database Poska, Saarse 2006 Kimmel et al. 1999 Saarse, Königsson 1992

La-1 La-2 La-3 La-4 La-5 La-6 La-7 La-8 La-9 La-10 La-11

Nineris mire Eipurs mire Dzelve-Kronis mire Lake Ķūži 1 Bazi Mire Lielas Mire Lake Kurjanovas Venta Ancient Valley Rożhu Bog Puikule Mire Zilais Mire

Mire Mire Mire Lake Mire Mire Lake Mire Mire Mire Mire

Brown Unpublished Kušķe et al. 2010 Kušķe et al. 2010 Kangur et al. 2009 Pakalne, Kalniņa 2005 Kalniņa 2006 Heikkilä, Seppä 2010 Kalniņa et al. 2009 Kušķe et al. 2011 Ratniece 2011 Kalniņa et al. 2008

E-19 E-20 E-21 E-22 E-23 E-24 E-25 E-26

Saarse, Niinemets 2007; Niinemets, Saarse 2009 Niinemets, Saarse 2006, 2007; Saarse, Niinemets 2007 Poska, Saarse 1999 Niinemets et al. 2002 Saarse et al. 1998 Poska, Saarse 2002 Königsson et al. 1998 Saarse, Rajamäe 1997 Punning et al. 2007 Saarse et al. 1995 Seppä, Poska 2004 Brown et al. (in print) Sillasoo et al. 2007 Koff et al. 2005; Punning et al. 2005 Kimmel et al. 1999 European Pollen Database Saarse, Königsson 1992 Punning et al. 1995

LATVIA

44

2 3 2 1 2 1 3 1 1 1 1

14C dates ≤ 1500 14Cyrs BP

Deposit type

References

LITHUANIA Li-1 Li-2 Li-3 Li-4

Impiltis Lake Biržulis Kuršių Nerija Juodonys, Baltija Uplands

3 1 1 1

Cultural layer/riverbed Lake Buried soil Mire

Stančikaitė et al. 2009 Stančikaitė et al. 2006 Moe et al. 2005 Stančikaitė et al. 2004

POLAND P-1

2

Mire

Lamentowicz et al. 2007

P-2

Jelenia Wyspa Mire, Tuchola Lake Miłkowski

1

Lake

P-3

Napole

1

Mire

P-4

Jezioro Klasztorne

1

Lake

P-5 P-6 P-7 P-8 P-9 P-10

2 1 5 9 3 2

Mire Cultural layers Mire Mire Mire Lake

P-11

Linje Mire Malbork I Malbork II Stazki Kluki Słupiańska Bay (Wigry Lake) WZS03 Gizdepka

Madeja et al. 2010; Wacnik et al. 2012 Filbrandt-Czaja, Noryśkiewicz 2003 Filbrandt-Czaja and Noryśkiewicz 2003 Noryśkiewicz 2005 Brown, Pluskowski 2011 Brown, Pluskowski 2011 Lamentowicz et al. 2008a Tobolski 1987 Kupryjanowicz 2007; Pitrowska et al. 2007

1

Puck Lagoon

P-12

Beka

2

Puck lagoon

P-13

Stagna

3

P-14 P-15 P-16 P-17 P-18 P-19

Gołębiewo II Chełmno Uść Tuchola peatland Darzlubi Forest Czystochleb

3 3 5 1 1 1

Vistula Delta lagoon shore Mire Floodplain Mire Mire Mire Mire

P-20

1

Lake

P-21 P-22 P-23 P-24 P-25 P-26

Lake Woryty WOR80N Lake Zawada Radzyń Chełminski Lake Wielkie Gacno Wierzchlas Site Lake Ostrowite Lake Wojnowo

1 3 2 1 2

Lake Lake Lake Lake Lake Lake

P-27

Vilikoye Bog

8

Mire

Moitk-Szpiganowicz et al. 2010 Moitk-Szpiganowicz et al. 2010 Moitk-Szpiganowicz et al. 2010 Latałowa et al. 2009 Noryśkiewicz 2004a Noryśkiewicz 2004b Lamentowicz et al. 2008b Latałowa 1982 Filbrandt-Czaja and Noryśkiewicz 2003 Pawlikowski et al 1982

BALTICA 20

Site Name

ARCHAEOLOGIA

Site Code


Noryśkiewicz 2004 Wynne 2011 Hjelmroos 1981 Pidek et al. 2009 Milecka, Szeroczyńska 2005 Wacnik 2009; Wacnik et al. 2012 Arslanov et al. 2011

45



VIDURAMŽIŲ K R A Š T O VA I Z D Ž I O T R A N S F O R M A C I J A P I E T RY Č I Ų I R P I E T Ų PA B A LT I J Y J E : PA L E O A P L I N K O S PERSPEKTYVOS KOLONIZUOJANT KAIMYNINIUS K R A Š T O VA I Z D Ž I U S ALEX BROWN, ALEKSANDER PLUSKOWSKI Santrauka Baltijos regiono viduramžių istorijoje dominuoja XIII– XV amžiais vykusi christianizacija. Kryžiuočiai turėjo ženklią įtaką kraštovaizdžio struktūros, nuosavybės ir administravimo pokyčiams kartu su reikšmingais žemėnaudos pakitimais. Vis dėlto mūsų supratimas apie kryžiuočių poveikį aplinkai yra pagrįstas beveik išimtinai rašytiniais šaltiniais. Šioje publikacijoje, akcentuojant ekologinę christianizacijos įtaką, apibendrinami egzistuojantys palinologiniai duomenys apie viduramžių kraštovaizdžio transformacijas Pietryčių bei Rytų Baltijos regione ir apžvelgiami keli esminiai klausimai, iššūkiai bei perspektyvos ateities tyrimams.

Vertė Miglė Stančikaitė

46

Abstract Viljandi (Fellin), a small town in medieval Livonia, was founded in the second quarter of the 13th century, soon after the Estonian Crusades. The Estonians’ prehistoric hill-fort was replaced by a castle of the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order, the prehistoric settlement was abandoned, and the location for the new town was chosen on the site of a former field more suitable for fortification. In this paper, zooarchaeological material from three sites, the prehistoric settlement, the Order’s castle and the early medieval town, will be discussed. Despite the presumed changes in Estonian society associated with the Crusades, the analyses reveal no profound differences in meat consumption in the transitional period from prehistory to the Middle Ages. Key words: zooarchaeology, Late Iron Age, Middle Ages, Teutonic Order’s castle, medieval town, meat consumption. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15181/ab.v20i0.807

Introduction The transition from the Late Iron Age to the Middle Ages brought changes to the whole of society in the area of medieval Livonia. The aim of this paper is to determine if and how these changes are reflected in the zooarchaeological material from different time periods in the area of the modern town of Viljandi (Fellin in German) in southern Estonia. This article discusses from a comparative perspective the animal bone material from the late prehistoric occupation layers, the area of the early town, and the newly constructed castle of Viljandi. The main research questions are: What changes occurred in animal consumption during the transition to the Middle Ages? And does the zooarchaeological material from these assemblages reveal differences in animal consumption that could be linked to the social background? Although the nature of the zooarchaeological material is hardly clear-cut, there are aspects which should be more characteristic of different cultural and social spaces, and therefore allow us to tackle these issues.

Context and background: Vi l j a n d i a n d t h e e x c a v a t i o n a r e a s Viljandi is located in the northern part of southwest Estonia (Fig. 1). The central meaning of the place is greatly caused by natural conditions: it was founded close to the intersection of important land and water routes. The waterway that passed Viljandi, and was

navigable in prehistoric, and also partly in medieval, times, connected the Baltic Sea with Lake Võrtsjärv, and further on with Lake Peipsi. Beside that, one of the three main overland routes that connected southern Estonia with the northern part of the country passed Viljandi. The crossing of these two important communication routes, and the presence of favourable natural conditions for constructing a hill-fort on the high shore of the lake valley, were the main reasons for the emergence of Viljandi in the Viking Age. It is only from this period that the archaeological material provides evidence of the formation of an important centre. The hillfort of Viljandi was the strongest of the strongholds in the late prehistoric Saccala district, and the siege of it is described in some detail in the Chronicle of Henry of Livonia, even twice, in 1211 and 1223 (HCL XIV: 11; XXVII: 2). Henry of Livonia mentions the presence of German merchants in the Viljandi stronghold as early as 1223 (HCL XXVI: 5). During the Crusades, the late prehistoric hill-fort was gradually replaced by the castle of the Order of the Sword Brothers. When the Sword Brothers were defeated at the Battle of Saulė by Lithuanian troops in 1236, their remnants were merged with and its possessions were given to the Teutonic Order in 1237. Viljandi was the strongest and most important castle of the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order in the southern part of Estonia. Soon after the conquest, a medieval town was founded in front of the castle.

BALTICA 20

EVE RANNAMÄE, HEIKI VALK

ARCHAEOLOGIA

S O M E S PAT I A L A N D T E M P O R A L A S P E C T S O F A N I M A L U T I L I S AT I O N I N V I L J A N D I , M E D I E VA L LIVONIA

I L I F E at the F R O N TIER:THE ECOLOGICAL S ignat u res of H u m an C olonisation in the N O RT H

The archaeological source material for this paper comes from three different parts of Viljandi: from the southern part of the medieval town area, from the Or-

47

48

Fig. 1. Location of Viljandi and 3-D landscape model with investigation areas (prepared by authors).


S p a t i a l a n d Te m p o r a l a s p e c t s of Animal Utilisation in Zooarchaeological Material: Preliminary Data from Vi l j a n d i , M e d i e v a l L i v o n i a

The earliest traces of an open settlement in Viljandi are located south of the hill-fort and the main castle site, between it and the deep valley of the Valuoja creek. There, in the present-day green area, hills of different shapes and sizes rise above the flat plateau of the lake’s valley. The landscape is quite complicated, for the plateau is cross-cut by deep valleys, evidently of glacial origin, and probably significantly deepened in medieval times to form part of the moat system. The hills rising above the plateau of the lake valley’s bank, designated as A, B, C and D (Figs. 1, 2), are of man-made origin, consisting of heaped-up disturbed soil and occupation layers to make platforms for siege engines, the trebuchets mentioned by Henry in the description of the siege of the hill-fort in 1223 (HCL XXVII: 2). Excavations on hills A and B, initiated by the discovery of stray finds on the surface of the ground, were carried out in 1999, 2002, 2005–2007 (Valk 2000; Valk 2003; Valk 2006; Juurik et al. 2007; Smirnova et al. 2008), and 1999–2001 (Valk 2000; Valk 2001; Vaba, Valk 2002) respectively. The zooarchaeological data analysed in the current study derives from the excavations in 1999 (hills A and B), 2001 (hill B), and 2002 (hill A) (Fig. 2). The disturbed soil on hill A contained a large number of finds and bones. In addition, on that hill, foundation logs from two buildings which were destroyed by fire were discovered. The fire can be directly connected with the Crusades, thanks to a crossbow bolt which had landed in the interior wall of the burning house. The charred logs were preserved, as they were covered by soil carried to the hill to form the trebuchet platforms. The added soil partly originated, as in the case of hill B, from disturbed settlement layers. Below the added soil, there was a thin occupation layer, no more than four centimetres thick, which had been deposited on the spot, and which belonged to the same period as the houses destroyed by fire. This layer was also extremely rich in finds and bone fragments. The occupation layers on hill B were especially concentrated and rich in different finds and animal bones. Judging by the finds and the presence of both hand-thrown and wheel-thrown pottery, the disturbed settlement layers, used for constructing the trebuchet platforms, originate from the Late Iron Age, that is, the Viking Age and the following pre-Crusade period. The presence of some fragments of brick shows that the settlement also existed after the beginning of the

The castle The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia mentions the joint occupation of the Estonian hill-fort by the Germans and Estonians between 1215 and 1223. After defeating the Estonian uprising, Henry notes that the Order of Sword Brothers began to fortify the site very strongly (HCL XXVIII: 9; XXIX: 3). This is the only written data concerning the early history of the castle, which took on its later basic form probably in the early 14th century, when the large convent was constructed (Alttoa 2003). Extensive archaeological excavations in the castle area took place in the late 1870s (Kodar 1998), when fallen debris, caused by damage from the wars of the 16th and 17th centuries, and the demolition of most of the walls in the early 19th century, was removed from the ruins. In the course of this work, the cellars of the convent house and other buildings were cleaned down to the medieval floor levels; also, the courtyard pavements were partly cleaned, with soil and debris being removed. Within the framework of the ruin’s conservation projects, several small trial pits and trenches were opened close to the walls of the south, east and north wings of the convent between 1998 and 2007.1 In the course of these works, it appeared that in most cases the late prehistoric and 13th-century occupation layers had been totally removed when constructing the convent house. In the very bottom of the trial pits were partial fragments of the original pre-stronghold soil; in some pits there were also the remains of the Viking Age occupation layer, where hand-thrown pottery was found. These layers had a very clearly truncated upper surface, and they were covered by a 50 to 60-centimetrethick layer of disturbed loam that evidently originated from the cellars of the convent. Obviously, the earlier occupation layers were cleaned out from the area and levelled before the extensive construction works began. Only in the excavation trench of 2003 (Haak 2004), which was extended in 2004 (Haak 2005), out The works were directed in 1998 by Andres Tvauri, in 1999–2006 by Arvi Haak, and in 2007 by Riina Juurik and Anti Lillak. Publications of the fieldwork results can be found in Viljandi Muuseumi Aastaraamat (Yearbook of Viljandi Museum) 1999–2006 and Arheoloogilised Välitööd Eestis /Archaeological Fieldwork in Estonia, 1998–2007.

BALTICA 20

The hills

Crusades, that is, in the German period (from 1215). The top of hill C (Rammo et al. 2004; Rammo, Veldi 2005) was covered by a fill of soil over three metres thick. This soil was mainly of natural origin, and contained relatively few artefacts and bone finds. Below the fill, however, a probable section of a stone circle was found, presumably part of a structure of a ritual character.

ARCHAEOLOGIA

der’s castle, and from the hills 100 to 140 metres south of the castle, where the remains of occupation layers from the time preceding the Crusades have been found (Figs. 1, 2).


1

49



Fig. 2. Viljandi and the discussed excavation sites: 1) Late Prehistoric settlement layers on hills A, B and C, 2) trenches of 2003 and 2004 in the castle, and 3) investigation area of Pikk Street in Early Medieval town (prepared by authors).

50

The town The town of Viljandi was formed after the conquest and Crusades (Valk 1993a; 2005; Haak & Russow 2013). The prehistoric settlement in the area of the hills south of the castle was abandoned, and a new medieval town was founded north of the castle and its outer baileys, on the edge of high lake valley plateaus, where the smaller cross-valleys of glacial origin offered good conditions for constructing moats (Fig. 1). The logic of the street network shows that the bridges between the castle and the town area must have already existed before the medieval town was laid out. The town was first mentioned as a civitas in 1283, when the grand master of the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order confirmed its formerly existing town rights. It was surrounded by a stone wall, and it functioned as the outermost, fourth outer bailey of the castle (Fig. 2). The town area was uninhabited before the Crusades: traces of ploughing, however, which are undatable, provide evidence of its function as a field (Tvauri 2000). The analysed zooarchaeological data comes from Pikk (Long) Street (Fig. 2). Judging by its topography, this street (Haak 2003, pp.78-79), which led from the Riga gates to the bridge between the town and the castle, is one of the oldest streets in Viljandi. According to archaeological data from 1990, the town’s earliest marketplace, which operated until the early 14th century, was probably close to the excavation plot, in the vicinity of the present-day Church of St John (Valk 1991, pp.59-60). It cannot be excluded that the part of Pikk Street from where the analysed bones come merged directly with the market area. The analysed material originates from the rescue excavations of 1991, both from the street area and from the adjacent plot, when work was carried out with the purpose of preparing the ground for new central heating pipes (Valk 1993b). The bones come partly from a 13th-century potter’s household. A waste pit with remains of over-burnt vessels was found just at the northern end of the trench with the analysed bones (Valk 1993b, p.8), and the remains of four kilns were unearthed 20 or 30 metres of it (Tvauri 1999; 2001). The analysed bones from Pikk Street date mainly from between 1225/1250 and ca. 1300/1325 AD.

The zooarchaeological material from Viljandi is quite numerous and well preserved. Late Iron Age assemblages contain more fragmented material, but medieval assemblages usually consist of quite large and morphologically easily identifiable specimens. The preservation of bones is always affected by several taphonomic factors, including excavation methods. During the excavation of the castle and the hills the soil was sieved, but not during the rescue excavations in Pikk Street. This probably explains the absence of fish remains in the town assemblage and it might have affected the recovery of bones of small- and middle-sized animals as well (Tourunen 2008, p.47). Although fish were important in the diet of the inhabitants of late prehistoric and medieval Viljandi, in the present study the focus is on the analysis of mammal and bird bones.

Methods The analysis of the Late Iron Age material from the hills was based on previous identification reports that primarily included identified species and the number of identified specimens (NISP) (Järv, Saks 2000; Järv 2001; 2002). Taphonomic features such as cut and chop marks were not recorded and estimations for age were given briefly.

BALTICA 20

Zooarchaeological material

ARCHAEOLOGIA

side the southern end of the east wing of the convent (Fig. 2), were occupation layers from the 13th century preserved. This material begins, however, from the middle of the 13th century, and ends somewhere in the early 14th century. This is also the context of the analysed zooarchaeological material from the Order’s castle in Viljandi.


The assemblages from the town and the castle were analysed in more detail (identification by E. Rannamäe in 2011), applying methods widely used in zooarchaeological studies. The basic questions addressed for this material concerned features of the dietary structure, and evidence of activities that were secondary to alimentation, that is, utilising animals for different byproducts. The main features which were recorded and analysed were NISP and the representation of species,2 the distribution of anatomical elements, fragmentation, taphonomic features (cut and chop marks, gnawing, weathering, trampling, marrow fracturing, etc.), and age structure, that is, the age at death3. All measurements were taken according to the Driesch (1976) method.

Bones were identified by morphological features with the help of anatomical collections of the Zoomedicum of the Estonian University of Life Sciences, and of the Department of Archaeology of the University of Tartu, and bone atlases by Schmid (1972) and Ernits and Saks (2004). For sheep and goat differentiation, work by Boessneck (1969) was used. 3 For age estimation the methods of epiphyseal fusion by Silver (1969, pp.285-286), teeth eruption by Schmid (1972, p.77), and mandibular tooth wear by Grant (1982), were applied. 2

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Analysis Hills alongside the castle The Late Iron Age occupation layers on the hills alongside the castle revealed quite outstanding finds. On hill A, the most exciting material is linked to the remains of housing that dates to the period circa 1150 to 1223, or even from a shorter time span in the early 13th century. The assemblage from hill A contained animal bones found just in the immediate surroundings of the remains of two discovered houses. This food waste included a wide range of species (Fig. 3; Table), but mostly there were bones from cattle (Bos taurus; 28.4%), sheep/ goat (Ovis aries/Capra hircus; 21.4%), and pig (Sus scrofa domesticus; 13%). It is remarkable that bones of chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) formed around one third of all the specimens (33.5%). There were also a few horse (Equus caballus; 0.7%) and dog (Canis familiaris; 0.6%) bones. Game animals were represented by roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), wolf (Canis lupus), white hare (Lepus timidus), and otter (Lutra lutra). Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) and rat (Rattus rattus) were also present. In addition to chicken, there were only 13 bird bones in the assemblage, among them specimens of goose (Anser sp.), pigeon (Columba sp.), and some passerines (order Passeriformes). The soil on hill B, consisting of disturbed occupation layers, dates from the tenth to the early 13th century, and it also contained mostly cattle (34.9%), sheep/ goat (32.9%), and pig (18.5%) bones (Fig. 3; Table). Again, there was a relatively large amount of chicken

52

specimens (7.1%), although notably less than on hill A. Among the material there were eight horse specimens (1.3%), relatively more dog bones compared to hill A (2.8%), and also one specimen of a cat (Felis catus). Game was represented by elk (Alces alces), lynx (Lynx lynx), and beaver (Castor fiber). Again, there were few bones of squirrel and rat, and even one bat (order Chiroptera) bone was found. Besides chicken, only one bird species, goose, was present. And among the artefacts, there was a pendant made from a wolf’s canine. Although the zooarchaeological material from hill C has not been included in the present study, the find of the cranium of a 15-year-old stallion at the very bottom of the excavation plot (Järv 2004) should especially be noted. It was probably related to an animal sacrifice, since it had been chopped off the back of the head (just at the location of the occipital condyles), and, based on the measurements, it is thought to have been of a local breed (Järv 2004). The find dates from the final centuries of prehistory (Rammo et al. 2004). T h e O r d e r ’s c a s t l e The bone assemblage from the southeast corner of the Order’s castle included both mammal and bird bones (Fig. 3; Table), but it consisted mostly of cattle (61.5%) and sheep or goat (33.6%). Pig bones formed only 1.1% of the material. All other species, dog, chicken, goose, elk and/or red deer (Cervus elaphus), brown bear (Ursus arctos) and white hare, were represented by only a few specimens. The dominant anatomical element was the cranium, forming up to 58%

Fig. 3. The distribution of bone specimens from the hills A and B, the Viljandi castle and Pikk Street by species (prepared by authors).

Pikk Street in the town area The bone assemblage from Pikk Street in the town area had different traits compared to the contemporaneous material from the castle. The diversity of species represented was quite small (Fig 3; Table 1). Cattle and sheep/goat bones were represented by almost the same amount (42.9% and 40.1% respectively), and there were more pig remains (13.6%) compared to the castle. The town assemblage was a mixture of different body parts, and it did not reveal any specific character, like the castle assemblage (Figs. 4, 5). There was a slight tendency for slaughtering cattle a little younger, and sheep/goats a little older than in the castle, but otherwise the pattern was very similar: sheep and goats were slaughtered mostly after the age of two or three years, and cattle mostly between the age of three and five years. In the town assemblage, there were very few bird bones, only from chicken and probably wild

BALTICA 20

mens derived from older animals: sheep and goats had been slaughtered mostly between the age of two and four years, and cattle between the age of three or five years. In the castle, in addition to goose and chicken, some larger and less common species, possibly swan (Cygnus sp.) and stork (Ciconia sp.) or crane (Grus grus), were present. Wild animals were very rare in the castle assemblage, consisting of only elk and possibly red deer, brown bear, white hare and an unidentifiable carnivore. In addition to the bones, working debris from elk and red deer antler were found (see Haak et al. 2012).

ARCHAEOLOGIA

of the whole assemblage (Figs. 4, 5). The large number of skull fragments could partly be caused by the easy fracturing of this bone element, but still the proportion was considerable, thus posing some questions. There is evidence for the extraction of brains: two cattle cranial fragments indicated that the skull had been split, and one cranial fragment had a cut mark on the internal surface. Sheep/goat skulls had also been butchered: 21 cranial fragments carried marks of splitting in half. Despite the overwhelming dominance of cranium fragments, horn cores were practically missing, a fact that suggests they were collected and taken to some other location for processing. Whether this raw material was processed inside the castle area or not is debatable. Yet the evidence for bone and antler work is obvious, because of the amount of processing remains found inside the castle (Haak et al. 2012). In addition to the cranium fragments, there was evidence of meat consumption: cut and chop marks, probable skinning marks, traces of marrow exploitation (mostly on cattle bones), and some poorly preserved specimens that might indicate cooking or boiling. However, the uppermost parts of adult animals’ limbs, meatier shoulder-blades and buttocks were strongly underrepresented, thus reflecting the more specialised nature of the assemblage. Fragmented material from the castle included quite a few specimens of unidentifiable young animals, probably lambs and kids, but maybe also some piglets. Juveniles were most likely used for food because of their soft and high-quality meat. Even 40% of sheep/goat bones that were aged belonged to animals younger than ten months. Nonetheless, the majority of the bone speci-


Fig. 4. Distribution of cattle (prepared by authors).

53



Fig. 5. The distribution of sheep/goat (Ovis aries/Capra hircus) bone specimens from the Viljandi castle and Pikk Street assemblages by bone element (prepared by authors).

goose. Game was represented by only a single humerus from a white hare.

Discussion The three bone assemblages analysed in this article derive from different areas, and represent different periods and cultural backgrounds. However, in general, the bone material did not reveal any conceptual distinction between them. Beef was probably more valuable than mutton and pork, and it was most commonly consumed in medieval urban sites (Albarella 2007, p.134). This general rule is also expressed in early medieval Viljandi: the dominance of cattle bones was seen both in the castle and the medieval town layers, but also in the assemblage from hill B. The exception is material from hill A: there, chicken bones were most numerous, followed by cattle, sheep/goat and pig. The paucity of pig bones in the castle assemblage was also unusual, but this certainly does not mean that pigs were not consumed there at all. However, based on the results of other excavations, cattle and sheep/goat seem to sustain their majority presence in the castle (see Rannamäe 2010). The dominance of cattle and sheep/goat, and the scarcity of other species in the castle, might be connected to this particular assemblage, because it revealed a rather specialised distribution of body parts, that is, it contained a large number of cranial fragments. One possible interpretation could be that the high number of fragmented and split skulls could indicate the

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location of primary butchery, where animal carcasses were skinned and dismembered (see also Rackham 1994, p.56). However, a more reliable interpretation is that the area was used for dumping rubbish, including butcher’s waste, perhaps in order to raise the ground level (Haak et al. 2012). The presence of horse bones in Viljandi should be discussed separately. Horse flesh was often consumed in Europe during prehistoric times, but a decree of Pope Gregory III in 732 AD made the eating of horse flesh a taboo (Hillgarth 1986; Sherman 2002, p.57). The Pope called this pagan practice of eating horses a ‘filthy and abominable custom’ (Hillgarth 1986, p.174). For example, in Iceland, Christianisation in 1000 AD was achieved only when the Church promised that Icelanders could continue to eat horse meat, but once it had consolidated its power, the concession was discontinued (Jones 1986, pp.149-151). How the situation was in the area of present-day Estonia it is difficult to say, because the issue has not been dealt with. In the current study, horse was present only in the hill sites, although horse specimens have occasionally been found in other material from the medieval town and the castle as well. These, however, are not firmly designated as the remains of food waste (see Rannamäe 2010). Horse bones from the prehistoric settlement did not exhibit any cut or chop marks, except one metatarsal of a foal with a few strong cut marks, but this is not an evidence for the consumption of horse meat. Another issue is related to horse breeds: it seems likely that some new

There are many factors that affect the frequency of a particular species in an animal bone assemblage. In the case of the small number of birds in Viljandi, the predominant factors are probably the level of preservation and the efficiency of recovering, but not only. The modest representation of bird bones can also be related to the social conditions of that time and the availability of fowl. The consumption of probable swan and stork/ crane in the castle can be interpreted as the privilege of the higher social class (Albarella, Thomas 2002, p.23; Mänd 2004, p.332). A glance at other analysed assemblages from the castle area shows that duck, passerine and snipe were also consumed there during the Middle Ages (Rannamäe 2010). In addition, there were also relatively many (unidentifiable) juvenile bones in the castle assemblage that could be interpreted as part of the dietary regime of the nobility. The assemblage from the town also contained very few bird bones: only eight specimens of chicken, and three of probable goose. But in other sites from the medieval town area there is evidence of other species as well, among them several that might indicate high class consumption: duck, capercaillie, crane, swan and some passerines (see Rannamäe 2010). The numerous amounts of chicken bones in the prehistoric occupation layers on hill A also reflect the high social status of the inhabitants of the late prehistoric household located there. When compared to the other assemblages, the percentage of chicken is much higher (33.5%) than on hill B (7.1%), in the castle (1%), or in Pikk Street (1.6%). Although the hills had a larger diversity of game species, it should be noted that the percentage of wild animals did not differ greatly in the assemblages from late prehistoric (1.6%) and early medieval times (0.8%). Because of the limited number of specimens from the hills, and also because of the current stage of the analysis, it is difficult to offer substantial conclusions. However, as the main meat providers in the Middle Ages were domestic mammals, hunting and the consumption of game were the privilege of the upper classes (Mänd 2004, p.298). Of course, it is questionable whether this argument is also transferable to the Late Iron Age, but traces of game are quite rare in the entire zooarchaeological material from Viljandi. In addition to the game species mentioned above, roe deer, beaver and lynx

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bones have been found in the castle, but these belong partly to later times (Rannamäe 2010). One interesting point about the castle assemblage under study is the presence of red deer, although it was represented mostly by processing remains from antler. As red deer did not live in the wild in Estonia at that time (Paaver 1965, p.235ff, Fig. 37: IV), antler might have been brought to the castle specifically as a raw material for bone working (Haak et al. 2012). But it is also possible that the whole animal was brought there, because written sources from the later Middle Ages state that game animals like roe deer and red deer were brought to Tallinn from as far as Riga and Danzig/Gdańsk (Mänd 2004, p.344). It is also worth mentioning six distal phalanges (remains of claws) of a brown bear from the castle, which might be the remnants of a bear skin, a feature particularly suitable for the castle’s inhabitants. The same interpretation, the remains of a skin, could also be used for a fibula and eight foot bones of a wolf from hill A. In the analysed assemblage from the town, however, game was very modestly represented, including only one specimen of a white hare. Nonetheless, archaeological evidence has also revealed roe deer, elk, brown bear, and maybe even wolf and wild boar from other parts of the medieval town (see Rannamäe 2010).

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horse breeds were introduced here alongside the local horses as a result of crusading activities. The assemblage from hill B included the femur of a much larger animal than the size of an indigenous horse breed. Therefore, it has been interpreted as originating from a non-local horse (Saks, Valk 2002, p.54). Nevertheless, this question, as well as the question of horse flesh consumption, must be studied further with supplementary material and analysis.


Conclusions The general character of animal consumption did not change much in Viljandi before and after the Crusades. The bones of domestic animals, large and small stock as well as pigs, form the overwhelming majority of the faunal assemblage. However, zooarchaeological material from different contexts of Viljandi does provide evidence for certain differences in animal consumption, both temporal and spatial. The Late Iron Age Estonian settlement differs from the 13th-century German castle and the earliest occupation layers of the medieval town in terms of the greater diversity of game species and the presence of horse bones. However, the difference in the occurrence of game animals is not significant: the consumption of game was already of marginal importance in late prehistoric times. The bone assemblage from the castle, when compared to the medieval town, is characterised by a larger percentage of cattle bones and low numbers of pig bones, and a higher stage of bone fragmentation, but it remains unclear whether the assemblage is representative of the castle as a whole: the analysed data may come from an area related to slaughtering and butchery activities, or just from an area where butchered waste was disposed of.

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The reflections of social differences in animal consumption between the three analysed contexts are also not particularly variable. In the Late Iron Age settlement, the high social status of its dwellers is expressed by the notably high percentage of chicken bones. The high status of the castle inhabitants, when compared to the medieval town, is reflected by the higher percentage of juvenile individuals, by the presence of some animal and bird species that can be interpreted as indicators of social status, and probably also by the lower occurrence of pig bones. As the analysed castle and town assemblages are rather small, and do not represent the whole areas, and as material from the hills has not been analysed in full from every perspective, all interpretations are preliminary, and will be supplemented with new findings and further analysis.

Acknowledgements This research was supported by the project ‘The Ecology of Crusading: The Environmental Impact of Conquest, Colonisation and Religious Conversion in the Medieval Baltic’, funded by the European Research Council (part of the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme [FP7/2007-2013] under grant agreement No 263735), the Estonian Science Foundation (ETF grants No 8510 and 8526), and the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union (Centre of Excellence in Cultural Theory). References Manuscripts JÄRV, E., 2001. Viljandi Kivimägi (Pähklimägi). 2001. aasta arheoloogilistel kaevamistel leitud loomaluude osteoloogiline ekspertiis. Identification report. Manuscript in the archaeology archives of the University of Tartu. JÄRV, E., 2002. Viljandi Suusahüppemäe loomaluud 2002. Identification report. Manuscript in the archaeology archives of the University of Tartu. JÄRV, E., 2004. Viljandi 2004. aasta arheoloogilistel kaevamistel leitud loomaluude osteoloogiline ekspertiis. Identification report. Manuscript in the archaeology archives of the University of Tartu. JÄRV, E. SAKS, P., 2000. Viljandi Suusahüppemäe piirkonnast 1999. a arheoloogilistel kaevamistel kogutud luuleidude taksonoomiline ja patoloogilis-anatoomiline uurimine. Identification report. Manuscript in the archaeology archives of the University of Tartu. RANNAMÄE, E., 2010. A Zooarchaeological Study of Animal Consumption in Medieval Viljandi. MA thesis. Manuscript in the archaeology library of University of Tartu. [online] Available from: http://www.arheo.ut.ee/theses/

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Eve_Rannam%E4eMA2010.pdf [Accessed in February 2012]. TOURUNEN, A., 2008. Animals in an Urban Context. A Zooarchaeological study of the Medieval and Post-Medieval Town of Turku. Academic Dissertation. Turku. VALK, H., 1991. Aruanne arheoloogilistest kaevamistest Viljandi Jaani kiriku kommunikatsioonidetrassil. Köide I. Excavation report. Manuscript in the archaeological archives of the University of Tartu. VALK, H., 1993b. Aruanne arheoloogilistest kaevamistest Viljandi Noorte Huvikeskuse küttetrassil 1991. a. Excavation report. Manuscript in the archaeology archives of the University of Tartu. VALK, H., 1999. Aruanne arheoloogilistest uurimistöödest Viljandis Suusahüppemäe piirkonnas 04.08–06.09 1999. a. Excavation report. Manuscript in the archaeology archives of the University of Tartu. VALK, H., 2001. Aruanne arheoloogilistest uurimistöödest Viljandis Pähklimäel 2001. a. Excavation report. Manuscript in the archaeology archives of the University of Tartu. VALK, H., 2002. Aruanne arheoloogilistest uurimistöödest Viljandi Suusahüppemäel 2002. a. Excavation report. Manuscript in the archaeology archives of the University of Tartu.

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SILVER, I. A., 1969. The ageing of domestic animals. In: D. Brothwell, Higgs, E., eds. Science in Archaeology. 2nd ed. London: Thames and Hudson, 283-302. SMIRNOVA, M., RANNAMÄE, E., ROOG, R., VALK, H., 2008. New archaeological data from the ski-jumping hill in Viljandi. In: Archaeological Fieldwork in Estonia 2007. Tallinn: Muinsuskaitseamet, 59-64. TVAURI, A., 1999. The medieval potter’s kiln from the Old Town of Viljandi. In: Archaeological Fieldwork in Estonia 1998. Tallinn: Muinsuskaitseinspektsioon, 89-95. TVAURI, A., 2001. Archaeological Investigations in the Old Town of Viljandi, at 4 Pikk Street. In: Archaeological Fieldwork in Estonia 2000. Tallinn: 103-107. VABA, A. AND VALK, H., 2002. Prehistoric settlements in Viljandi. New evidence. In: Archaeological Fieldwork in Estonia 2001. Tallinn: Muinsuskaitseamet, 82-90. VALK, H., 1993a. About the role of the German castle at the town‑genesis process in Estonia: the example of Viljandi. Castella Maris Baltici, 1. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International, 219-223. VALK, H., 2000. Archaeological investigations in Late Prehistoric – Early Medieval Viljandi and in Pilistvere churchyard. In: Archaeological Fieldwork in Estonia 1999. Tallinn: Muinsuskaitseinspektsioon, 39-53. VALK, H., 2001. Besieging constructions from 1223 in Viljandi. In: Archaeological Fieldwork in Estonia 2000. Tallinn: Muinsuskaitseinspektsioon, 65-79. VALK, H., 2003. Excavations in Viljandi: new data about the final period of Iron Age and the besieging of 1223. In: Archaeological Fieldwork in Estonia 2002. Tallinn: Muinsuskaitseamet, 56-70. VALK, H., 2005. The genesis of Viljandi (Fellin): archaeological data. In: Misāns, I. and Wernicke, H., eds. Riga und der Ostseeraum. Von der Gründung 2001 bis in die Frühe Neuzeit. Tagungen zur OstmitteleuropaForschung, 22. Marburg: Herder-Institut, 95-107. VALK, H., 2006. New data about the besieging constructions from 1223 in Viljandi. In: Archaeological Fieldwork in Estonia 2005. Tallinn: Muinsuskaitseamet, 119-126. PAAVER, K., 1965. Formirovanie teriofauny i izmenchivoct’ mlekopitaiushchih Pribaltiki v golotsene. Tartu: Akademia Nauk Estonskoi SSR, Institut Zoologii i Botaniki.

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from Archaeological Sites (BAR, British Series, 109). Oxford: Archaeopress, 91-108. HAAK, A., 2003. Keskaegse Viljandi tänavate võrk. In: Viljandi Muuseumi Aastaraamat 2002. Viljandi: Viljandi Muuseum, 71-90. HAAK, A., 2004. Archaeological investigations at Viljandi castle of the Teutonic Order and in Mediaeval Viljandi. In: Archaeological Fieldwork in Estonia 2003. Tallinn: Muinsuskaitseamet, 107-122. HAAK, A., 2005. Archaeological investigations at the Late Iron Age settlement site of Huntaugu and at the castle of Teutonic Order in Viljandi. In: Archaeological Fieldwork in Estonia 2004. Tallinn: Muinsuskaitseamet, 89-101. HAAK, A., RANNAMÄE, E., LUIK, H., MALDRE, L., 2012. Worked and unworked bone from the Viljandi castle of the Livonian Order (13th–16th centuries). In: Kurila, L., ed. Lietuvos Archeologija, 38, 295-338. HAAK, A., RUSSOW, E. 2013. On the development of the town of Viljandi in the light of earliest archaeological find complexes. Estonian Journal of Archaeology 17: 1, 57-86. HCL = Henriku Liivimaa Kroonika (Heinrici Chronicon Livoniae). Translated by R. Kleis, edited and commented by E. Tarvel. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, 1982. HILLGARTH, J. N., ed., 1986. Christianity and Paganism, 350–750: The Conversion of Western Europe. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. JONES, G., 1986. The North Atlantic Saga: Being the Norse Voyages of Discovery and Settlement to Iceland, Greenland, and North America. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. JUURIK, R., LILLAK, A., ORAS, E., VALK, H., 2007. Archaeological excavations on the ski-jumping hill in Viljandi, 2006. In: Archaeological Fieldwork in Estonia 2006. Tallinn: 103-110. KODAR, A., 1998. Esimesed arheoloogilised väljakaevamised Viljandi linnusevaremetes 1878–1879. a. In: Viljandi Muuseumi Aastaraamat 1997. Viljandi: Viljandi Muuseum, 20-33. MÄND, A., 2004. Pidustused keskaegse Liivimaa linnades 1350–1550 (Tallinna Linnaarhiivi Toimetised, nr. 7). Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus. RACKHAM, J., 1994. Animal Bones. Interpreting the Past. Berkeley: University of California Press and British Museum. RAMMO, R., VALK, H., VELDI, M., 2004. Archaeological investigation at the besieging sconstructions on Viljandi Musumägi. In: Archaeological Fieldwork in Estonia 2003. Tallinn: Muinsuskaitseamet, 96-106. RAMMO, R. AND VELDI, M., 2005. Archaeological excavations at Musumägi Hill in Viljandi. In: Archaeological Fieldwork in Estonia 2004. Tallinn: Muinsuskaitseamet, 103-116. SAKS, P. AND VALK, H., 2002. Loomaluude leiud Viljandi Pähklimäelt. In: Viljandi Muuseumi Aastaraamat 2001. Viljandi: Viljandi Muuseum, 52-58. SCHMID, E., 1972. Atlas of Animal Bones for Prehistorians, Archaeologists and Quaternary Geologists / Knochenatlas für Prähistoriker, Archäologen und Quartärgeologen. Amsterdam: Elsevier. SHERMAN, D. M., 2002. Tending Animals in the Global Village: A Guide to International Veterinary Medicine. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.


Received: 04 April 2013; Revised: 21 October 2013; Accepted: 19 December 2013. Eve Rannamäe Department of Archaeology University of Tartu Jakobi 2 Tartu 51014 Estonia E-mail: [email protected] Heiki Valk Department of Archaeology University of Tartu Jakobi 2 Tartu 51014 Estonia E-mail: [email protected]

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G Y V Ū N Ų VA RT O J I M O M A I S T U I A S P E K TA I PA G A L Z O O A R C H E O L O G I N Ę MEDŽIAGĄ ERDVĖS I R L A I K O AT Ž V I L G I U : PRELIMINARŪS DUOMENYS IŠ VILJANDI, VIDURAMŽIŲ LAIKŲ LIVONIJOS EVE RANNAMÄE, HEIKI VALK Santrauka Priešistorės laikais ant piliakalnio (Fellin) Viljandi, Saccala srityje (Estija), stovėjo stipriausia pilis. Šis piliakalnis Estijos karų su Ordinu pabaigoje (1208– 1227) pamažu išaugo į Kalavijuočių ordino pilį; kuri nuo 1237 m. jau priklausė Kryžiuočių ordinui. Netrukus po Saccala srities užkariavimo priešais pilį, pradėjo formuotis viduramžių miestas (1 pav.). Livonijoje nuo vėlyvojo geležies amžiaus iki ankstyvųjų viduramžių visose visuomenės srityse įvyko daug pokyčių. Šiuo darbu siekiama parodyti, kaip šiuos visuomeninius pokyčius atskleidžia zooarcheologinė medžiaga. Šiame straipsnyje vėlyvųjų priešistorės laikų zooarcheologinė medžiaga lyginama su analogiška medžiaga iš naujai susiformavusios Viljandi pilies, kurios kultūriniai sluoksniai lokalizuojami kalvų rajone, 100–140 metrų į pietus nuo pilies, buvusio ankstyvųjų viduramžių miesto ir pietiniame rajone (2 pav.). Mokslinių tyrimų duomenimis siekta nustatyti, kaip keitėsi gyvūnų vartojimas maistui nuo ankstyvųjų priešistorės laikų iki viduramžių; kaip tai atskleidžia zooarcheologinė medžiaga; ar ši medžiaga gali atskleisti žmonių socialinės padėties skirtumus? Pateikiami osteologiniai duomenys, datuojami vėlyvuoju geležies amžiumi (X–XIII a.), ir duomenys iš 1223 m. gyvenvietės kultūrinių sluoksnių, kurie buvo kalvų A ir C rajone. Taip pat publikuojami 1999, 2001 ir 2002 m. archeologinių kasinėjimų zooarcheologiniai duomenys (2 pav.). Kalvoje A aptikta nemaža radinių, įskaitant du pastatus, sudegusius Kryžiuočių ordino valdymo laikotarpiu. B kalvos kultūriniuose sluoksniuose buvo aptikta labai daug įvairių archeologinių radinių ir gyvūnų kaulų. Zooarcheologinė medžiaga iš Kryžiuočių ordino pilies kiemo buvo aptikta 2003 ir 2004 m. tyrinėtoje tranšėjos vietoje (2 pav.), kuri datuojama XIII a. viduriu – XIV a. pradžia.

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Viljandi miestas pradėjo formuotis po šios vietovės Kryžiuočių ordino užkariavimo. Tirta zooarcheologinė medžiaga aptikta 1991 m. kasinėjant Pikk (t. y. Ilgoji)

gatvės teritorijoje, kuri yra viena seniausių ir ilgiausių šio miesto gatvių (2 pav.). Osteologinės medžiagos kolekcijos datuojamos jau po kryžiuočių atsikraustymo laikotarpio, t. y. XIII a. antrąja puse – XIV a. Dalis osteologinės medžiagos aptikta puodžiaus namų ūkio teritorijoje, datuojamoje XIII a. Bendra naminių gyvulių rūšių struktūra prieš ateinant kryžiuočiams ir po jų užkariavimų mažai keitėsi. Osteologinėje medžiagoje galvijų, avių / ožkų ir kiaulių kaulų kiekis sudarė didžiąją dalį (3 pav.; Lentelė). Tačiau analizuojant zooarcheologinę medžiagą, pastebimi tam tikri, ypač gyvulių laikymo, skirtumai. Estijos geležies amžiaus gyvenviečių zooarcheologinė medžiaga skiriasi nuo XIII a. Vokietijos pilių medžiagos tuo, kad Estijos viduramžių miestų kultūriniuose sluoksniuose yra didesnė stambių gyvūnų įvairovė ir aptinkamas nemažas arklių kaulų kiekis. Vis dėlto stambių gyvūnų kaulų kiekio skirtumas nėra labai didelis, panašus stambiųjų gyvūnų kaulų kiekis randamas ir vėlyvaisiais priešistorės laikais. Viljandi pilyje rastos kaulų kolekcijos, lyginant su viduramžių miesto kaulais, rodo didesnį galvijų kaulų procentą ir mažesnį kiaulių kaulų skaičių, taip pat keičiasi kaulų skaldymo, kitaip tariant, skerdimo technologijų išsivystymo lygis, tačiau statistiškai patikimų skirtumų tarp šių kolekcijų nenustatyta. Tarp iškastos osteologinės medžiagos vyravo kaukolės fragmentai (4, 5 pav.), tai galima sieti su egzistavusiomis skirtingomis vietomis, kurios buvo skirtos gyvulių skerdienos atliekoms šalinti. Osteologinė medžiaga nerodo egzistavus didesnių socialinių skirtumų. Aukštą pilėnų socialinį statusą, lyginant su viduramžių miesto gyventojais, rodo tik tai, kad pilies teritorijoje aptinkamas didesnis jauno amžiaus gyvulių ir paukščių kaulų procentas ir mažesnis kiaulių kaulų kiekis. Kadangi pilies ir miesto kolekcijos yra mažos ir nėra galutinai išanalizuotos, jų duomenys neatskleidžia viso Saccala regiono situacijos. Vertė Linas Daugnora

KRISH SEETAH, ALEKSANDER PLUSKOWSKI , DANIEL MAKOWIECKI, LINAS DAUGNORA Abstract This paper focuses on a number of examples of cut marks on animal bones from a range of sites associated with the cultural transformations in the eastern Baltic following the Crusades in the 13th century. Recorded observational and interpretational characteristics are quantified and explained through more detailed selected case studies. The study represents a pilot project, the foundation for a more detailed and systematic survey of a larger dataset within the framework of the ecology of Crusading project. Relatively clear differences between sites are observable on the basis of the cut marks; however, the initial trends do not suggest a straightforward connection between butchery technology and colonisation in the east Baltic region. Key words: zooarchaeology, butchery, technology, Crusades, colonisation, Teutonic Order, eastern Baltic. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15181/ab.v20i0.807

Introduction Some of the most important socio-economic changes to occur in the frontier societies of medieval Europe (the Near East, the eastern Baltic and Iberia) arose as a consequence of crusading, and the accompanying processes of colonisation and cross-cultural interaction (Bartlett 1994). Archaeologists have explored multiple aspects of these processes (Boas 1999, 2006; Ellenblum 1998; Pluskowski 2012), and whilst historians have investigated military provisioning and the economies of these frontier societies, there has been relatively limited interest in the material culture of resource exploitation and responses to local environments (Pluskowski et al, 2011). As a result, more pragmatic aspects have been neglected or under-represented. The part played by efficacious food provisioning and the impacts on local agrarian environments constitute an important line of inquiry, as they underpin the success or failure of the colonisation process at the frontier. The crusader states became defined by the activities of the military orders, particularly the Templars, Hospitallers and the Teutonic Order. These institutions combined monastic and military characteristics in a paradoxical embodiment of the medieval Christian ideology of holy war. In the context of foodways, monastic and military groups, and the military orders, had specific attitudes toward alimentation, particularly meat. Meat, derived predominantly from cattle, but also from pigs, sheep and goats, formed an important component in the provisioning of crusading armies, as well as the indigenous and colo-

nising rural and urban settlements within these frontier societies (Ervynck 2004; Pluskowski 2010). While we are keenly aware of the significance of what was eaten by different groups, both incoming and indigenous, we often overlook how it was processed and prepared, perhaps assuming a normative approach to butchery and the treatment of animal carcasses. However, the technological and technical aspects of food culture provide significant insights into aspects of food culture, processing, and the diversification of, and specialisation in, various trades. Moreover, the process of colonisation is often associated with the introduction of different technologies, such as metalworking, building styles and heating systems (e.g. Mugurēvičs 1990, on the colonisation of Livonia following the crusades). These introductions may have been restricted to the colonists, and the extent to which surviving indigenous communities adopted selected cultural elements from the incoming population remains a subject of intense debate. One technology which is often neglected or generalised in discussions of cultural interaction, assimilation and hybridisation in colonising contexts is meat processing. The preparation of animal carcasses for consumption and industrial use is strongly linked with tool use, the demands of the market, distinct ideologies associated with culinary traditions, and values attached to different species. Assuming these are directly translated from the colonists’ homelands, how do they relate to indigenous practices? To what extent does the introduction of new practices result in chang-


N E W T E C H N O L O G Y O R A D A P TAT I O N AT T H E F R O N T I E R ? B U T C H E RY A S A S I G N I F I E R O F C U LT U R A L T R A N S I T I O N S I N T H E M E D I E VA L E A S T E R N B A LT I C


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N e w Te c h n o l o g y o r Adaptation at the Frontier? Butchery as a Signifier of C u l t u r a l Tr a n s i t i o n s i n t h e Medieval Eastern Baltic KRISH SEETAH, ALEKSANDER PLUSKOWSKI, DANIEL MAKOWIECKI, LINAS DAUGNORA

es beyond the implanted community? The process of colonisation varied between the three main frontier regions of medieval Europe, which were theatres of crusading, but in virtually every case there was some form of sustained, protracted interaction between indigenous and incoming populations. In Prussia, it resulted in the complete assimilation of the indigenous culture, and the eventual extinction of the local Baltic language. Elsewhere, parallel and composite cultures developed. This trend has been referred to as ‘Europeanisation’ and the transmission of West European practices and values, linked to the idea of a supra-regional society united by a common set of values defined by Catholic or Latin Christianity. The crusading movement was certainly pan-European, and in this respect the issue of meat processing, which can be investigated from abundant animal bone fragments recovered from a range of sites, provides a new window on to intercultural exchange within frontier societies. Using a techno-cultural approach, this paper addresses the issue of socio-cultural and economic transformation in frontier sites, by providing a model for understanding the many facets of carcass processing. Drawing on case studies from selected sites in the eastern Baltic, it questions the extent to which new methods for processing were introduced, and whether this coincided with evidence for new technological advancements. It also addresses the outcomes and consequences, and the drivers that were a catalyst for the observed transitions. In other words, were changes in carcass processing a result of the introduction of larger, or simply more, animals? Ultimately, by careful analysis of carcass processing marks, this study provides an important contribution to understanding the movement of people, their ideas and technology in the formation of frontier societies. It is not intended as a comprehensive survey, but rather as a template for more detailed, comparative studies within and beyond medieval Europe.

The problematic transition from pre-Christian to Christianised societies

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Indigenous groups in the east Baltic had been the target of missionary activity and military campaigns framed in the language of holy war in the 12th century before the onset of papally sanctioned crusades, which were sustained throughout much of the 13th century. From 1231 to 1283, the Teutonic Order and its allies led crusades against Prussian tribes in a region corresponding to modern northeast Poland, the Russian Kaliningrad Oblast and the southwest of Lithuania. The crusades in Latvia and Estonia, regions which came to be known as Livonia, had begun earlier. Missionary efforts from

1180 led to conflict with local tribes, and prompted the arrival of crusading armies. Bishop Albert, with the collaboration of tribal allies, organised crusades in the early years of the 13th century, forming the Sword Brothers, a local military order which would spearhead the military conquest of the region. Following the disastrous Battle of Saulė, the remnants of the Sword Brothers were incorporated into the Teutonic Order in 1237, often referred to as the Livonian Order. Northern Estonia and its islands were conquered by Danish armies, and partitioned between King Valdemar and Bishop Albert in 1222, with the territory subsequently acquired and ruled by the Livonian Order from 1346 (Urban 2003). In both Prussia and Livonia, the Order took over these tribal territories and established a theocratic state, held as a papal fief. Throughout the 14th century, the Order conducted hundreds of military expeditions (reisen) in the manner of an ‘eternal crusade’ from its Prussian and Livonian territories against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which remained pagan and independent. In 1309, the Order annexed Christian Gdańsk (Danzig) and Pomeralia (the eastern region of Pomerania), maintaining its expanded state until the 15th century, when successive wars with Poland and Lithuania resulted in the gradual shrinkage of its territories, and its eventual dissolution as a crusading institution in 1525 in Prussia. In Livonia the Order was dissolved in 1561. Although the crusader states in the east Baltic were dominated by the Teutonic Order, they also included territories belonging to bishops, which were particularly extensive in Livonia. During the crusading era, the Teutonic Order organised itself in a specific way, arranging its activities around particular defensive structures referred to as castra. These took a number of different forms, initially as timber and earth strongholds, and later as brick and stone castles, although timber structures continued to be built into the 15th century (Poliński 2007). The conquered tribal regions were reorganised under a system of commanderies, controlled by the largest castles, effectively functioning as fortified monasteries. The construction of fortified structures was accompanied by the development of colonising settlements, which were largely laid out and governed under German town laws. A number of these grew into flourishing urban centres actively engaged in international trade. The process of colonisation accelerated after the crusading era, particularly throughout the 14th century. However, it was far less pronounced in Livonia than Prussia, where a significant proportion of the indigenous population survived. In Prussia, colonisation by Polish and German settlers gradually resulted in ethnic reconfiguration and the complete disappearance of the indigenous culture. By contrast, no mass colonisation occurred in Livonia, where the incomers were gener-

Aside from the idiosyncrasies of dietary preferences, there is also a need to better understand the techno-cultural dimension of the transition from indigenous nonChristian to Christian cultures. The motivations behind the related processes of crusading, colonisation and Christianisation were complex and variable. While the supposed aim of the crusades was to protect Christian converts, and subsequently evangelise indigenous populations, this was generally unsuccessful in the eastern Baltic, where pre-Christian practices are widely documented as surviving into the post-medieval period. This suggests that the transmission of religious ideas, of Christianity, was either largely restricted to the colonists themselves, or was misunderstood, rejected and/ or modified by the surviving indigenous population, or both. But inter-cultural contact was invariably far more complex, and the alimentary dimensions of contrasting religious systems may shed new light on the impact of the crusades. It is difficult to disentangle food culture from religious thought, although Christian identity brought with it a certain level of commitment to specific fasting foods, such as consuming fish at certain times in the calendar, and abstinence from meat observed by religious communities (Pluskowski 2010). At the same time, the gradual abandonment or modification of the pre-Christian ritual year amongst the indigenous population may have resulted in noticeable shifts in alimentation. In this respect, the study of meat processing and consumption can shed an important light on the transmission of ideas between the incoming and the in-

BALTICA 20

The Order’s monastic castles dominated the conquered landscapes visually, but they centralised and concentrated military and economic activities. Of these, the provisioning of livestock and dead-stock underscored the success of the campaign, aimed at extending political, military and cultural hegemony. In the case of livestock, there were animals that were fundamental to the success of military expeditions, the horse, and animals that fed the movement of the crusading hosts and colonists, cattle. While cattle were a critical food species, horses could also play this role, depending on the circumstances. During the pre-crusader period, horse was noted as a constituent of indigenous Baltic dietary regimes, albeit largely within public, ritualistic contexts (Wyczółkowski and Makowiecki 2009); however, during the Order’s rule, it only appears to have been eaten at times of dietary stress, despite the widely perceived Christian taboo against eating horse meat. This displays the complexity of the situation, underlining the need to look beyond ideological differences in determining the intrinsic value of animals utilised in alimentation.

digenous populations. What is clear is that the process of colonisation, the development of castles, towns and villages, with an increasing, concentrated population, resulted in significant new provisioning requirements. This intensification in the agrarian and pastoral economies of the eastern Baltic clearly had its own local rhythms, which are being investigated by the ‘Ecology of crusading’ research programme, but the contrast between a dispersed, rural, indigenous population and an urbanised colonising population would have prompted a new approach to the organisation of environmental resources, both plant and animal.

ARCHAEOLOGIA

ally restricted to a small number of towns and castles, resulting in a newly stratified society governed by a German (and in the north Danish) élite.

Case studies in the eastern Baltic The case studies chosen for this research consisted of assemblages made available in the spring of 2011, which had secure archaeological contexts1. The majority of sites were located in the Teutonic Order’s state in Prussia, today in northern Poland and western Lithuania (Lithuania Minor), with examples from Livonia represented by sites in Cēsis, today in north-central Latvia (Fig. 1).

Poland


Five sites were selected from northern Poland; the majority are from the Kulmerland. In this paper, these sites are referred to as beginning in Prussia, insofar as the region was ultimately included in the Teutonic Order’s state. In fact, the Kulmerland was initially colonised by Slavic groups in the early medieval period, and it was the target of Prussian military incursions in the later 12th and early 13th centuries. It subsequently became one of the most densely settled regions of the Teutonic Order’s state, following the crusades against the Prussian tribes. The first is Kałdus, which is a Slavic complex situated in the western part of the Kulmerland. The site consists of a stronghold, basilica and settlement, dating from the eighth to the 13th century. The Teutonic Order occupied the site briefly during the first wave of crusading campaigns. Excavations at the site were directed by Wojciech Chudziak, and the faunal assemblage was studied by Daniel Makowiecki and Marzena Makowiecka (Makowiecki 2010). The second and third sites are the Order’s castle and the associated town of Toruń (Thorn), dating from circa 1300 to 1466. This is situated on the north bank of the Vistula, and represents the earliest and one of the most Two assemblages (Toruń and Kałdus) were available thanks to several projects undertaken by the Institute of Archaeology at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, and one (Mała Nieszawka) by the Museum of Toruń. The assemblages from Cēsis were made available thanks to Zigrīda Apala from the Institute of Latvian History, University of Latvia.

1

61


Fig. 1. A map of the region, with sites from which materials are derived highlighted. (map by A. Pluskowski).

important colonies and commandery centres in the Order’s state. The excavations here were led by Adam Chęć, whilst Daniel Makowiecki is in the process of analysing the faunal assemblage. The Teutonic Order reused an earlier Slavic stronghold when constructing their castle, and material from this pre-crusade phase has also been recovered. The fourth site is the Order’s castle situated just across from Toruń on the south bank of the Vistula at Mała Nieszawka (Klein Nessau), a short-lived occupation dated broadly to the 14th century. The site was dismantled by the Order in 1422, and excavated by Romulda Fronczuk. The extensive assemblage of mammal bones was studied by Marian Sobociński (1991a). The final site is the rural colony of Biała Góra, within the commandery of Marienburg, south of the castle at Malbork. Here, excavations were led by Zbigniew Sawicki and Waldemar Jaszczyński, and the faunal assemblage is being studied by Krish Seetah, Aleksander Pluskowski, Mirosława Zabilska and Daniel Makowiecki. The most intensive phase of occupation has been tentatively dated to the 13th century, representing a relatively short-lived Slavic (Pomeranian) and Teutonic Order colony, with activity continuing on a significantly reduced scale into the 15th century (Pluskowski et. al, 2014).

62

Lithuania Faunal material from one site in western Lithuania was included in the study. This was recovered from excavations at the Order’s castle at Klaipėda (Memel), which is situated on the northern edge of the Curonian Lagoon, and in the 14th century was beside the frontier with Lithuania, separated by a belt of depopulated land known as the ‘Great Wilderness’. In 1525, the Teutonic Order was dissolved, and its Prussian territories were reorganised as a duchy. The castle has been excavated most recently by Vladas Žulkus, and the animal bones were studied by Linas Daugnora (Žulkus, Daugnora 2010). The material sampled for this pilot study derived from the post-dissolution (i.e. post-medieval) phase of the castle, from the 17th century.

Latvia Two sites were chosen in Latvia, both in Cēsis (Wenden). Excavations were led by Zigrīda Apala, and the faunal assemblages are currently in the process of being analysed, and have, in the past, been studied by Valentina Danilchenko, Ilze Renga and Arnis Mugurēvics. The first site is the hill-fort (Riekstu hill) located to the west of the castle, and which is tradition-

Overall, the samples from each assemblage represented: a) different domestic and wild species, predominantly the main sources of meat; b) assemblages from pre-crusade (i.e. early medieval/Late Iron Age2, up to the 13th century AD), medieval (13th to 16th century) and post-medieval (from the 16th century) contexts; c) assemblages from different types of site; early medieval/Late Iron Age settlements, medieval castles, towns and rural settlements.

Tr a d e a n d p r o v i s i o n i n g : techno-cultural transitions through cut mark analysis Each animal bone assemblage was sampled for fragments with clear cut marks. The aim was to record and analyse the range of butchery technology through a number of variables. The rationale behind the data collection was the need to place more emphasis on ‘interpretation’ from the mark, rather than ending the analysis at the point of description. In effect, the cut mark represents activity that is more complex than the relationship between the knife and the mark on a bone, and it is important to recognise that butchery data are a collection of different types of information. The task of the analyst is to decipher these various strands. The cut marks are a means to an end, and this must be kept at the forefront of any applied methodology (Seetah 2008). The initial recording process followed the standard zooarchaeological protocol, using the Bournemouth System Database. This was essential for the comparison of recorded data between the sampled sites, to analyse if there were any anomalies that might be present in the sampled assemblages, and to facilitate the comparison The former term is used in Polish archaeology; the latter is more widely used in the eastern Baltic to refer to the period before the crusades.

2

O b s e r v a t i o n a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s : practical details of the cut marks that can be noted directly from the surface of the bone, i.e. the location on the bone; which surface it appears on when the bone is in the correct anatomical position (e.g. anterior or posterior); the direction of the mark relative to the correct anatomical position; the number of marks of that type; the depth of the mark and the implement used. I n t e r p r e t a t i o n a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s : parameters that required a degree of interpretative appraisal, based predominantly on the observational characters. These included the type of mark (chop, slice, fine slice, etc); whether the mark was produced prior to, during or after gross disarticulation; the actual position of the bone itself (on the ground, suspended?); the direction of travel of the cut mark relative to the practitioner; and the function, i.e. what was the underlying reason for the butchering?

BALTICA 20

between the data collected for this study and previous research. The results of the standard zooarchaeological study are not presented here. The emphasis was then placed on the recovery of butchery evidence from the various assemblages. This took the form of a methodological approach that has been developed by Krish Seetah, and aims at extracting three distinct lines of evidence from the butchery marks: details of the cut mark, the tool used, and the function for which the process was performed. These lines of data are derived from recording the following criteria (full details in Seetah, unpub).

ARCHAEOLOGIA

ally associated with a settlement of the local Wendish tribe (not to be confused with the West Slavic group). The hill-fort was occupied from at least the seventh century AD until the mid-13th century. In around 1209, the Sword Brothers settled here, and lived alongside the Wends for a brief period of time. The second site is the adjacent castle and town. In 1214, a castle was built by the Sword Brothers on the plateau to the east of the hill-fort, and was expanded by the Livonian Order from 1237. The castle remained in the possession of the Order until 1561. The town grew up close to the castle with a mixed German and indigenous population. The hill-fort was abandoned shortly after the construction of the stone castle; however, this chronology remains to be verified in more detail (Kalniņš and Kļaviņš 2011).


As can be seen, each parameter contributes a small component to the overall view of the type of butchery activity taking place. This, coupled with the standard zooarchaeological appraisal, led to discrete groupings indicating different modes of butchery on different species/classes of fauna, i.e. wild vs. domestic. In terms of the physical recognition of the cut marks, this was performed initially with the naked eye and/or a standard hand lens at 10x magnification; images were captured using a Fujifilm finepix S2800HD (14mp, 18x zoom) digital camera. Subsequently, a more detailed analysis was performed under high magnification, using a Nikon SMZ-10A microscope at 0.5-15x magnification. Using the microscope’s built-in camera attachment, a Casio Powershot A95 digital camera (5mp, 3x zoom) was used to capture specific idiosyncrasies of the cut mark, i.e. striation lines that would indicate the direction of travel of the implement, or precise information on the width of the tools used for butchery and bone working. In combination with the detailed analysis of the butchering data, and as discussed previously (Seetah 2004;

63


15th centuries (e.g. in the extramural suburbs of late medieval Toruń [Thorn], Czacharowski 1985, p.65); however, significantly more information can be extracted from the large quantities of faunal material recovered from sites across the east Baltic region. Also, does this evidence, indicated by the nature of the animal bone assemblages, indicate links with other industries using dead-stock: horn, antler, leather (including vellum), fur and bone?

2007), the approach used herein also integrates evidence from available tools recovered from archaeological excavations. This was performed to provide an indicator of the types of tools directly from the sites being studied. However, the disposal of metal artefacts follows a completely different pattern than that of animal waste; tools are moved with individuals from site to site, and have a much longer use-life. The survey of tool types serves only to provide an indication of the technology potentially available, and whether this corroborates the evidence derived from the appraisal of the cut marks.

Results The following results are split into two sections, incorporating tables and graphs that detail the quantitative butchery data, followed by a series of short case study presentations that focus on the qualitative butchery evidence.

In summary, the methods outlined above aimed to: •

Compare and characterise butchery on animal bones in Late Iron Age/early medieval, medieval and post-medieval periods in Prussia (northeast Poland, western Lithuania) and Livonia (Latvia, southern Estonia).

•

Compare and characterise blade technology in Late Iron Age/early medieval, medieval and postmedieval periods in Prussia (northeast Poland, western Lithuania) and Livonia (Latvia, southern Estonia).

•

Quantitative results The following graphs and tables are arranged broadly by period; thus, earlier sites are towards the left of the tables/graphs; this is combined with regional groups, i.e. Latvian sites are furthest to the left, followed by Lithuanian, and finally Polish to the centre and right.

Determine whether there is zooarchaeological evidence for the establishment of butchers per se in areas with concentrated populations, i.e. castles, towns and larger settlements (e.g. Biała Góra). There are sporadic references to butchers in later sources, largely from the end of the 14th and the

Overall, the occurrence of butchered bone was predominantly found on domestic food species, cattle, sheep/goat and pig. Of these, cattle evidenced the highest butchery count (Table 1). Biała Góra is particularly interesting in the diversity of species present and the

Ta b l e 1 : P r o p o r t i o n s o f b u t c h e r e d b o n e p e r s i t e CH

64

CTC

KC

KA

MA

TC

TT

BA

Species

Ʃ

%

Ʃ

%

Ʃ

%

Ʃ

%

Ʃ

%

Ʃ

%

Ʃ

%

Ʃ

%

Aurochs

-

-

-

-

-

-

3

14

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Beaver

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

4

7

Cat

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

1

2

Cow

8

57

11

61

12

57

6

27

39

46

18

62

47

98

20

36

Dog

-

-

-

-

-

-

2

9

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Fox

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

1

2

Horse

-

-

-

-

-

-

2

9

-

-

-

-

-

-

2

4

Marten

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

2

4

Pig

6

43

3

17

8

38

8

36

19

23

5

17

-

-

20

36

Red deer

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

2

2

1

3

-

-

2

4

Roe deer

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

5

6

-

-

-

-

-

-

S-G

-

-

4

22

1

5

1

5

19

23

5

17

1

2

4

7

Ʃ BONES

14

18

21

22

84

29

48

56

Key. Site codes: CH = Cēsis hill-fort; CTC = Cēsis town and castle; KC = Klaipeda castle; KA = Kałdus, complex of stronghold and settlement; MA = Mała Nieszawka castle; TC = Toruń castle; TT = Toruń town; BA = Biała Góra settlement. Σ refers to the number of individual animal bones demonstrating butchery, not the number of cut marks (prepared by authors).

CTC

KC

KA

MA

TC

TT

BA

Ʃ

%

Ʃ

%

Ʃ

%

Ʃ

%

Ʃ

%

Ʃ

%

2

11

Ʃ

%

BI

6

43

1

6

8

36

3

14

26

45

6

17

13

72

31

43

Chop

-

-

11

65

6

27

8

38

19

33

23

66

-

-

13

18

Fine

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

1

1

Knick

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

1

2

-

-

-

-

2

3

Sawn

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

2

6

-

-

-

-

PI

8

57

5

29

8

36

10

48

12

21

4

11

3

17

25

35

Ʃ MARK

14

17

22

21

58

35

18

72

Key. Site codes: refer to Table 2. Cut mark codes: BI = blade insertion; PI = point insertion. Σ refers to the global cut mark count, which may be greater than the number of records, as multiple occurrences can be noted on a given bone (prepared by authors).

BALTICA 20

CH Cut mark

ARCHAEOLOGIA

Ta b l e 2 : P r o p o r t i o n s o f r e c o r d e d c u t m a r k t y p o l o g i e s


Graph 1. Proportions of recorded cut mark typologies. NB: Knick marks not shown on graph; BI = Blade insertion; PI = Point insertion (prepared by authors).

occurrence of butchery on these animals. Generally, however, with the exception of Klaipėda castle and the town of Toruń, there is a degree of homogeneity in the occurrence of cut marks present across the sites. Looking at the butchery data themselves, it is possible to see that while some congruence exists in basic proportions, the details of the type of marks, the tools used and the functions show a high degree of variation. Blade marks, which are indicative of less sophisticated methods, are generally associated with early period sites, while two of the three castle assemblages show evidence of intensive processing (Table 2, Graph 1).

When this initial evidence is overlaid with the data from the types of tools present (as indicated by the butchery), the situation becomes more complicated, and it is apparent that while intensive butchering may be taking place at Cēsis, the Livonian late period site, it is being performed with less advanced tool technology. In contrast, the Prussian sites, particularly the two at Toruń, show distinct evidence of cleaver use (Table 3, Graph 2). The later period sites, particularly the town of Toruń, show the greatest variation in the types of butchering practices (Table 4, Graph 3). Toruń is also the only site that shows evidence of bone working, although at present this is likely an artefact of sample size. The castle

65


Ta b l e 3 : P r o p o r t i o n s o f r e c o r d e d i m p l e m e n t m a r k s CH

CTC

KA

KC

MA

TC

TT

BA

Implement

Ʃ

%

Ʃ

%

Ʃ

%

Ʃ

%

Ʃ

%

Ʃ

%

Ʃ

%

Ʃ

%

Blade

6

43

6

35

9

43

6

30

30

52

5

14

3

17

43

62

Cleaver

-

-

-

-

1

5

-

-

14

24

15

43

9

50

9

13

Fine blade

6

43

-

-

5

24

9

45

11

19

4

11

-

-

14

20

Large blade

2

14

11

65

6

29

5

25

3

5

9

26

6

33

3

4

Saw

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

2

6

-

-

-

-

Ʃ IMPLE.

14

17

21

20

58

35

18

69

Key. Site codes: refer to Table 2. Σ refers to the sum of occurrence of implement type, where one record equates to a count of one assigned to that implement type. Only one tool will be used at any one time (prepared by authors).

Graph 2. Proportions of recorded implement marks NB: Undetermined figures not shown in graph (prepared by authors).

sites in particular are likely to have served as locations for both craft specialisation and the working of bone.

Qualitative results The following are presented as discrete case studies illustrating the strength that individual cut marks, or small cohorts of marks, have for informing on the specifics of processing, trade and diet. These samples have been chosen specifically for their representation of idiosyncratic practice, and are not generally representative of the assemblages under investigation.

66

Case study 1: Cēsis The material from Cēsis hill-fort gives an indication of the type of iron tools present; perhaps surprisingly, the technology as interpreted from the cut marks is highly descriptive of sharp, hard-edged implements (Fig. 2). The slight lifting, but importantly unbroken, flake of bone points to the use of an implement sharp enough to slice into the bone without actually causing it to fracture. The end point of the cut also illustrates the sharpness of the blade, with a very fine edge evident in the profile of the cut. These features are usually more typical of steel-edged tools. Larger implements were also used (Fig. 3), although these appear to be more typical of large Iron Age blades, with the characteristic striation indicative of an edged tool with fairly pronounced notches to its cutting

CTC

KA

KC

MA

TC

TT

BA

Ʃ 1

% 7

Ʃ 10

% 59

Ʃ 6

% 27

Ʃ 5

% 24

Ʃ 12

% 21

Ʃ 9

% 23

Ʃ 5

% 28

Ʃ 14

% 19

Disart.

2

14

2

12

3

14

11

52

14

24

2

5

2

11

6

8

Meat removal

4

29

-

-

4

18

1

5

3

5

2

5

3

17

8

11

Pot sizing

3

21

3

18

5

23

3

14

14

24

12

31

1

6

13

17

Slaughter

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

1

6

Skinning

2

14

1

6

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

10

13

Splitting

-

-

-

-

-

-

1

5

6

10

2

5

1

6

-

-

Working

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

6

15

3

17

-

-

Undet.

2

14

1

6

4

18

-

-

9

16

6

15

2

11

24

32

Ʃ FUNC.

14

17

22

21

58

39

18

-

BALTICA 20

CH Function Bone breaking

ARCHAEOLOGIA

Ta b l e 4 : B u t c h e r y f u n c t i o n

75

Key. Site codes: refer to Table 2. Σ refers to the total number of recorded ‘functional’ interpretations of the cut marks. Disart refers to disarticulation (prepared by authors).


Graph 3. Butchery function (graph by K. Seetah)

NB: Undetermined and slaughter figures not shown in graph (prepared by authors).

surface. These do not appear to be cleavers per se, they were used on the margins of the bone, and not through the dense cortical bone. From Cēsis castle/town we have clear evidence of tool diversification, including the presence of cleavers. Figure 4, from the castle, shows a set of horn-cores with a portion of the cranium attached. The marks indicate the use of fine blades for skinning (Fig. 4, inset left), and subsequent chopping of that specific portion of the skull, most likely using a cleaver, based on the precise and smooth nature of the chop marks (Fig. 4, inset right). Interestingly, these were found with some

regularity, indicating that the horn-cores were probably transported with the cranium. The mode of butchering requires two blows, resulting in a ‘V’ formation on the frontal bone, and the easy removal of the double horncores. This perhaps indicates that a butcher carried out this primary stage, leaving the removal of the horncore itself either to an intermediary or the horn worker.

Case study 2: Klaipėda The material from this site presents indications of butchery practices suggestive of sophisticated tools,

67

KRISH SEETAH, ALEKSANDER PLUSKOWSKI, DANIEL MAKOWIECKI, LINAS DAUGNORA

N e w Te c h n o l o g y o r Adaptation at the Frontier? Butchery as a Signifier of C u l t u r a l Tr a n s i t i o n s i n t h e Medieval Eastern Baltic

Fig. 2. Detail of a cut mark employing a fine-bladed implement on a pig axis. Note the lifted but unbroken edge of the bone, and the end profile of the cut mark (Cēsis hillfort) (photograph by A. Pluskowski)

sharp enough to flake the bone without breaking the fractured edge (arrowed). A range of tools was evidenced from Klaipėda castle, including cleavers. Figure 6 shows clear indications not only of within bone resource exploitation, through fracturing of long-bone shafts, but also the presence of cleavers. The type of repetitive chopping evident on this bone, with clean-cut surfaces, is suggestive of large heavy-bladed implements, perhaps with steeled edges. The use of the axe cannot be ruled out in this instance.

Case study 3: Kałdus

Fig. 3. Light chop/blade marks on a cattle radius (Cēsis hillfort) (photograph by K. Seetah)

potentially with the inclusion of steeled edges. Figure 5 illustrates butchery on a cattle vertebra. The mark indicates a blade of particular sharpness, and a thin blade. These marks are indicative of ‘point insertions’, where only the tip and front edge of the blade is used. In this instance, the cuts appear to have been made to both sides of the spine, to remove meat. The bone has itself been cut (unintentionally), and the knife used was

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Of the Polish sites, Kałdus offers a crucial pre-crusader assemblage from the Slavic-Prussian borderland, with one example being descriptive of dietary (although arguably atypical) practice. Figure 7 illustrates butchery at the distal end of a large canid humerus. In this instance, not only do we have clear indicators of disarticulation (inset A), we also have characteristic ‘chatter’ marks (inset B) that are distinctive of meat removal at sites where the flesh is attached tightly to the bone. Whilst most instances of carnivore butchery can be linked to fur exploitation, in this case the evidence strongly suggests consumption.

BALTICA 20 ARCHAEOLOGIA Fig. 4. Fine skinning marks and deep cleaver marks for horn-corn transportation (not removal per se) (Cēsis castle/town) (photograph by K. Seetah)

Fig. 5. Blade use on a cattle vertebra (Klaipėda castle) (photograph by K. Seetah)


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Fig. 6. Chopping activity on a cattle shaft bone (Klaipėda castle) (photograph by A. Pluskowski)

C a s e s t u d y 4 : To r u ń t o w n Given the extent of settlement at Toruń, it should come as no surprise that craftspeople and their trades were well established in this area. However, through the cut mark data, we gain at least one unique and detailed insight into how animals and their body parts quite literally moved through the tradespeople’ hands. Figure 8 demonstrates evidence, potentially, of at least two different tools in use on a bovid scapular. The lower inset illustrates a tool with a relatively smooth and sharp cutting edge (the images are at 15x magnification), an implement of some weight, probably a cleaver, although it is not clear whether it is steel-edged. Furthermore, this mark is indicative of activity, most notably observed from Romano-British sites (Maltby 1989), suggestive of rapid meat removal practices (Seetah 2006). The upper inset, by contrast, indicates a wholly different tool, still a heavy implement, but most likely with an iron edge, given the greater degree of striations along the cut surface. More revealing is the fact that this type of cut mark has no butchering correlate: it is a mark indicative of working. This is not surprising, given the fact that the bone, and numerous others from the site, was a (discarded?) working blank. Thus, this one bone shows evidence both of butchering and bone working, and of at least two different tools used for different purposes (the upper inset is suggestive of general preparation and smoothing work to remove the rough edges of bone that would have been left by the first [lower inset] mark). This bone is likely witnessing two separate trades, and indeed, different craftspeople in action.

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Interactions through culture and technology A specific approach to cut marks from sub-sampled assemblages was adopted for the purposes of this pilot study. The majority of marks derive from only three domestic species, cattle, sheep and pig, and of these, cattle tended to be the species on which the majority of marks were noted (Table 1). Ultimately, the aim of this study was to use cut mark data in a novel way, in order to better understand techno-cultural transitions; and in this regard, the results are significant. There are clear differences between Iron Age, medieval and postmedieval periods, and between Prussia and Livonia. These observations are based on discrete and limited sample sizes, and the findings represent a hypothesis that can be tested with quantitative, comparative studies of larger assemblages.

Spatial and temporal trends From Cēsis, we have clear variation, indicative of a relatively dramatic shift in the type and intensity of processing, between the earlier hill-fort and later period sites: the town and castle. The details of this transition are best expressed with the types of cut marks themselves. In general, blade marks (BI and PI) are usually synonymous with less intensive types of butchery, and employ less sophisticated tool technology in the production of the implements. In contrast, chop marks are usually indicative of more intensive processing, and rely on a greater level of tool development and specialisation. With the hill-fort assemblage there were no chop marks recorded at all, which stands in marked contrast to the town/castle assemblage, with a high per-


I Fig. 7. Butchery of a canid humerus (indicative of consumption?) (Kałdus) (photograph by A. Pluskowski)

L I F E at the F R O N TIER:THE ECOLOGICAL S ignat u res of H u m an C olonisation in the N O RT H

Fig. 8. Cattle scapular blank with marks both of butchering (lower inset) and working preparation (upper inset) (Toruń town) (photograph by D. Makowiecki)

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centage of chop marks (65%), and a small blade count (6%). Interestingly, ‘cleavers’ are not noted from either assemblage, although there was a high percentage of ‘large blade’ marks from the town/castle. In effect, the process of butchering was altered in favour of increased bone breaking activity (see Functions in Graph 3), which is itself suggestive of intensification and greater exploitation of within bone nutrition. Staying with the interpretations of function, a clear regional variation is noted between the two Iron Age settlements. Livonian Cēsis shows no evidence of intensive marrow exploitation, that is, the splitting of long bones, which is evident from Kałdus. Turning to three of the Prussian assemblages, Kałdus, Mała Nieszawka castle and Biała Góra, the evidence effectively suggests the opposite of what might be expected, apparently with more intensive processing taking place on the early site of Kałdus. A more detailed appraisal reveals that, although there is a higher level of chopping activity (Table 2, Graph 1) on the early medieval site, this was predominantly performed with large blades, not specialist cleavers, although these are indicated on this site. On the Order’s sites and during the post-crusader period, those specialised tools are evident and in use.3 Toruń castle and the post-medieval town of Toruń align more closely with expectations, with evidence for intensive processing, specialist tools used to perform these tasks, and clear indications of bone-working crafts, again with specialist tools. The Lithuanian case of Klaipėda castle provides an important and valuable comparative dimension: the processing methods identified at this site indicate the use of sophisticated tools. Despite its earlier frontier location, by the 16th and 17th centuries, Klaipėda was comparable to other European towns, and the presence of contemporary ‘post-medieval’ butchery activity is far from surprising. But whilst it is comparable to the earlier evidence from Toruń castle in relation to ‘function’, it is not in terms of how the butchery was performed, or the implements used. What is interesting is that Toruń castle demonstrates a greater level of sophistication in terms of tools, the degree to which the bones are processed and comminuted, and the evidence for the presence of crafts. This may well relate to the relative levels of demand at Toruń and Klaipėda, suggesting that alongside the established history of technological development from the medieval to postmedieval periods, each site must be considered within its own context.

This highlights the fact that this approach does not merely replicate lines of data, but actually extracts new evidence from the same material source.

3

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Te c h n o l o g y, c u l t u r e a n d a n i m a l s Perhaps surprisingly, in the context of Late Iron Age/ early medieval assemblages, the early sites suggest tool technology (as seen through the cut marks) indicative of relatively advanced metallurgy. The cut marks were regularly made with fine-blade knives, with a high degree of edge maintenance. Knives with thin blades were popular in northern Europe as a general-purpose tool. The technique of layering metal gave way to simpler smithing techniques after the ninth century, and the blades themselves became thinner (Peets 2007). However, the most sophisticated tools, and those with the highest degree of specialisation, are to be found on the later period sites, particularly those from the castles and towns included in this study. This is arguably a trend typical of this period for sites associated with colonisation. The presence of saw marks, a tool identified with working and trade/craft specialisation, facilitates a more specific interpretation. Beyond being indicative of specialised craft activities, these tools detail a level of technological and economic sophistication, attained through and driven by commerce. The absence of this type of tool on all but the castle site of Toruń does not imply that bone-working crafts were not present on these other sites, or indeed that saws were not produced. The critical point is that saws have many uses, but require subtle modification from a standard tool, i.e. one that might be used to cut wood (and for which there would be infinitely greater demand given the context), to make them suitable for working on bone. The blade needs to be relatively thin, hard and rigid, and to have small teeth for use on hard, dense material (similar to a modern metal-working saw). If commodities that necessitate specialised tools to produce them are not commonly required, then it is logical that they are purchased/traded from larger enclaves, rather than being produced locally. Furthermore, focusing specifically on the tool itself, we see precisely the type of specialised ‘bone-working’ saw that indicates this level of specificity present at Toruń castle. Referring to Figure 9, we can infer that the blade itself was thinner than one milimetre in width (given the slight deviation from the centre whilst sawing to produce the mark). Speculatively, this tool had the small teeth discussed above: the saw mark in the image is not the mark that the artisan wanted to make. The cut was started, stopped after relatively few strokes, realigned and repositioned, and the cutting recommenced to produce both the required offcut and the discard we see in Figure 9. In those few strokes of the saw, it was able to produce the cut we observe, and it seems probable that the tool was efficient at this task (hence with small teeth).


I Fig. 9. Detail of a saw mark from Toruń castle (photograph by A. Pluskowski)

Thus, when proposing a hypothesis for technological change associated with the cultural transitions in the medieval east Baltic on the basis of preliminary research, it is evident that tool technology undergoes a transformation, but the underlying techno-cultural basis for this transition is far more complex. Evidently, there were good-quality tools in production, both prior to and during the Order’s rule. However, while other similar military conquests provide much stronger evidence of broader changes, including to the animals themselves, i.e. the Roman conquest of Britain, for which there is good evidence of changes in tool technology (Seetah 2005), no such clear trend can be demonstrated in the present case. An initial survey of the blades in the collections of the National History Museum in Riga, as well as the published literature on archaeological sites in northern Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, indicates that a new form of metallurgy was associated with the colonists. There is a general difference between Late Iron Age/early medieval blades, which are smaller, and medieval and post-medieval blades, which are larger and heavier, although this observation requires systematisation through a more detailed, synthetic study. Crusading retinues, settlers and merchants would have brought these tools into the east Baltic region, and by the late medieval period there had been a clear adoption of larger, heavier steel blades, as well as blades with riveted handles. However, for the north-central Polish context at least, there is no evident improvement in cattle in the medieval period in this region (Makowiecki and Makowiecka,

this volume). Thus, changes in tool technology are not necessarily consequential to modifications in animal morphology. The tendencies visible in sites associated with colonisation can now be tested with contemporary indigenous settlements, to determine the extent to which this technology diffused beyond the new ruling elite and colonising population. In this respect, butchery represents as fundamental a barometer of cultural change and interaction relating to colonisation as other diagnostic indicators, such as agricultural tools, heating systems and architectural traditions (Mugurēvičs 1990). A similar situation is evident in the case of butchering technology. While the actual butchery processes themselves demonstrate variation, there is little to suggest significant change on the level witnessed, for example, in the Romano-British context. The situation in the Baltic region is complex: at Cēsis castle/town, for example, there is no evidence for intensive marrow exploitation, i.e. the splitting of long bones, which one might expect within such a nucleated centre. However, these practices are evident in early medieval Slavic Kałdus. Is this evidence of a context-specific cuisine, or simply the need to exploit within bone nutrients? The extent to which fragmented animal bones express distinctive food cultures remains to be explored in more detail in the case of the Baltic region. In terms of relative species exploitation, the main domesticates, cattle, sheep, goats and pigs, are staples on either side of the crusading period. But the ways in which their bodies are disarticulated and specific cuts of meat pre-


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pared may be linked to culinary traditions as much as to technology. The diversity of cuts observed across the surveyed sites invariably represents a combination of tool use, demand and alimentation. The latter can be tentatively linked to the ecological and social value systems of the specific communities, and hence their broader world-view (Pluskowski 2010). But the extent to which the individual elements of this combination can be identified from cut marks, let alone isolated, remains to be seen with more detailed studies.

Conclusions and future research This paper has focused on select examples of cut marks from a range of sites associated with cultural transformations in the eastern Baltic following the crusades. It represents a pilot project, a foundation for a more detailed and systematic study of a larger dataset within the framework of The ‘Ecology of Crusading’ project. On the basis of the observed cut marks, relatively clear differences between sites are observable. This cannot be reduced into a generic pre- and post-crusade or Iron Age/early medieval versus later medieval trend. The present study has considered cut marks from all species, as the initial focus was on a broad sample of butchery technology. This in fact dilutes the level of variation expected between the pre- and post-crusade periods, and it is essential to shift the focus to more specific processes that are carried out relative to species, as well as time and place. Cattle were chosen as the most important point of comparison across all the sites in this study. This species, which is comparatively well represented on all sites, is economically important, and therefore more likely to show variations based on economic and social drivers. Smaller domestic ungulates and wild species represent animals that could be less significant economically (and potentially more homogenous in terms of processing across settlement types, regions and time). Future research would firstly benefit from including a larger sample from a range of sites in Lithuania, which remained independent throughout the crusading period, testing whether there was continuation in Iron Age traditions, or whether the presence of neighbouring crusader states to the north and west influenced what was happening in the grand duchy. Secondly, a comparable study of changing butchery technology from Novgorod and Pskov would provide essential comparative information on potential influences from traditions in the east, and the permeability of the borderlands between the Russian principalities, Livonia

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and Lithuania. The sites sampled for the purposes of this pilot study are comparable insofar as they represent broadly similar indigenous and colonist cultures in the east Baltic region; however, the model of technological change proposed in this paper can now be tested with a more detailed, systematic study of sites across the entire region. The results must be integrated with a parallel study of changing blade technology, and the development of specialised trades and commerce that defines the cultural transformations in the Baltic region following the crusades.

Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Marzena Makowiecka, Gundars Kalniņš, Zīgrida Apala, Wojciech Chudziak, Tomasz Górzyński, Adam Chęć and Zbigniew Sawicki for enabling us to access the faunal material, and for their hospitality and support. We would like to express our special thanks to Marek Rubnikowicz, the director of the Toruń Museum, and to Romulada Frondczuk, for access to material from Mała Nieszawka. The research leading to these results received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement No 263735. References Manuscripts SEETAH, K., Unpub. Butchery as an analytical tool: a comparative study of the Romano-British and medieval periods. Unpub. Ph.D. Thesis. Dept. of Archaeology. University of Cambridge, Cambridge.

Literature BARTLETT, R., 1994. The Making of Europe: Conquest, Civilization and Cultural Change, 950-1350. Harmondsworth: Penguin. BOAS, A., 1999. Crusader Archaeology. The Material Culture of the Latin East. London: Routledge. BOAS, A., 2006. Archaeology of the Military Orders. A Survey of the Urban Centres, Rural Settlements and Castles of the Military Orders in the Latin East. London: Routledge. CROFT, P., 2000. The faunal remains. In: R.P. HARPER, D. PRINGLE, eds. Belmont Castle: The Excavation of a Crusader Stronghold in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 173-194. CZACHAROWSKI, A., 1983. Toruń średniowieczny (do roku 1454). In: M. BISKUP, ed. Toruń dawny i dzisiejszy: Zarys dziejów. Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnictowo Naukowe, 31-131. ELLENBLUM, R., 1998. Frankish Rural Settlement in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Cambridge: University Press.

Received: 19 February 2013; Revised: 21 October 2013; Accepted: 19 December 2013. Krish Seetah Department of Anthropology Stanford University Stanford USA [email protected]

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SEETAH, K., 2008. Modern analogy, cultural theory and experimental archaeology: a merging point at the cutting edge of archaeology. World Archaeology, 40 (1), 135-150. SOBOCIŃSKI, M., 1991a. Spożycie mięsa na średniowiecznym zamku krzyżackim w Małej Nieszawce (woj. Toruńskie). Rocznik Akademii Rolniczej w Poznaniu, Archeozoologia, 16, 49-55. SOBOCIŃSKI, M., 1991b. Zwierzęcy materiał kostny z wykopalisk w Małej Nieszawce (woj. Toruńskie). Rocznik Akademii Rolniczej w Poznaniu, Archeozoologia, 16, 57-69. URBAN, W., 2003. The Teutonic Knights: A Military History. London: Greenhill. WYCZÓŁKOWSKI, M., and MAKOWIECKI, D., 2009. Horse sacrifices in Prussia in the early Middle Ages. Ritual area in Poganowo Site IV, Olsztyn Province (Poland). Archaeologia Baltica, 11, 295-304. ŽULKUS, V., & DAUGNORA, L. 2010. What did the Order’s brothers eat in the Klaipėda castle? (The historical and zooarchaeological data). Archaeologica Baltica, 9, 74-87.

ARCHAEOLOGIA

ERVYNCK, A., 2004. Orant, Pugnant, Laborant. The diet of the three orders in the feudal society of medieval North-Western Europe. In: S. J. O’ DAY, W. VAN NEER, ERVYNCK, A., eds. Behaviour behind Bones. The Zooarchaeology of Ritual, Religion, Status and Identity, Oxford: Oxbow, 215-223. KALNIŅŠ, G. and KĻAVIŅŠ, K., 2011. The castle of Cēsis, Latvia. In: M. CARVER, ed. The Archaeology of Medieval Europe Vol. 2. Twelfth to Sixteenth Centuries. Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 265-268. MAKOWIECKI, D., 2010. Wczesnośredniowieczna gospodarka zwierzętami i socjotopografia in Culmine na Pomorzu Nadwiślańskim: Studium archeozoologiczne. Toruń: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika. MALTBY, M., 1989. Urban-rural variations in the butchering of cattle in Romano-British Hampshire. In: D. SERJEANTSON, T. WALDRON, eds. Diets and Crafts in Towns. BAR British Series 199, Oxford: Archeopress, 75106. MUGURĒVIČS, Ē. 1990. Interactions between indigenous and western culture in Livonia in the 13th to 16th centuries. In: D. AUSTIN, L. ALCOCK, eds. From the Baltic to the Black Sea. London: Unwin, 168-178. PEETS, J., 2007. Weapons and edged tools in Siksälä Cemetery. Typology and Technology. In: S. LAUL, H. VALK, eds. Siksälä: A Community at the Frontiers. Iron Age and Medieval. Tallinn-Tartu: Tartu Ülikooli Kirjastus, 167200. PLUSKOWSKI, A. G., 2010. The zooarchaeology of medieval Christendom: ideology, the treatment of animals and the making of medieval Europe. World Archaeology, 42 (2), 201-214. PLUSKOWSKI, A. G., 2012. The Archaeology of the Prussian Crusade: Holy War and Colonisation. London: Routledge. PLUSKOWSKI, A.G., BOAS, A., and GERRARD, C., 2011. ‘The ecology of crusading: Investigating the environmental impact of holy war and colonisation at the frontiers of medieval Europe. Medieval Archaeology, 55, 192-225. PLUSKOWSKI, A.G., SAWICKI, Z., SHILLITO, L-M., BADURA, M., MAKOWIECKI, D., ZABILSKA-KUNEK, M., SEETAH, K., and BROWN, A., 2014. Biała Góra: The forgotten colony in the medieval Pomeranian-Prussian borderlands, Antiquity 88, 1-20. POLIŃSKI, D., 2007. Krzyżackie warownie drewnianoziemne w świetle badań archeologicznych. Archaeologia Historica Polona, 17, 241-257. SEETAH, K., 2004. Meat in history – how influences from the past impacts on today’s industry. International Journal of Food History, 2 (2), 19-35. SEETAH, K., 2005. Butchery as a tool for understanding the changing views of animals. In: A.G. PLUSKOWSKI, ed. Just Skin and Bones? New Perspectives on Human-Animal Relations in the Historic Past. BAR International Series S1410, Oxford: Archaeopress, 1-8. SEETAH, K., 2006. Multidisciplinary approach to RomanoBritish cattle butchery. In: M. MALTBY, ed. Integrating Zooarchaeology. Oxford: Oxbow, 111-118. SEETAH, K., 2007. The Middle Ages on the block: Animals, Guilds and meat in medieval Britain. In: A.G. PLUSKOWSKI, ed. Breaking and Shaping Beastly Bodies: Animals as Material Culture in the Middle Ages. Oxford: Oxbow, 18-31.


Aleksander Pluskowski Department of Archaeology University of Reading Reading UK [email protected] Daniel Makowiecki Laboratory for Natural Environment Reconstruction Institute of Archaeology Nicolaus Copernicus University Toruń Poland [email protected] Linas Daugnora Institute of Baltic Sea Region History and Archaeology University of Klaipėda Klaipėda Lithuania [email protected]

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NAUJA TECHNOLOGIJA A R A D A P TA C I J A PA S I E N Y J E ? SKERDIMAS KAIP K U LT Ū R I N G U M O I Š R A I Š K A VIDURAMŽIAIS R Y T Ų B A LT I J O S R E G I O N E KRISH SEETAH, ALEKSANDER PLUSKOWSKI, DANIEL MAKOWIECKI, LINAS DAUGNORA Santrauka Straipsnyje aptariama Kryžiuočių ordino kolonizacijos įtaka Rytų Baltijos regiono gyvulių skerdimo technologijoms. Į XIII–XVI a. kultūrų tarpusavio sąveiką stengiamasi pažvelgti per zooarcheologinę medžiagą ir Kryžiuočių ordino platinamas gyvulių skerdimo technologijas. Kaip su Ordinu besiriboję pasienio gyventojai perėmė ar darė įtaką Ordino teritorijos gyventojų gyvulių skerdimo technologijos kultūrai? Šiuo metu galime gana tiksliai nusakyti, ką valgė atvykėliai iš Ordino teritorijos ir jų užkariautų teritorijų gyventojai, tačiau dažniausiai negalime pasakyti, kaip mėsa buvo apdorota ir paruošta, kaip Ordino kolonizacijos procesas veikė įvairių technologijų atsiradimą, pvz., mėsos perdirbimą, gyvulių skerdenų paruošimą vartoti ar transportuoti. Todėl straipsnyje nagrinėtos to meto kulinarinės tradicijos, maisto kultūra, technologiniai ir techniniai gyvulių skerdimo sprendimai, mėsos tiekimas, perdirbimas, taip pat su tuo procesu susijusių naujų profesijų atsiradimas ir specializacija. Kartu gvildenami ir kiti klausimai, susiję su gyvulių skerdenų paruošimu, vartojimu bei transportavimu, su naujų įrankių naudojimu šiame procese, rinkos poreikių nustatymu ir skirtingomis kulinarinėmis tradicijomis bei vertybėmis. Mėginama gvildenti naujai pasiūlytą hipotezę apie Ordino skerdimo technologijų paplitimą rytinėje Baltijos jūros dalyje viduramžiais ir nustatyti, ar yra tiesioginis ryšys tarp skerdimo technologijų ir Ordino kolonizacijos Rytų Baltijos regione. Straipsnyje bandoma lyginti ir nustatyti, kaip įvertinti vėlyvajame geležies amžiuje, ankstyvuoju, viduriniu ir vėlyvuoju viduramžių laikotarpiais Prūsijos (Šiaurės rytų Lenkija (8–9 pav.), Vakarų Lietuva (5–6 pav.)) ir Livonijos (Latvija (2, 3, 4 pav.), Pietų Estija (7 pav.)) teritorijose ant osteologinės medžiagos skerdimo metu atsiradusias kirtimų žymes ir įkartas, kokiais įrankiais naudojosi gyvulių skerdikai. Kartu straipsnyje bandoma

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nustatyti, kaip zooarcheologiniai tyrimai gali paaiškinti, kiek užimtose Ordino teritorijose būta mėsininkų pilyse, miestuose ir didesnėse gyvenvietėse, pvz., Biała Góra miestelyje? Nustatyta, kad ne įrankiai keitė gyvūnų skerdimo morfologines technologijas. Straipsnyje griaučių įkartos tirtos naudojant tris naminių gyvulių rūšis: galvijus, avis ir kiaules, tačiau pagrindinį dėmesį skiriant galvijų griaučiams (1 lentelė). Galvijas buvo pasirinktas kaip pagrindinis naminis gyvulys, naudojamas kareivių mitybai ir randamas visose gyvenvietėse, miestuose ar pilyse. Ši rūšis buvo ekonomiškai svarbi ir galėjo turėti įtakos ekonominiams ir socialiniams gyventojų gyvensenos pokyčiams. Kitų naminių ar laukinių kanopinių gyvūnų ekonominė svarba ir tvarkymo sistema yra ne tokia reikšminga. Buvo nustatyta, kokiu mastu ir kaip nauja skerdimo technologija plito tarp Ordino naujojo valdančiojo elito ir kolonizacijos paveiktų vietos gyventojų, kaip formavosi ir atsirado mėsinės. Vertė Linas Daugnora

PER LAGERÅS Abstract In this review of pollen data from the South Swedish Uplands, evidence is presented of colonisation and strong agricultural expansion during the 11th to 13th centuries, followed by farm abandonment and land use change during the 14th to 15th centuries. The latter is associated with the Black Death and the late medieval crisis. Pollen data show that abandonment in the uplands resulted in the regrowth of woodland, but also in land use change from cereal growing to grazing. Similar cycles of agricultural expansion and decline are identified also from earlier periods during the Iron Age, which highlights the sensitive character of upland agriculture and settlement. Key words: pollen analysis, agriculture, Middle Ages, Black Death, late medieval crisis. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15181/ab.v20i0.809

Introduction During the period AD 1000 to 1350, corresponding to the High Middle Ages in a European perspective, Sweden witnessed strong population growth, which went hand in hand with social change, technological development, and agricultural expansion (e.g. Myrdal 2011). Part of the expansion may be defined as inner expansion on the already densely populated agricultural plains, with village formation, intensified cultivation, pastures turned into arable, and so on. However, equally important was the colonisation of wooded uplands and other marginal areas. This outer expansion was characterised by deforestation and settlement establishment, usually as single farms or small hamlets, in more or less remote areas. The driving force behind the colonisation of marginal areas may have been a combination of push factors, like population pressure and land shortage, and pull factors like the demand for iron, timber and other natural resources that these areas could offer. Written sources are scanty, and the agricultural expansion in marginal areas is evident in particular from archaeological data, place names, and the distribution of Romanesque churches, but also from pollen-analytical investigations. As in most of Europe, the expansion was followed by decline during the 14th and 15th centuries. Even though other factors may have contributed to the decline, a major cause was certainly the plague pandemic, the Black Death, which ravaged Sweden in 1350. The first strike was followed by several recurring outbreaks of plague

during the second half of the 14th century and the early 15th century, leading to significant population decline, as well as social and political unrest. Different opinions have been put forward regarding the force of the epidemics, the magnitude of the population decline, and the general extent of the crisis. According to earlier research based on historical records, Sweden came off relatively well, possibly due to its small and scattered population (Gissel et al. 1991; Nordberg 1995). However, later research, still based primarily on historical records, gives a different picture, and suggests a larger population decline (Palm 2001; Myrdal 2003). According to the latest estimation, the total Swedish population decreased by around 40% between 1350 and 1450 (Myrdal 2012, p.227). This estimated population decline is slightly smaller than in Norway, England and some other West European countries, but larger than in Finland and the Baltic countries (cf. Livi Bacci 2000; Benedictow 2004).


M E D I E VA L C O L O N I S AT I O N A N D A B A N D O N M E N T IN THE SOUTH SWEDISH UPLANDS: A REVIEW OF SETTLEMENT AND LAND USE DYNAMICS INFERRED FROM THE POLLEN RECORD

I FRONTIER L I F E at the F R O N TIER:THE ECOLOGICAL S ignat u res of H u m an C olonisation in the N O RT H

The population decline was accompanied by farm abandonment. Deserted farms (in Swedish ödegårdar) are frequently mentioned in the earliest land records from the 15th century, and in the more plentiful records from the 16th century onwards (e.g. Bååth 1883). However, by that time many farms were already reestablished, and others were forgotten, which means that the original frequency of farm abandonment in the late 14th century is difficult to estimate based on these records (Myrdal 2012, p.226). Archaeological excavations contribute with important information on single

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Medieval Colonisation and Abandonment in the South Swedish Uplands: a Review of Settlement And Land Use Dynamics Inferred PER LAGERÅS f r o m t h e P o l l e n R e c o r d

deserted farmsteads (e.g. Hansson et al. 2005; Åstrand 2006), but investigated sites are still few. Another source of information is pollen records. Farm abandonment was accompanied by agrarian and vegetation changes, and recently it was shown that vegetation changes related to the late medieval decline are readily visible in several pollen diagrams from the South Swedish Uplands (Lagerås 2007). Little is known about the geographical variation in desertion frequency within Sweden, but it has been suggested that it was particularly high in marginal areas with poor conditions for agriculture (e.g. Larsson 1964, p.160; Myrdal 2012, p.225). In a recent publication, Myrdal (2012, p.226) has tentatively estimated the late medieval desertion frequency of the South Swedish Uplands to have been 60% to 70%. Such large-scale abandonment of farms in marginal areas may not necessarily indicate that those areas were particularly hard struck by the plague, but rather may reflect migration to central areas where vacant farmsteads on better soils became abundant in the wake of the Black Death. There is no evidence for such migration in Swedish sources, but a similar process is known to have taken place in other countries (Benedictow 2004, p.261). The aims of this paper are: (1) to review pollen-analytical indications of medieval expansion and abandonment in the South Swedish Uplands; (2) to contribute to the discussion on marginal areas and their possible sensitivity to societal crises; and (3) to present an interdisciplinary project in progress on social and agricultural change during the Late Middle Ages.

Marginal areas: two opposing views In Sweden, as in most parts of Europe, different areas offer different natural conditions for agriculture. Climatic gradients from south to north, and from east to west, are of major importance, and so are the distribution of different bedrock, Quaternary deposits and soils. In southern Sweden, an important division may be made between fertile lowlands and poor uplands. The fertile lowlands are underlaid by sedimentary bedrock, resulting in a flat topography and clayey soils. The soils are usually calcareous, which, together with their high clay content, makes them nutrient-rich and fertile. Today, these plains are heavily cultivated and densely populated, and according to historical records and the distribution of prehistoric monuments, they were also the most populated areas in the past. However, most of southern Sweden constitutes another type of terrain. It is characterised by a higher elevation and an undulating topography, sometimes with a strong

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relief. Due to hard crystalline bedrock, like gneiss or granite, the soils are relatively nutrient-poor and less suitable for agriculture. Today, they are covered to a large degree by coniferous forests. Their high elevation results in lower temperatures, which further contribute to the relatively poor conditions for agriculture. Based on differences in environmental and climatic conditions for agriculture, but also on differences in settlement and population density, lowlands and uplands may be referred to as central and marginal areas respectively. The dichotomy of central versus marginal had a strong impact on Swedish archaeology during the 1980s. A typical example was the ‘Ystad Project’, a large-scale interdisciplinary project which focused on a rural region in southernmost Scania (Berglund 1991). In this project, researchers studied the long-term settlement and land-use history, and made comparisons between the coastal plains, regarded as central, and the hummocky landscape further inland, regarded as marginal. They concluded that the most marginal uplands were utilised in periods of population expansion, and then probably abandoned for more fertile plains in periods of population regression (Berglund et al. 1991, p.432). One consequence of such a view was that marginal areas became particularly interesting for landscape history studies, because they could be expected to reflect changes in society better than central areas. This view of a sensitive marginal area we may call ‘marginal agriculture’. According to this view, poor conditions for agriculture result in small margins and high risk, which makes marginal areas sensitive and vulnerable to crises. In such areas, we can expect late colonisation, and during periods of decline and recession we could expect widespread abandonment. However, since the ‘Ystad Project’, during the last decade or two there has been a strong development in Sweden of what may be called woodland archaeology. This development is partly due to rescue archaeology in connection with infrastructural projects, and partly due to the establishment of new universities with archaeology departments in forest regions. Several different and also new types of archaeological remains have been discovered and investigated. Some of them reflect agriculture (e.g. clearance cairns), but many of them reflect other activities, like iron production (furnaces, slag heaps), tar, potash and charcoal production (kilns), peat cutting, forestry (sawmills) and hunting (pitfalls). Together, they seem to reflect a diverse woodland economy, of which agriculture was only one part. The discovery and investigation of these different types of remains have not only resulted in new data and new

The ‘Ystad’ and ‘Ängersjö’ projects were used here to exemplify a general shift within Swedish archaeological research and its approach to woodland societies. Before the shift, research focused on central settlement areas, and on the agricultural economy in general. Wooded uplands were more or less defined as peripheries to central areas (the marginal agriculture view), and the specific social and economic characteristics of woodlands attracted little attention. During the last two decades, several projects have focused specifically on woodland societies, and in particular on non-agricultural production. Instead of emphasising vulnerability and abandonment, the possible sustainability and continuity of woodland societies have been highlighted (the ‘sustainable flexibility’ view). This later view may, to some degree, be seen as a reaction against the earlier one. However, questions still remain. How continuous was land use and settlement in marginal areas during history? In what ways were they affected by crises, and to what degree did their past development reflect general trends in society? In this paper, I will use pollen data to discuss continuity and discontinuity in the South Swedish Uplands, with a special focus on the environmental responses to the late medieval decline.

Environmental conditions and pollen data A large part of southern Sweden is occupied by an upland area called the South Swedish Uplands (Sydsvenska höglandet). It is characterised by crystalline bedrock and Quaternary deposits dominated by sandy till, rich in boulders and stones. Altitudes in most of the uplands range between 100 and 300 metres above

The uplands offer very good conditions for palaeoecological studies. This is due to numerous well-preserved peatlands and lakes with stratigraphies suitable for pollen-analytical sampling. Pollen analysis has strong traditions in Sweden in general, and the South Swedish Uplands have been subject to several high-quality pollen-analytical investigations. While earlier studies focused on the regional vegetation development based on pollen diagrams from large lakes (e.g. Digerfeldt 1972; see also Berglund 1969), most recent studies have tried to reveal detailed pictures of the local vegetation based on pollen diagrams from small lakes and peatlands (e.g. Björkman 1997; Lindbladh, Bradshaw 1998; Lagerås 1996; 2007). Many of these local diagrams, in particular those with high temporal resolution (i.e. many analysed levels in relation to the time period studied) and detailed radiocarbon chronologies, have provided new insights into the settlement and land-use dynamics of the last two millennia.

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sea level (with the highest peak reaching 377 metres), which results in slightly cooler conditions and a shorter vegetation period than in the surrounding lowlands (Raab, Vedin 1995). Due to the relatively poor conditions for agriculture, today the uplands are mainly used for forestry, and they are to a large degree covered by spruce and pine plantations. In relation to the fertile plains, the uplands are sparsely populated, and may be referred to as a marginal area.

ARCHAEOLOGIA

interpretations, but also the view on marginal areas has gradually changed (e.g. Svensson 1998). Instead of focusing on poor natural conditions for agriculture, the flexibility and sustainability of a diverse woodland economy has been emphasised. A typical example is the ‘Ängersjö Project’, an interdisciplinary project in the woodland region of central Sweden (Johansson 2002). In this project, it was suggested that the mixed ‘forest economy’, because of its flexible strategies of resource utilisation and land use, may have been resistant to economic crises such as the late medieval decline (Emanuelsson 2001, p.26). This view of a flexible and sustainable woodland economy we may call ‘sustainable flexibility’. According to this view, a diverse economy provided stability and low risk, which is quite the opposite of the view expressed within the ‘Ystad Project’.


The pollen diagrams presented in this paper are local records based on peat cores from small peat bogs. The sites are situated on the southwest rim of the South Swedish Uplands, at altitudes of 100 to 120 metres above sea level (Fig. 1). They are from typical upland environments, but still not very far from cultivated plains to the west and south, from which people may have originated when colonising these parts of the uplands. The complete pollen diagrams, together with radiocarbon dates and stratigraphical descriptions, have been published elsewhere (Lagerås 2007; Sköld et al. 2010). Only simplified versions plotted on a calibrated time scale are presented here to support the discussion.

Medieval settlement and land-use dynamics Medieval colonisation Agriculture was introduced to Sweden in approximately 4000 BC, and within only a few centuries both cereal growing and animal husbandry were established in all major lowlands in the southern parts of the country (Berglund 1985). The South Swedish Uplands were also affected from the very beginning, but mainly by

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Fig. 1. A map of Sweden, with a close-up of the southwest part. Dots with name lables represent pollen records discussed in the text, while dots without lables represent other pollen records included in the compilation in Fig. 4. Grey shading indicates the distribution of woodland in today’s landscape (prepared by author).

extensive wood pasturage, possibly in systems of herding or transhumance (Lagerås 1996). Cereal growing in the uplands was generally established later, in particular in connection with the agricultural expansion of the Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age. However, even after these periods, the uplands remained rather forested, and some parts were still relatively unaffected by agriculture by the time of the medieval expansion. For the parts that witnessed their first permanent agriculture and settlement during the Middle Ages, it is justifiable to talk not only of medieval expansion but of colonisation.

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An example of what medieval colonisation of the uplands may look like in pollen data is presented in Fig. 2. The diagram is based on a sediment core from a small peatland close to the hamlet of Östra Ringarp, and it reflects the local land-use history of this settlement. Through written documents, the hamlet and its predecessor Ringarp was traced back to AD 1523 (Skansjö 2010, p.22), while an archaeological excavation of a furnace for bloomery iron production, situated by the hamlet, revealed dates to the 13th century (Strömberg 2008, p.87). However, in the pollen diagram, a continuous graph for cereal pollen starts already in the ninth century, and reaches higher values in the 11th century. In the 11th century, there is also a strong increase in

grassland indicators, reflecting local deforestation and the establishment of pastures and possibly hay meadows at that time. Based on the pollen record, we may conclude that permanent agriculture and settlement were established on the site in the 11th century, possibly preceded by small-scale temporary cultivation from the ninth century onwards. Alternatively, permanent agriculture and settlement were established on a small scale already in the ninth century, and expanded during the 11th century. According to the pollen record, cultivated crops on the site during the Middle Ages were barley, rye, wheat, hemp and flax (and during later periods also oat and buckwheat). The continuous graphs for cereals and grassland pollen in Fig. 2 indicate that the settlement survived the late medieval crisis, although a small decrease in the cereal graph during the 14th century may indicate the short-term abandonment of some fields. Arable agriculture expanded significantly during the 16th and 17th centuries, and even more around 1800. In the 20th century, arable fields were abandoned, and much of the area was transferred to modern tree plantations. Hence, the strong dominance of coniferous forest that we see today is a recent phenomenon. Before the medieval colonisation of this site, the area was covered by deciduous woodlands. However, light-

BALTICA 20 ARCHAEOLOGIA Fig. 2. Pollen graphs from the Östra Ringarp site. The lower graph shows cereal pollen, and includes barley (Hordeum type), rye (Secale cerale), wheat (Triticum type) and oat (Avena type) pollen. The upper graph reflects grasslands, and includes grass (Poaceae undiff.), ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata), sorrel (Rumex acetosa/acetosella) and yellow-rattle (Rhinanthus type) pollen. The thin line at the top of the graph shows heather (Calluna vulgaris). The graphs show percentages of the total numbers of pollen identified in each sample. Dots on the graphs indicate analysed samples. The time scale on the x-axis is based on calibrated radiocarbon dates (based on pollen data from Lagerås 2007).

demanding grazing indicators (grasses, ribwort plantain, sorrel, etc) show that there were openings in the woodlands, which were obviously used for grazing. The combination of high tree pollen percentages, low percentages of grassland indicators, and the absence of cereal pollen (with the exception of one cereal pollen grain from the Bronze Age), indicates that there was no permanent settlement in the area before the Middle Ages. Probably the woodlands were used only for extensive herding. The herding interpretation, based on pollen data, is supported by archaeological evidence. A number of simple hearths have been identified and dated to the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, but no prehistoric monuments, burials or settlement structures are known, in spite of thorough investigations (Lagerås 2007, p.23). A plausible interpretation is that the hearths represent herdsmen’s campsites. The story of Östra Ringarp as presented here is in many respects typical of the region, which had few prehistoric settlements (except during the Mesolithic) and to a large degree was not colonised until the Middle Ages. However, the first settlers were probably well acquainted with the area due to the long tradition of herding and wood pasturage prior to colonisation.

Colonisation followed by abandonment


The previous example showed medieval colonisation followed by continuous agriculture and expansion until the modern abandonment and reforestation of the 20th century. Other sites may show a different landuse and settlement history, with earlier periods of agricultural expansion, and sometimes also with recurring periods of decline and abandonment. An example of such development, reflected in pollen data, is presented in Fig. 3. The diagram is from a small peatland close to the hamlet of Yttra Berg (cf. Fig. 1), and reflects the local vegetation and land-use history of this settlement and its predecessors. The site is a nature reserve with a species-rich herb flora regarded as typical of the traditional cultural landscape in the uplands, which today is preserved in only a few places. The site is also rich in clearance cairns, stone walls and other remains of ancient agriculture. These remains have not been excavated or dated, but by comparison with other areas, the clearance cairns may tentatively be dated to the Iron Age or the Middle Ages (e.g. Bartholin, Lagerås 2003). In spite of being rich in agricultural remains and having a species-rich flora, the site is poor for farming, due to the sandy and stony soils, high altitude and high precipitation. According to the pollen record, the site has witnessed several periods of agricultural expansion, as well as

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Fig. 3. Pollen graphs from the Yttra Berg site. For an explanation, see the caption to Fig. 2 (based on pollen data from Sköld et al. 2010).

periods of the decline and regrowth of woodland. After a period of extensive wood pasturage, starting in the Late Neolithic, the first significant expansion started at the end of the Bronze Age (circa 600 BC). Woodland was cleared and semi-open pastures were established, reflected in Fig. 3 as a peak in pollen percentages of grassland species. No cereal pollen was detected from this phase, and a few centuries later (circa 300 BC) the pastures were already abandoned and the woodlands closed in. In the Roman Iron Age, starting in approximately AD 100, the area was once again cleared of woodland and open pastures were established. The occurrence of a few cereal pollen grains shows that some arable plots were established as well. But this land-use period also came to an end when abandonment of pastures and arable fields, followed by woodland regrowth, started around AD 500. Several pollen diagrams from the uplands show similar signs of abandonment from this time (Lagerås et al. 1995; Lagerås 1996; 2007), and the same is true of many pollen diagrams for much of northern continental Europe (Andersen, Berglund 1994). The agricultural decline may be connected with a general population decline associated with the muchdebated Migration Period crisis during the sixth century (e.g. Näsman, Lund 1988; Gräslund 2007).

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A third significant agricultural expansion at Yttra Berg started in the 12th century. It is characterised in the pollen record by a strong increase in cereal pollen and grassland pollen, indicating the clearing of woodlands and the establishment of arable fields and pastures, and

possibly hay meadows. Obviously, one or a few farms were established on the site in the process of medieval colonisation. According to the pollen frequencies, the landscape became approximately as open as during the Iron Age land-use phase, but with more arable land. However, during the 14th century, both arable fields and pastures were abandoned, which is reflected in a sharp decrease in cereal pollen and grassland pollen frequencies. This decline may be connected with the late medieval crisis, which will be further discussed in a separate section below. After the late medieval decline, arable fields and pastures were reestablished during the 16th century. As is evident from the pollen diagram, pastures now included more heather (Calluna vulgaris) than before, reflecting poor heathland. The same development is found in several pollen diagrams from the western part of southern Sweden. In this region, which is the rainiest part of southern Sweden (800 to 1000 mm/year), heathlands were still widespread during the 19th and early 20th century. Most of them were later forested, and today only small fragments remain (Malmer 1965). The beginning of the modern decline of heathland is reflected in the decrease of Calluna pollen frequencies in the far right part of the diagram from Yttra Berg (Fig. 3). To sum up, in a long-term perspective, the upland area of Yttra Berg has been subject to repeated agricultural expansions, dated to the Late Bronze Age, the Roman Iron Age, the High Middle Ages, and Early Modern Times. Likewise, the area has witnessed recurring periods of abandonment, dated to the Pre-Roman Iron

The Yttra Berg example is also interesting from another point of view. It shows that the medieval colonisation in parts of the uplands may have been preceded by earlier land-use periods, i.e. earlier attempts at colonisation. In that respect, the medieval colonisation, although perhaps the strongest, was only one of several in a long-term series of recurring expansions.

Environmental responses to the late medieval population decline Until recently, the late medieval crisis had not attracted palaeoecological research, and therefore very little was known about vegetational and environmental responses to the population decline and the societal unrest. In a few publications, vegetation changes were ascribed to the late medieval crisis (Königsson 1989; Lindbladh, Bradshaw 1998), but the representativeness of the results in a broader perspective was not known. According to a compilation of pollen records presented by Berglund et al. (2002), indications of regrowth of woodland during the Late Middle Ages were identified

Indications of agricultural decline during the Late Middle Ages may look different in different pollen records, depending on several factors, such as the type of land use before and after the decline, or the character and magnitude of land-use change (total abandonment, change from intensive to extensive land use, decrease in grazing pressure, etc). They may also be influenced by the characteristics of the sampling site, like basin size and local vegetation, and the distance between the sampling site and arable fields, pastures, and so on, of the medieval landscape. Most straightforward to interpret in terms of abandonment are cereal pollen graphs, which reflect cultivation. There are, however, some

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in only three out of 30 pollen records from southern Sweden. However, several of the diagrams used for that compilation had a relatively poor temporal resolution, and several had uncertain absolute chronologies based on radiocarbon dating of bulk gyttja samples (Berglund et al. 2002, p.163). The latter gives erroneous dates due to the reservoir effect of lake sediments (e.g. Olsson 1986, p.291). A different picture emerged from a more recent compilation based on 20 pollen records from upland areas in southern Sweden (Fig. 4; Lagerås 2007). The records used in this case were local pollen records from small lakes and peatlands, and with more reliable chronologies based on AMS radiocarbon dates of terrestrial plant material (macrofossils or bog peat). According to this compilation, agricultural decline during the Late Middle Ages was identified in eight out of 20 records.

ARCHAEOLOGIA

Age, the Migration Period, the Late Middle Ages, and Late Modern Times. This very discontinuous land-use and settlement history seems to reflect an agriculturally marginal area that was colonised during periods of expansion and then abandoned during periods of decline. It supports the view of marginal areas as vulnerable and sensitive to societal change, i.e. the ‘marginal agriculture’ view as defined above.


Fig. 4. Indications of agricultural expansion (grey bars) and decline (black bars) in 20 pollen records from upland areas in southern Sweden. The bars show the number of indications per century, i.e. the number of different pollen records indicating expansion or decline during each century. The sites are indicated on the map in Fig. 1 (from Lagerås 2007).

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complicating factors. Barley, which was the main crop during the Middle Ages, is a poor pollen producer, and therefore it is under-represented in pollen records. Furthermore, the dispersal of barley pollen and other cereal pollen is to some degree influenced by agricultural management, like harvesting technique and threshing, which makes it difficult to estimate the extent of arable land (Vuorela 1973). In spite of these complicating factors, many cereal pollen graphs from the South Swedish Uplands paint a similar picture, with a significant decrease in cereal pollen percentages during the Late Middle Ages (examples from four different sites are presented in Fig. 5). Some sites show a gap in the cereal pollen graph (e.g. Grisavad and Värsjö Utmark in Fig. 5), while others show a sharp decline but no gap (e.g. Yttra Berg). Some sites show no or only a minor decline (e.g. Östra Ringarp), but it is important to note that none of the 20 examined pollen diagrams show increasing cereal pollen percentages during the same pe-

riod (Lagerås 2007, p.91). The Late Middle Ages was obviously a period of abandonment and overgrowing of arable land. Some farms managed to remain as before, but there was no agricultural expansion. Even though pollen records do not reveal the cause of the decline, the temporal association with the Black Death is striking. The first plague epidemic, the Black Death sensu stricto, ravaged the uplands and most other parts of Sweden in 1350 (Benedictow 2004, p.175). It was followed by two devastating outbreaks in 1359– 1360 and 1368–1369, and then again at the beginning of the 15th century (Myrdal 2012, p.223). Pollen records cannot be dated with the same accuracy as historical documents, but according to their independent radiocarbon chronologies, the decline in cereal pollen in most diagrams is dated to the 14th century.

Fig. 5. A compilation of cereal pollen graphs from four different sites plotted on the same time scale. The dotted vertical line indicates the year 1350, i.e. the year of the Black Death (based on pollen data from Lagerås 2007 and Sköld et al. 2010).

The late medieval decline is not only reflected in cereal pollen, but also in pollen types reflecting grassland. During the Middle Ages, grasslands were used as pastures and hay meadows, managed by grazing and mowing, both of which are related to animal husbandry. In most diagrams with a late medieval decrease in cereal pollen, grassland pollen percentages decrease at the same level, which indicates that grasslands were also abandoned, or at least witnessed a significant de-

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crease in grazing pressure. This development may be exemplified by Yttra Berg, where both cereal pollen and grassland pollen frequencies decrease sharply at a level dated to the 14th century (Fig. 6). From the same time, there is an increase in tree pollen percentages, and we may distinguish a peak in early-successional trees (birch), followed by a peak in late-successional ones (oak, elm, lime, beech and spruce). Birch and other early-successional trees are light demanding and fast growing, and in a natural succession they are the first trees to colonise abandoned grassland. In a second phase, they are gradually outcompeted by slow-growing but more shade-tolerant late-successional trees. Hence, pollen data from Yttra Berg indicate not only the abandonment of arable fields and pastures/meadows; they also indicate the natural regrowth of woodlands on abandoned land. A similar development has also been identified at other sites.

ARCHAEOLOGIA

After the decline, almost all sites witnessed agricultural expansion in the 16th century (Figs. 4, 5), meaning that the time elapsed between decline and expansion was approximately 150 to 200 years. Also, sites that do not show any signs of abandonment or a significant decline in the Late Middle Ages show expansion in the 16th century (e.g. Östra Ringarp in Fig. 5). Obviously, the post-crisis agricultural expansion, like the expansion of the High Middle Ages, was very strong in the uplands.


Fig. 6. Pollen graphs from the Yttra Berg site. The lower two graphs show cereal pollen and grassland pollen respectively (cf. Fig. 3). The graph for early-successional trees includes birch (Betula) pollen, while the graph for late-successional trees includes oak (Quercus), elm (Ulmus), lime (Tilia), beech (Fagus), and spruce (Picea) pollen (based on pollen data from Sköld et al. 2010).

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Fig. 7. Pollen graphs from the Värsjö Utmark site. For an explanation, see captions to Figs. 2 and 6 (based on pollen data from Lagerås 2007).

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The regrowth of woodland is perhaps what we may expect from a period of population decline and farm abandonment. However, some pollen diagrams reflect other vegetation changes. In a diagram from the Värsjö Utmark site (Fig. 7), the decrease in cereal pollen percentages in the 14th century is not accompanied by a decrease in grassland pollen or an increase in tree pollen percentages. On the contrary, the decrease in cereal pollen is mirrored by a strong increase in grassland pollen. This relationship probably reflects how abandoned arable fields were turned into grassland. Since cereals are very poor pollen producers in comparison with wild grasses, it makes sense that the replacement of cultivated fields by grassland would result in a small decrease in cereal pollen and a much stronger increase in grassland pollen (e.g. Vuorela 1973). A tentative interpretation may be that the settlement at Värsjö Utmark was abandoned and the arable fields were overgrown, and that the area was used for extensive grazing by neighbouring farmers. If this interpretation is correct, it is an example of how intensive land use was replaced by extensive land use, and how animal husbandry may have gained in importance when there

was a shortage of manpower but an excess of land in the wake of a population drop. A transition from arable farming to animal husbandry in Sweden during the Late Middle Ages has been suggested based on other sources (Myrdal 2012, p.221).

Conclusions This review of pollen records has shown that the Middle Ages was a period of colonisation and agricultural expansion in the South Swedish Uplands. The expansion started already in the Viking Period, but it was most pronounced during the 12th and 13th centuries, with the widespread establishment of permanent agriculture and settlement. Together with other marginal areas in Europe, the uplands of southern Sweden were the agricultural frontier at the time. While parts of the uplands were colonised for the first time during the Middle Ages, other parts were colonised much earlier, in some areas already during the Late Neolithic, and in several areas during the Bronze

In addition to periods of expansion, the uplands have witnessed several periods of agricultural decline and abandonment, in particular during the Migration Period, the Late Middle Ages, and Late Modern Times. In many cases, attempts to colonise the uplands resulted in relatively short-lasting settlement, abandoned just a few centuries after establishment. Mechanisms and causal relationships behind abandonment may have been different from time to time, but the recurring periods of abandonment highlight the marginal character of the uplands.

Regardless of the causation in detail, the agricultural decline in the uplands during the Late Middle Ages may for good reason be interpreted as a reflection of the late medieval crisis. Similarly, the agricultural decline witnessed during the sixth century may be associated with the Migration Period crisis. Both these periods of decline were far-reaching European phenomena, and their reflection in farm abandonment in the uplands further supports the view of marginal areas as sensitive to societal crises.

A special emphasis in this review has been put on the late medieval decline. Thanks to high-resolution pollen records with good chronologies, it is now evident that farm abandonment, or, more precisely, the vegetation changes associated with farm abandonment, is reflected in pollen data from the uplands. The interpretation is most straightforward from cereal pollen graphs, which in several diagrams show a gap or a sharp decrease in the Late Middle Ages. However, by also examining graphs of grassland pollen and tree pollen, more complex and interesting information about vegetation responses to the decline may be obtained. Two types of vegetation change were identified in this review: 1) natural regrowth of woodland on abandoned land; and 2) transition from crop cultivation to extensive grazing. The latter may tentatively be interpreted as indicating a shift to from arable farming to more labour-saving animal husbandry. The social complexity and the much-debated causation behind the late medieval crisis have not been dwelt on here (for a recent compilation of the debate in a European perspective, see Kitsikopoulos 2012). In Great Britain and other parts of Western Europe, there is evidence of stagnation and even farm abandonment before the Black Death, but due to the much more scanty historical records, such pre-Black Death stagnation is difficult to prove from a Swedish perspective. How-

In summary, this review gives support to the ‘marginal agriculture’ view rather than the ‘sustainable flexibility’ view, as defined above. However, it should be noted that pollen data reflect vegetation, which, in turn, reflects first of all agricultural land use. The possible importance of non-agricultural production still has to be studied by other methods, in particular archaeology. It is unlikely, though, that the significant agricultural declines witnessed in the pollen records do not reflect depopulation and settlement abandonment in the uplands.

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ever, it must be noted that the South Swedish Uplands were relatively sparsely populated even during the settlement peak of the High Middle Ages. Therefore, it is unlikely that overpopulation, nitrogen deficiency or overuse of land resources, which have been suggested as important factors in more densely populated regions of Western Europe (e.g. Postan 1972; Myrdal 2012, p.233), caused farm abandonment in the uplands. Climatic deterioration associated with the onset of the Little Ice Age (Lamb 1995) may possibly have affected settlements in the uplands, due to the relatively high altitude of the area. But on the other hand, during the 16th century, when the Little Ice Age reached its lowest temperatures (Moberg et al. 2005), there was much agricultural expansion in the uplands.

ARCHAEOLOGIA

Age and the Early Iron Age. The Roman Iron Age in particular was a period of strong expansion in the uplands. After the Middle Ages, the 16th century was a period of exceptional agricultural expansion. Altogether, it may be concluded that most periods that are traditionally regarded as periods of expansion in a Scandinavian and West European perspective are reflected in agricultural expansion in the South Swedish Uplands. This conclusion supports the view of marginal areas as sensitive to societal change. Furthermore, it highlights the strong connection between upland societies and the outside world, or rather that uplands and lowlands were just two sides of the same society, affected by the same trends and fluctuations in demography, economy, etc.


Project in progress This study is part of a project in progress ‘The Archaeology and Ecology of Collapse: Social and Agricultural Change Following the Black Death in Sweden’. The background for the project is recent studies by historians, in particular Palm (2001) and Myrdal (2003; 2009; 2012), who have reevaluated written records, and come to the conclusion that Sweden was hit hard by the Black Death, with a population drop of 40% to 60%, and major consequences for society. In our project, we use non-written records, such as pollen, tree rings, archaeological data and human skeletons, to study the environmental and social consequences of the Black Death. From an international perspective, Sweden has a wealth of such data, but they have so far

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not been used for any thorough studies of late medieval decline. Each type of data will be processed separately, and combined into interdisciplinary interpretations. A focus will be on the standard of living in towns and the countryside (based primarily on archaeology and anthropological analyses of human skeletons), and its connection with agricultural change, and the ecological and social consequences of farm abandonment and the regrowth of woodland (based primarily on pollen data). The aim is to identify agricultural and social strategies developed to meet the crisis, and to understand ecological feedback mechanisms to societal change. The general aim is to contribute to international research on the historical relationship between society and the environment. The project is being carried out by the Swedish National Heritage Board and the Department of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences at Lund University.

Acknowledgements Caroline Arcini and Anna Broström provided valuable comments on the manuscript. The study was financed by the Swedish Research Council (VR). References Literature

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ANDERSEN, S.T. and BERGLUND, B.E., 1994. Maps of terrestrial non-tree pollen (NAP) percentages in north and central Europe 1800 and 1450 yr B.P. In: B. FRENZEL, ed. Evaluation of land surfaces cleared from forests in the Roman Iron Age and the time of migrating Germanic tribes based on regional pollen diagrams. Paläoklimaforshung/Palaeoclimate Research, 12. Stuttgart: Gustav Fischer Verlag, 119-134. BENEDICTOW, O.J., 2004. The Black Death 1346–1353: the complete history. Woodbridge: Boydell Press. BERGLUND, B.E., 1969. Vegetation and human influence in South Scandinavia during Prehistoric time. Oikos Suppl., 12, 9-28. BERGLUND, B.E., 1985. Early agriculture in Scandinavia: research problems related to pollen-analytical studies. Norwegian Archaeological Review, 18 (1–2), 77-90. BERGLUND, B.E., ed., 1991. The cultural landscape during 6000 years in southern Sweden: the Ystad Project. Copenhagen: Ecological Bulletins 41, 1-495. BERGLUND, B.E., LARSSON, L., LEWAN, N., OLSSON, E.G.A. and SKANSJÖ, S., 1991. Ecological and social factors behind the landscape changes. In: B.E. BERGLUND, ed. The cultural landscape during 6000 years in southern Sweden: the Ystad Project. Copenhagen: Ecological Bulletins 41, 425-445. BERGLUND, B.E., LAGERÅS, P. and REGNÉLL, J., 2002. Odlingslandskapets historia i Sydsverige: en pollenanalytisk syntes. In: B.E. BERGLUND and K. BÖRJESSON, eds. Markens minnen: landskap och odlingshistoria på småländska höglandet under 6000 år. Stockholm: Riksantikvarieämbetet, 153-174.

BJÖRKMAN, L., 1997. The history of Fagus forest in southwestern Sweden during the last 1500 years. The Holocene, 7, 419-432. DIGERFELDT, G., 1972. The Post-Glacial development of Lake Trummen: regional vegetation history, water level changes and palaeolimnology. In: Folia Limnologica Scandinavica, 15. Lund: Gleerup. EMANUELSSON, M., 2001. Settlement and land-use history in the central Swedish forest region: the use of pollen analysis in interdisciplinary studies. Silvestria 223. Umeå: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. GISSEL, S., JUTIKKALA, E., ÖSTERBERG, E., SANDNES, J. and TEITSON, B., eds. 1981. Desertion and land colonization in the Nordic countries c. 1300–1600: comparative report from the Scandinavian research project on deserted farms and villages. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell. GRÄSLUND, B., 2007. Fimbulvintern, Ragnarök och klimatkrisen år 536–537 e. Kr. Saga och sed, 2007, 93-123. HANSSON, A., OLSSON, C., STORÅ, J., WELINDER, S. and ZETTERSTRÖM, Å., 2005. Agrarkris och ödegårdar i Jämtland. Östersund: Jamtli förlag. JOHANSSON, E., ed., 2002. Periferins landskap: historiska spår och nutida blickfält i svensk glesbygd. Stockholm: Nordic Academic Press. KITSIKOPOULOS, H., ed. 2012. Agrarian change and crisis in Europe, 1200–1500. New York: Routledge. KÖNIGSSON, L.-K., 1989. Human impact trends in the landscape development at Hjärtenholm during the last 5000 years. Striae, 25, 59-73. LAGERÅS, P., 1996. Farming and forest dynamics in an agriculturally marginal area of southern Sweden, 5000 BC to present: a palynological study of Lake Avegöl. The Holocene, 6, 301-314. LAGERÅS, P., 2007. The ecology of expansion and abandonment: medieval and post-medieval agriculture and settlement in a landscape perspective. Stockholm: Riksantikvarieämbetet. LAGERÅS, P. and BARTHOLIN, T.S., 2003. Fire and stone clearance in Iron Age agriculture: new insights inferred from the analysis of terrestrial macroscopic charcoal in clearance cairns in Hamneda, southern Sweden. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 12, 83-92. LAGERÅS, P., JANSSON, K. and VESTBÖ, A., 1995. Land-use history of the Axlarp area in the Småland uplands, southern Sweden: palaeoecological and archaeological investigations. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 4, 223-234. LAMB, H.H., 1995. Climate history and the modern world (2nd edition). London: Routledge. LARSSON, L.-O., 1964. Det medeltida Värend: studier i det småländska gränslandets historia fram till 1500-talets mitt. Lund: Bibliotheca Historica Lundensis, 12. LINDBLADH, M. and BRADSHAW, R., 1998. The origin of present forest composition and pattern in southern Sweden. Journal of Biogeography, 25, 463-477. LIVI BACCI, M., 2000. The population of Europe: a history. Oxford: Blackwell. MALMER, N., 1965. The south-western dwarf shrub heaths. Acta Phytogeographica Suecica, 50, 123-130. MOBERG, A., SONECHKIN, D. M., HOLMGREN, K., DATSENKO, N. M. and KARLÉN, W., 2005. Highly variable Northern Hemisphere temperatures reconstructed from low- and high-resolution proxy data. Nature, 433, 613-617.

Received: 13 February 2012; Revised: 9 May 2012; Accepted: 24 May 2012. Per Lagerås Swedish National Heritage Board Odlarevägen 5 SE-226 60 Lund Sweden e-mail: [email protected]

PER LAGERÅS Santrauka Švedijoje, kaip ir didžiojoje Europos dalyje, viduramžių pradžia sutapo su gyventojų populiacijos didėjimu ir žemdirbystės plėtra. XIV a. tai keitė socialinės krizės ir gyventojų skaičiaus mažėjimas. Pastarasis pokytis didžia dalimi galėjo būti nulemtas juodojo maro, nusiaubusio Švediją 1350 m., nors ir kitos priežastys galėjo prisidėti prie krizinės situacijos susidarymo. Istorinė informacija liudija gyventojų populiaciją Švedijoje sumažėjus vidutiniškai 40 % ar net daugiau. Tiesa, pažymėtina, kad viduramžius Švedijoje apžvelgianti istorinė informacija yra gana skurdi, todėl dar gana nedaug galime pasakyti tiek apie gyventojų populiacijos nykimo, tiek ir apie ankstesnio teritorijos apgyvendinimo pobūdį. Pristatomoje apžvalgoje su žiedadulkių informacijos pagalba atskleidžiama Pietų Švedijos aukštumų regiono kolonizacija viduramžiais ir ją lydėjusi depopuliacija bei ūkių sunykimas (1 pav.).

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VIDURAMŽIŲ KOLONIZACIJA IR DEPOPULIACIJA PIETŲ Š V E D I J O S A U K Š T UM O S E : G Y V E N V I E Č I Ų A P Ž VA L G A IR NEDERLINGOS ŽEMĖS NAUDOJIMO DINAMIKA PA G A L Ž I E D A D U L K I Ų DUOMENIS

ARCHAEOLOGIA

MYRDAL, J., 2003. Digerdöden, pestvågor och ödeläggelse: ett perspektiv på senmedeltidens Sverige. Stockholm: Runica et Mediævalia. MYRDAL, J., 2009. The Black Death in the North: 1349– 1350. In: L. BISGAARD, and L. SØNDERGAARD, eds,.Living with the Black Death. Odense: University Press of southern Denmark, 63-84. MYRDAL, J., 2011. Farming and feudalism. In: J. MYRDAL, and M MORELL, eds, The agrarian history of Sweden: 4000 BC to AD 2000. Stockholm: Nordic Academic Press, 72-117. MYRDAL, J., 2012. Scandinavia. In: H. KITSIKOPOULOS, ed. Agrarian change and crisis in Europe, 1200– 1500. New York: Routledge, 204-249. NÄSMAN, U. and LUND, J., eds, 1988. Folkevandringstiden i Norden: en krisetid mellem ældre og yngre jernalder. Aarhus Universitetsforlag. NORDBERG, M., 1995. I kung Magnus tid: Norden under Magnus Eriksson 1317–1374. Stockholm: Norstedt. OLSSON, I.U., 1986. Radiometric dating. In: B.E. BERGLUND, ed. Handbook of Holocene palaeoecology and palaeohydrology. Chichester: Wiley, 273-312. PALM, L., ANDERSSON, 2001. Livet, kärleken och döden: fyra uppsatser om svensk befolkningsutveckling 1300– 1850. Department of History, Gothenburg University. POSTAN, M.M., 1972. The medieval economy and society: an economic history of Britain in the Middle Ages. London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson. RAAB, B. and VEDIN, H., eds. 1995. Climate, lakes and rivers. The National atlas of Sweden. SKANSJÖ, S., 2010. Skånsk skogsbygd under alder historisk tid. Stockholm: Riksantikvarieämbetet. SKÖLD, E., LAGERÅS, P. and BERGLUND, B.E., 2010. Temporal cultural landscape dynamics in a marginal upland area: agricultural expansions and contractions inferred from palynological evidence at Yttra Berg, southern Sweden. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 19, 121136. STRÖMBERG, B., 2008. Det förlorade järnet: dansk protoindustriell järnhantering. Stockholm: Riksantikvarieämbetet. SVENSSON, E., 1998. Människor i utmark. Lund Studies in Medieval Archaeology, 21. VUORELA, I., 1973. Relative pollen rain around cultivated fields. In: Acta Botanica Fennica, 102. Helsinki: Societas Pro Fauna et Flora Fennica.


Apžvalga liudija viduramžius Pietų Švedijos aukštumų regione buvus aktyvios kolonizacijos ir žemdirbystės plėtros laikotarpiu. Nors fiksuojama ekspansija prasidėjo jau vikingų laikotarpiu, ženkliausiai ji pasireiškia XII ir XIII amžiais, kai plačiai plito nuolatinė žemdirbystė, kūrėsi gyvenvietės. Greta kitų teritorijų Europoje Pietų Švedijos aukštumų rajonas tuo metu buvo ribinis žemdirbystės paplitimo regionas. Nors dalyje aukštumų viduramžių plėtra sutapo su ankstyviausiu nuolatinės žemdirbystės plitimo etapu (2 pav.), tačiau kitose teritorijos dalyse žemdirbystės plėtra išryškėjo ankstesniais laikotarpiais (3 pav.). Ženklios žemdirbystės plėtros etapai aukštumose datuojami I–V, XI–XIII ir XVI amžiais. Vis dėlto žiedadulkių duomenys liudija aukštumų apgyvendinimą sutapus su trumpalaikių gyvenviečių, kurios būdavo apleidžiamos po kelių amžių, plėtra. Gyvenviečių ny-

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kimo etapai sutapo su VI, XIV ir XX amžiais. Pasikartojantys žemdirbystės plėtros ir jos nykimo etapai matyti tiek pavienėse žiedadulkių diagramose (3 pav.), tiek aukštumose ištirtų palinologinių duomenų dvidešimties diagramų kompiliacijoje (4 pav.). Galime daryti išvadą, kad daugelis etapų, kurie tradiciškai pripažinti plėtros laikotarpiais Skandinavijos ir Vakarų Europos perspektyvoje, Pietų Švedijos aukštumų regione pasireiškia žemdirbystės išplitimu. Panašios tendencijos išlieka ir kalbant apie gyventojų populiacijos sunykimą, t. y. VI ir XIV a. Pateikiamos išvados įrodo egzistavus stiprų ryšį tarp aukštumų gyventojų ir išorinio pasaulio arba, greičiau, liudija aukštumų ir žemumų gyventojus buvus tos pačios bendruomenės, kurią veikė tos pačios demografinės ir ekonominės tendencijos bei svyravimai, dalimis. Pristatomoje apžvalgoje ypatingas dėmesys skiriamas vėlyvųjų viduramžių nuosmukiui. Turint gerai chronologiškai pagrįstas detalias palinologinių duomenų diagramas, akivaizdu, kad ūkių sunykimas ar, tiksliau, su jų sunykimu susiję augalijos pokyčiai matyti aukštumų žiedadulkių spektruose. Tiesioginė duomenų interpretacija sietina su javų žiedadulkių kreivių pokyčiais. Trūkiai kreivėse ar ženklų žiedadulkių kiekio sumažėjimą rodančios vietos išryškėja vėlyvaisiais viduramžiais (5 pav.). Vis dėlto nagrinėjant taip pat ir pievų augalų ar medžių žiedadulkių kreives, gali būti gaunama dar kompleksiškesnė ir įdomesnė informacija apie augalijos reakciją į minėtą nuosmukį. Du augalijos pokyčių tipai nustatyti šioje apžvalgoje: pirma, natūralus miško atsikūrimas apleistose žemėse (6 pav.) ir, antra, perėjimas nuo pasėlių auginimo prie ganiavos (7 pav.). Pastarasis faktas gali būti preliminariai interpretuojamas kaip perėjimo nuo ariamosios žemdirbystės prie menkesnių darbo sąnaudų reikalaujančios gyvulininkystės liudijimas. Remiantis chronologinėmis sąsajomis, žemdirbystės sunykimas aukštumose vėlyvaisiais viduramžiais, nustatytas pagal žiedadulkių tyrimų duomenis, gali būti interpretuojamas kaip gyventojų bendruomenės nykimo, sukelto maro bei vėlyvųjų viduramžių krizės, atspindys. Analogiškai, VI a. žemdirbystės nuosmukis, išryškėjęs žiedadulkių kreivėse, gali būti siejamas su migracijų laikotarpio krize. Minėti du recesijos epizodai apibrėžiami kaip Europos masto fenomenai, o jų pasireiškimas aukštumose anksčiau čia egzistavusių ūkių sunykimu pabrėžia jautrią marginalinių arealų reakciją į sociumo krizes. Vertė Miglė Stančikaitė

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DANIEL MAKOWIECKI, MARZENA MAKOWIECKA Abstract This paper presents a comparative, diachronic study of the faunal assemblages recovered from two key political, cultural and commercial centres in the medieval Polish-Prussian borderlands: Kałdus in the Kulmerland, and Gdańsk in Pomerania. Both centres were situated in a region which was incorporated into the Teutonic Order’s state following the Crusades against the Prussian tribes in the 13th century. Although comparative trends are noticeable between the two centres which can be linked to the development of the Polish (Piast) state, the variation reflects specific local ecological and cultural contexts. Due to the constraints of space, this study focuses on the relative representation of different species of mammals, birds and fish, demonstrating how diachronic trends can be linked to the marked historical phases associated with the cultural and environmental transformation of this frontier, from one dominated by the Piast state to the later Teutonic Order’s polity. Key words: zooarchaeology, Kałdus, Gdańsk, Polish state, Teutonic Order, environment, mammals, birds, fish. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15181/ab.v20i0.810

T h e r e g i o n , i t s h i s t o r y, a n d the zooarchaeological background If the term ‘Polish/Prussian frontier’ is coined with respect to the Middle Ages, it must be expressed with at least some basic impression of the delineated area which is related to it. Regarding present-day historical knowledge of the tribes settling the area around the south Baltic coast, it is sensible to say that the River Vistula broadly delineates a natural border between Slavs on its left bank and Prussian tribes on the right (Fig. 1). In the previous century, archaeological research carried out along the Vistula documented many settlements related to the early medieval period. At the same time, numerous assemblages of animal remains were collected and investigated. The results were published in many reports relating to mammals (e.g. Sobociński 1968; 1978; 1979; 1980; 1988; 1991a; 1992a, b; Sobociński, Makowiecki 1992), birds (Nogalski 1991; 1992a, b, c; Nogalski et al. 1992; Waluszewska-Bubień 1976; 1980) and fish (Iwaszkiewicz 1991). The most numerous zooarchaeological collections were recovered from two localities, which in the medieval period were very important centres. The first, Kałdus (a small village close to Chełmno, reported in historical records as Culm), is on a tributary of the Vistula (the Nogat), and the second, Gdańsk, is about 150 kilometres north of the first one.

In Kałdus, the first zooarchaeological research was carried out in the 1970s, when a small assemblage of mammal remains and birds was investigated (Sobocińki 1980; Waluszewska-Bubień 1980). Beginning from 1996, new studies combined with the interdisciplinary project concerning historic in Culmine were undertaken (Chudziak 2003). The effects of the first zooarchaeological analyses were short articles reporting animal taxons, the most important animal subsistence strategies, and some features of the natural environment. In 2010, a decade of research was concluded (1996 to 2005) with a voluminous zooarchaeological monograph presenting the spectrum of data, debates on animal subsistence strategies, hunting, fishing, social differentiation, and the natural environment (Makowiecki 2010). Data and the aforementioned topics were considered in the well-elaborated archaeological temporal and spatial context (Chudziak 2003).

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C H A R A C T E R O F A N I M A L E X P L O I TAT I O N T H E E N V I R O N M E N T AT POLISH/PRUSSIAN FRONTIER IN M E D I E VA L P E R I O D : A C A S E S T U D Y

ARCHAEOLOGIA

THE AND THE THE


Remains from Gdańsk, recovered in the 1950s and 1960s, mainly from the early medieval stronghold adjacent to its port and settlements, were analysed by different researchers. They reported their results in numerous publications, mainly related to mammals (Jaworski 1952; Krysiak 1955; 1956; 1967; Kubasiewicz 1977) and fish (Dąbczewski 1952; Susłowska 1966, 1967, 1968; Susłowska, Urbanowicz 1967; Urbanowicz 1965; 1967), and some scarce data was related to birds (Nogalski 1984). Starting from the 1990s, a number of excavations were taken up in places that are historically linked to the de-

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Fig. 1. A map of the region, with the locations of the two centres mentioned in the paper (prepared by authors).

DANIEL MAKOWIECKI, MARZENA MAKOWIECKA

The Character of Animal Exploitation and the Environment at the Polish/ Prussian Frontier in the Medieval Period: A Case Study

The main events associated with the historical context Animal subsistence on the Polish/Prussian frontier should be considered in at least three stages. This is sensible, because of political and cultural events reported in historical records. The first will be called the ‘pre-Crusades stage’, and started in 966 with the introduction of Christianity into Slavic territory between the rivers Vistula and Oder by Mieszko I, a duke of the Piast dynasty. He started by creating a stable political, cultural and economic structure, which can be described as European. It was based on central places consisting of prominent fortified wooden strongholds and unfortified adjacent villages with cemeteries (Fig. 2). In the most important of them, called sedes regni principalis, a stone basilica constituted the characteristic architectural form. The dynastic successors of Mieszko I continued the development of the state, and extended it to regions in all possible directions. Only one region close to the state, located on the right bank of the Lower Vistula, belonged to the pagan Prussians, who posed a serious military threat to the young Christian Polish state. In 1226, we may point to the second stage related to the period of crusading (the ‘Crusaders stage’), when Konrad I, a local duke of Masovia from the Piast dynasty, intending to solve the Prussian problem, invited the Teutonic Knights and granted them the Kulmerland (Chełmno land), located just beside the frontier with the Prussian territories. In return for this, their duty was to propagate Christianity among the pagans, and to simultaneously put an end to the duke’s difficulties.

Finally, in 1466, after three centuries of dynamic development and conflict, the Teutonic Knights lost a vast part of the area on the left bank of the Vistula, and some on the right bank of the river as well. Therefore, from that date, it is sensible to indicate the third stage, with Gdańsk being part of the Kingdom of Poland. This would be called the ‘post-Crusaders stage’. In 1525, the state of the Teutonic Knights was forced to become the fief of the Polish king, and it was secularised and transformed into the Duchy of Prussia, the first Protestant state. From the year 1793, a new stage in the city’s history is bound up with the Kingdom of Prussia, which incorporated Gdańsk into its structure.

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In a very short time, the Crusaders took advantage of the unstable political situation among the Piast dukes, and built their own powerful state in the region of Prussia. Subsequently, at the beginning of the 14th century, they incorporated into their state the eastern part of Pomerania, which had earlier belonged to the Piasts. In fact, the crusading state was created, and started to grow into a political and economic power through a very well-organised administrative system with a network of castles. Therefore, it is expected that the exploitation of natural resources and a visible impact on the environment occurred at this time.

ARCHAEOLOGIA

velopment of the city, from the time of the Crusaders until Prussian times. In the study, a number of remains were recovered belonging to mammals, birds and fish. Their analyses were conducted by the authors in a variety of projects and collaborations with the Archaeological Museum in Gdańsk and some private companies. The growing number of material was so significant that the main effort was focused on current analysis, with results presented in unpublished reports stored in the archives of the Archaeological Museum (Paner 2006). From these early stages of research, some preliminary data and reflections on mammals were published in one article (Makowiecka et al. 1998), and in two other papers on bird remains (Makowiecki, Gotfredsen 2002; 2003). Records relating to fish were included in a separate analytical-synthetic study devoted to the history of fish and fishing (Makowiecki 2003a), and the remains of cod were examined in isotopic projects on cod fishing and trade in medieval northern Europe (see Barrett et al. 2008; Orton et al. 2011).


It is worth mentioning that the Crusaders stage is one of the characteristic periods in the history of the Polish/ Prussian frontier, and not only because of the Teutonic Knights, but at the same time because of changes in the structure of the system of human settlements, which consisted of castles, towns and villages. This must have created different strategies in agriculture and the exploitation of the environment, such as forests, fields, rivers and lakes. In the historical context presented above, Kałdus is regarded as the most important cultural, economic and political centre in the Kulmerland, and it existed from the turn of the seventh century to the turn of the 12th century. All reported zooarchaeological material corresponds with the pre-Crusaders stage. Gdańsk started its history from the tenth/11th century, and it has continued to be occupied until today. When excavations were carried out in different parts of the city, a huge amount of zooarchaeological data was collected and analysed, and it can be arranged in relation to all the historical stages described above. Taking into account the present state of knowledge concerning the historic development of both centres, common and various features can be indicated. Common characteristics include their important roles in the cultural development of the discussed Slavic frontier zone. They were both within the Teutonic Knights’ sphere of influence. Gdańsk undoubtedly differed from

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Fig. 2. The settlement complex in Culmine (11th-12th/13th century) belonging to the type of sedes regni principalis, now Kałdus, Kujavian-Pomeranian voivodeship. Contour plan with the location of the excavated area researched by the Institute of Archaeology of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń in the years 1996 to 2005 (after Makowiecki 2010).

It can be assumed that the most important properties of both centres’ locations had an impact on both common and different features in economic strategies (animal subsistence) and processes occurring in the natural environment.

Methods The goal indicated in the title of this paper was fulfilled by quantifying animal taxons and the abundance of animal bone fragments (NISP), analysed by percentage. An analysis of raw material of animal origin obtained was based on percentage relations between vertebrates, i.e. domesticated mammals, wild mammals, birds, fish, and between particular species of listed groups. In this case, the data concerning domestic mammals for consumption, that is, cattle, pigs, sheep/goats and horses, were particularly meaningful.1 Features of the natural environment were estimated on the grounds of contemporary biotopes of particular species of wild mammals, birds and fish. Within these groups, sub-groups of faunal representatives inhabiting similar biotopes or creating separate animal groups associated with nutrition were distinguished. Relating to categorisations of medieval wild mammals, taxons of this group were divided into big game, Animalia superiora, and small game, Animalia minuta. The first of them includes species such as bear, boar, red deer, elk, roe deer, aurochs and European bison; while the other group consists of hare, squirrel, beaver, fox, wolf, European badger, beech marten and weasel. Of all the listed species, two provided the basis for indicating changes occurring in the natural environment. They were: a) hare, preferring open landscapes; and b) roe deer, which easily adapts to identical landscape conditions (Makowiecki 2001; 2010). Studies on the remains of this species from medieval, but also prehistoric, deposits indicate that its meat was consumed, although this had not been the main purpose of breeding it (Makowiecki 2001; 2004; 2010).

1

In the case of Kałdus, the results of the studies on remains, animal subsistence, sociotopography and the environment, included in the voluminous monograph mentioned above, were used (Makowiecki 2010). Based on archaeological and historical data (Chudziak 2003; 2006), bone collections were combined into four phases: first, referring to the tribal period (mid-seventh to eighth centuries); second, encompassing the times of the centre functioning within the territory of the early Piast state (tenth/11th century to the first half of the 11th century); third, relating to the tribal separatism of the Kulmerland (second half of the 11th century to the 11th/12th century); and fourth, identified with the centre functioning as a Piast castellany (mid-12th to first quarter of the 13th century).

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Undoubtedly, an important feature of both centres is their situation as far as the natural environment is concerned, especially aquatic zones. Although both are located on the biggest river in the zone, Gdańsk also had access to the Baltic Sea. Hence, their access to fauna and the development of animal-based subsistence varied.

Zooarchaeological data were analysed in chronological contexts, based on archaeological dating criteria. They provided the basis for searching trends, marked out by percentage indicators. Their significance was explained by cultural and natural processes occurring in the Prussian/Slavic boundary zone (in the early Middle Ages, before the arrival of the Teutonic Knights, on the basis of the data from Kałdus and Gdańsk), and subsequently the Polish/Teutonic one (beginning with the 13th century, only on the basis of the material from Gdańsk).

ARCHAEOLOGIA

Kałdus, in the long distance away, and in the fact that, despite its tempestuous history, it has never lost its significance as an important centre; while Kałdus, as early as the 13th century, after the arrival of the Teutonic Order, lost its original purpose in favour of nearby Chełmno, a town set up by the Order in 1233.


As far as Gdańsk is concerned, data taken mainly from publications and the results of many years of analysis by both authors were taken into consideration. Others are accessible only in the form unpublished reports kept in the archives of the Archaeological Museum in Gdańsk, and a list of them can be found in publications on archaeological explorations in the city (Paner 2006). Zooarchaeological materials, despite complications connected with their dating, were arranged in order referring to crucial historic events in the city’s development, i.e. until Slavic times or rather the preCrusaders stage (about the end of the tenth century until 1308), the Crusaders stage, and the post-Crusaders stage, when the town returned to the rule of the Polish kings (from 1466), and was subsequently incorporated into the Kingdom of Prussia (from 1793).

Kałdus, Culm Of nearly 100,000 bone fragments excavated in the area of the Kałdus settlement complex, over 75,000 were examined (Table 1). They originate from domesticated and wild mammals, birds and fish. Moreover, single fragments of invertebrates, such as freshwater molluscs and crayfish, were also identified. Fauna of that settlement complex made up a varied composition of groups referring to different economic,

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Animal

Fazy I-IV

Fazy V-VI

Fazy VI-VIII

Fazy VIII-IX



Ta b l e 1 . K a ł d u s , K u j a v i a n - P o m e r a n i a n v o i v o d e s h i p : a n i m a l t a x a a n d t h e i r NISP in the chronological context and pottery phases (Makowiecki 2010)

Total

Cattle Bos primigenius f. taurus

940

875

6883

6733

15431

Pig Sus scrofa f. domestica Sheep/Goat Ovis ammon f. aries/Capra aegagrus f. hircus Sheep Ovis ammon f. aries

845

972

6006

7559

15382

427

390

2127

2759

5703

46

26

211

154

437

Goat Capra aegagrus f. hircus

17

20

67

91

195

Horse Equus ferus f. caballus

122

119

719

676

1636

Dog Canis lupus f. familiaris

23

17

98

92

230

1

8

25

34

5

79

82

173

2

12

15

3

15

7

26

Cat Felis silvestris f. catus Hare Lepus europaeus

7

Red squirrel Sciurus vulgaris

1

European beaver Castor fiber

1

Grey wolf Canis lupus

1

Grey wolf/Dog Canis lupus/Canis lupus f. familiaris

1 1

1

8

16

27

42

23

106

Badger Meles meles

4

1

5

Mustelids mustelidae

1

Red fox Vulpes vulpes

2

Brown bear Ursus arctos

41

1

Marten Martes spec.

Least weasel Mustela nivalis European otter Lutra lutra

1

Wild cat Felis silvestris

1

Wild/Domestic cat Felis silvestris/Felis silvestris f. catus

1

Eurasian lynx Felis lynx Wild boar Sus scrofa Sus scrofa L./Sus scrofa f. domestica

265

42

1000

23

719

2

1

2

3

1

2

1

1

578

1885

425

1290

1

1

3

Red deer Cervus elaphus

123

Elk Alces alces

25

37

45

107

Roe deer Capreolus capreolus

44

18

299

252

613

Aurochs Bos primigenius

13

2

31

24

70

1

2

2

4

1533

2392

1

1

Aurochs/Cattle Bos primigenius/Bos primigenius f. taurus

1

Aurochs/European bison Bos primigenius/Bison bonasus

1

1

151

664

European bison Bison bonasus Birds Aves

3 44

European pond turtle Emys orbicularis

3

Fish Pisces

25

193

674

1763

2655

Bivalvia

5

4

9

8

26

2

2

Identified

3019

2864

19711

22870

48464

Not identified

1225

899

5452

7969

15545

Total

4244

3958

25163

30839

64204

Crayfish Astacus sp.

96

1 1

Taking into account the study’s results presented in the individual diagrams, the following characteristic features can be distinguished. The basis of exploitation was on domestic animals, and domestic fowl. The relevance of hunting and fishing, documented in zooarchaeological materials by numerous assemblages of wild mammals, birds and fish, cannot be ignored either. They were particularly important in seasons when a clear deficiency of agricultural products and meat from farm animals was observed. The best example in this case is fishing, which could deliver a substantial quantity of proteins in the spring, when fish gathered to spawn and were easy prey for humans (Makowiecki 2003a).

Identical tendencies are observable in the percentage representation of bone remains within the group of domestic mammals, and concern mainly cattle and pigs (Fig. 4). Although in all stages of the centre’s development, cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and horses were bred, the proportions of their consumed meat underwent changes. During the tribal period in the times of tribal separatism, cattle were of greater significance, while during the times of the centre functioning as a crucial element of the Piast state, pigs were of greater importance. It can be supposed that this species’ meaning is an effect of the economic strategy introduced by the Piasts, well evidenced, amongst others, in Greater Poland (the core territory of the Piast state), where the basis of the meat diet was pork (Makowiecki 2001; 2007; 2009).

It should be noted that the percentage of domestic mammals in comparison with other animal groups is variable from a diachronic point of view (Fig. 3).

Hare was the main component of hunted animals of Animalia minuta (Fig. 5). Its representation in both the collection from the stronghold and the settlement is

100% 17,4 80%

6,8 5,3 3,3

3,4 3,4 11,4

7,7 6,7 6,4

BALTICA 20

The reported trends can be correlated with the historic stages of the centre’s development. The high representation of wild mammals refers to the period when the centre was not under the political influence of Piast state structures, that is, in the times of tribal development, and in times of ‘tribal separatism’, being the effect of the historically documented crisis. In contrast, the relatively high domestic mammal representation is characteristic of assemblages relating to the presence of the Piast administration in the centre, for the first time from the turn of the tenth/11th century to the first half of the 11th century, and for the second time in the 12th and the first quarter of the 13th century.

ARCHAEOLOGIA

zoocenotic factors and body sizes. Domestic mammals included cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, horses, dogs and cats. Representatives of Animalia superiora included the following taxa: brown bear, wild boar, red deer, elk, roe deer, aurochs, aurochs/bison and bison. Animals from the Animalia minuta group were: European brown hare, squirrel, beaver, wolf, fox, beech marten, badger, mustelids, weasel, otter, wildcat and lynx. The list of avifauna is quite long, and consists mainly of wild species (Table 2), although the most numerous were remnants of chicken (domestic fowl). Domestic birds can also be represented by Anser and Columba. The list of fish contains mostly freshwater species, but also migratory fish (diadromous: catadromous and anadromous), and marine ones (Table 3).


Fish

Birds 60% 40%

80,3

84,6

81,8

79,1

Wild mammals

Domestic mammals

20%

Piast castellany (NISP=22858)

Time of tribe separtizm (NISP=19702)

Early Piast state (NISP=2859)

Time of tribes (NISP=3014)

0%

Fig. 3. Kałdus (eighth to 13th century): the percentage of animal groups in the historical stages of the in Culmine complex (NISP=56284) (graph by authors).

97



98

Ta b l e 2 . K a ł d u s , K u j a v i a n - P o m e r a n i a n v o i v o d e s h i p , s e t t l e m e n t a n d c e m e t e r y (site 2) and stronghold (site 3): bird taxa and their NISP (see Makowiecki et al. 2007; Makowiecki 2010) Birds

Kałdus 2

Red-necked grebe Podiceps grisegena Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo Bittern Botaurus stellaris Grey heron Ardea cinerea White stork Ciconia ciconia Stork Ciconia sp. Mute swan Cygnus olor Goose Anser sp. Wigeon Anas penelope Gadwall Anas strepera Teal Anas crecca Mallard Anas platyrhynchos Duck Anas sp. Ferruginous duck Aythya nyroca Common goldeneye Bucephala clangula Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus Goshawk Accipiter gentilis Kestrel Falco tinnunculus Lesser spotted eagle/Osprey Aquila pomarina/Pandion haliaetus Black grouse Tetrao tetrix Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus Black grouse/Capercaillie Tetrao sp. Partridge Perdix perdix Domestic chicken Gallus gallus f. domestica Crane Grus grus Moorhen Gallinula chloropus Coot Fulica atra L., 1758 Woodcock Scolopax rusticola Stock dove Columba oenas Dove Columba livia f. domestica Stock dove/Dove Columba oenas/Columba domestica Dove Columba sp. Short-eared owl/Long-eared owl Asio flammeus/Asio otus Starling Sturnus sp. Jay Garrulus glandarius Raven Corvus corax Carrion crow Corvus corone Jackdaw Corvus monedula Corvus sp. Corvus sp. Total

1 1

1 143

1 1 30 3 3 1

24 21 1 2 788 9 1 2

3 1

1036

Kałdus 3

Total

1 1

1 2 1 4 1 1 1 237 1 2 2 1 53 1 3 3 19 1 1 50 70 1 2 1177 40 1 1 1 6 1 1 1 1 1 3 6 7 3 8 1715

4 1 1 94 1 2 1 23 1

18 1 1 26 49

389 31 1 1 4 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 6 3 8 679

identical (Makowiecki 2010). The group of Animalia superiora is represented by a high level of participation of bones belonging to wild boar, red deer and roe deer (Fig. 5). The remaining species, elk, aurochs and European bison, are represented by a small percentage, while the latter was reported only in the stronghold.

group, and roe deer in relation to the species of Animalia superior, it can be noted that both of them clearly increased their representation in the younger stages (Fig. 6). This corresponds to the stage when the centre in Culmine became bigger, and a more important centre for culture and trading (Chudziak 2003).

Observing the percentage data of hare in comparison with the remaining species of the Animalia minuta

The list of birds was estimated on the grounds of studies of only a portion of bones recovered from sites 2

Rivers/Seas Seas

Total

698

132

283

1115

Roach Rutilus rutilus

4

Rudd Scardinius erythrophthalmus

1

Bream Abramis brama

47

9

4

60

Catfish Silurus glanis

23

56

31

110

Pike Esox lucius

180

55

27

262

Perches Percidae

6

Perch Perca fluviatilis

31

2

Pike-perch Sander lucioperca

21

17

Tench Tinca tinca

24

14

5

43

Crucian carp Carassius carassius

3

2

3

8

Ide Leuciscus idus

5

1

6

19

7

28

Asp Aspius aspius

2

6

1

Salmon/Sea trout Salmo spec.

2

3

114

195

3

7 1

Burbot Lota lota

Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus

3

13

46 38

1

Eel Anguilla anguilla

1

Herring Clupea harengus

10

14


5 5

317 1 24

Identified

7

1190

507

374

2078

Not identified

1

536

95

107

739

Total

8

1726

602

481

2817

and 3 (Table 2). They represent a few orders relating to distinguishing methods discussed in the introduction, and they belong to several ornithological groups. Chicken remains are predominant in both collections; the other bird groups are represented by a lower percentage, in which goose and wild galliformes are particularly prominent. An analysis of the graphic picture of the data obtained indicates that both sites are different as far as the percentage of the distinguished groups and taxons are concerned. There is clearly a smaller representation of chicken (57.3%) in the stronghold than in the assemblage from the settlement (76.1%), while the representation of other birds is lower in the assemblages from the settlement (Makowiecki 2010).

BALTICA 20

Kałdus 4

2

ARCHAEOLOGIA

Kałdus 3

Cyprinids Cyprinidae

Kałdus 2

Fish

Kałdus 1

Biotope Lakes/rivers

Migratory Marine

Rivers

Lakes

Fresh water

Rivers/lakes

Fish group

Ta b l e 3 . K a ł d u s , K u j a v i a n - P o m e r a n i a n v o i v o d e s h i p : f i s h t a x a a n d t h e i r N I S P, preliminary identification (see Makowiecki 2010)

The only common feature of both sites is the identical representation of geese (13.8%). These proportions are a reflection of the different social and economic functions of both settlements. Site 2 was a settlement of a residential-household character, while site 3 served ritual-religious purposes in tribal periods, and later in Christian periods as well (Chudziak 2003; Makowiecki 2010). Preliminary studies of 2,803 fishbones were the basis for distinguishing 18 taxa (Table 3). Considering the types of waters inhabited by them, they belong to three ecological groups, freshwater fish, diadromous (migratory) fish, and marine fish. The first is evidently the most numerous, consisting of species typical of river

99


50,0 45,0 40,0 35,0 30,0 % 25,0 20,0

39,2 35,3 20,4

40,5

43,0

36,4

37,5


5,0

Sheep/Goat

18,2 15,0

5,1

5,0

4,5

0,0 Time of tribes (NISP=2397)

Cattle Pig

15,0 10,0

42,1 37,5



16,7

Horse

3,8 Piast castellany (NISP=17972)

Fig. 4. Kałdus: the percentage of domestic species in the historical context of the in Culmine complex (graph by authors).

waters (asp, ide and burbot), and characteristic of a high degree of lake eutrophication (tench and crucian carp). The most numerous are those existing in both types of water body, including Cyprinidae and predatory fish, such as pike, catfish, perch and pike-perch. Among diadromous species are sturgeon, salmon/ trout, and eel. The only sea fish is herring. The percentage representation of the described taxa is varied. Cyprinidae are the main component (26% to 56%), with the most numerous recognised remains of common bream, tench and asp. Other families are represented by quite a high representation of species, such as sturgeon (9% to 38%), pike (7% to 15%) and catfish (2% to 11%). The percentage of other fish is definitely lower. The explored sites differ with the frequencey of identified taxa. Cyprinidae constitute the most numerous component of sites 2 and 4, with a clear decline in site 3 (26%). The last, in turn, has a prevalence of sturgeon remains (38%). Differences between percentage indicators of the remaining fish in particular sites are slight. They concern species such as tench, pike-perch and herring;2 the quantity of their bones is a little larger in the stronghold, and pike, bream and asp are more often identified in site 2. The data above suggest that the centre in Culmine implemented a strategy consisting of several elements fulfilling their economic needs. This included the husbandry of domestic mammals and birds, hunting mammals and wild birds, and fishing. In the case of the latter, the trade in herring can be indicated as the effect of contacts with coastal centres and the introduction of 2

100

The site also contained four pieces of herring, found in a heap the 12 th trench on the basilica area, by its southern walls. Due to their ambiguous stratigraphic position, they were omitted in the present collation of results.

Christianity to the Kulmerland by the Piast state. The recorded faunal components point to the exploration of various landscape zones, such as forests, open spaces, swampy areas and waters (definitely the Vistula, but also lakes situated in the uplands). Palynological data obtained from cores indicate that, although the valley of the River Vistula had been nearly completely deforested in the early Middle Ages, the spectra included the pollen of, among others, birchwood, oak, hard beam and elm, being components of forest concentrations (Noryśkiewicz 2004). Because of this fact, it can be assumed that in the valley itself, forests were still the primary landscape element, and in the area of the uplands there was even much denser woodland. It consisted first and foremost of subcontinental tilio carpinetum corydaletosum (Cyzman, Kamiński 2004), which at present consists of oak-basshard-beam forests (Matuszkiewicz 2008). The interiors of the listed complexes must have created favourable habitats for numerous species of forest mammals, whose remains were identified during analyses of zooarchaeological material. Taking into consideration the taxa of wild fauna representing independent proxies of their paleoenvironment and preferred biotopes, we can draw conclusions concerning not only the forestation of the Culm area, but also concerning the existence of landscapes characterised by a mosaic of various open spaces and shrubs and deciduous woods. The group of animals preferring forest biotopes consists firstly of predatory species, such as lynx (Buchalczyk 1984; Okarma 2000), wildcat (Buchalczyk 1984), badger (Buchalczyk 1984; Sumiński 1989), brown bear (Buchalczyk 1984), and wolf (Okarma 1992). Herbivorous mammals are represented here by bison (Pucek, Sych 1984; Krasińska,

Weasel 0,004

Otter 0,012

Wild cat 0,008

BALTICA 20

Mustelidae 0,004 Badger 0,020

Lynx 0,004

ARCHAEOLOGIA

Fox 0,106

Wolf 0,004 European beaver 0,102

Red squirrel 0,059 Hare 0,678


Animalia minuta % (NISP=256)

Roe deer 15%

Aurochs 2%

Brown bear 3%

Elk 3%

Wild boar 45%

Red deer 32% Hare Wolf Mustelidae Wild cat

Red squirrel Fox Animalia superiora Weasel % (NISP=4081) Lynx

European beaver Badger Otter

Fig. 5. Kałdus: the percentage of Animalia minuta and Animalia superiora species in the historical context of the in Culmine complex (graph by authors).

101

71,2 70,0 60,0

66,7

58,3 55,6

50,0

%

40,0



80,0

44,4 41,7

30,0

Hare

33,3

Others - A. minuta

28,8

20,0

100,0

Time of tribes (NISP=12)


91,4



85,9

90,0

81,3

80,0 78,8

70,0 60,0 %

50,0 40,0

Roe deer Others - A. superiora

30,0 20,0

21,2 18,7

8,6 14,1

10,0 0,0 Time of Early Piast state tribes(NISP=511) (NISP=85)



Fig. 6. Kałdus: the percentage remains of two groups of wild mammals in the historical stages: a) hare versus Animmalia minuta; b) roe deer versus Animalia superiora (graph by authors).

102

Krasiński 2007), aurochs (Głowaciński 1992), red deer (Dzięgielewski 1973), elk (Pucek, Sych 1984), and wild boar (Fruziński 1993). Forest biotopes are also preferred by various birds, e.g. capercaillie and black grouse (Matuszewski, Morow 1994). The species living mainly in open spaces diversified by fields, meadows and small inter-field shrub concentrations include, in the first place, hare (Pielowski 1966). Moreover, fauna representing adjustments to life in the forests and open spaces include roe deer (Pielowski 1999) and fox (Goszczyński 1995). It should be pointed out that the species listed also include elk, which prefers not only woodland habitats but also humid and swampy areas.

Water bodies surrounded by forests create adequate biocenoses for beaver (Dzięciołowski 1996) and otter (Buchalczyk 1984). The list of bird species and the characteristics of their preferred habitats can also indicate diversified landscapes around the early medieval settlement complex in Culmine. Some of them are species connected with water areas, which were found in the vast valley of the River Vistula, covered with numerous overflowing tributaries. They were inhabited by ducks and geese, grebes, cormorants, great bitterns, Eurasian woodcocks, common moorhen and common coots. Heron and crane preferred fenlands and swampy areas. Game

The analysis presented above, as in the case of mammals, confirms the occurrence of diverse landscape zones, including agricultural and forest terrains. Wetlands and water areas were also clear elements of the local landscape. In the case of these last examples, it is worth adding that they were rich not only in wild fowl, but also in ichthyofauna, among which the Cyprinidae family, so numerous in sub-fossil materials, were the most common component. Zooarchaeological analysis does not provide grounds for conclusions determining the specific localisation, extent or dimensions of individual landscape zones. It can only be inferred, on the basis of the ecological data quoted, that the least forested zones, with extensive open areas (fields, meadows, grazing), were situated in the immediate vicinity of the settlement. The further from it, the more diversified the landscape became, until dense forests and wild woodland complexes appear. However, when including the presence of other settlement centres in the region, a subsequent hypothesis can be proposed, according to which the greatest forest areas occurred on the border of anthropogenic penetrations of neighbouring population concentrations, identified by settlement studies (Chudziak 1996). The demographic, economic and cultural development of the centre in Culmine, together with the process of its incorporation into the Piast state, were factors affecting both animal husbandry strategies and exploitation of the natural environmental. Changes observed can be connected with the intensification of food production, for which open areas were necessary. These were acquired at the expense of woodland, which effectively led to creating living conditions favourable for hare and roe deer. It can be presumed that the diminution of forest areas, and simultaneously the populations of game living within them, red deer, wild boar, aurochs, European bison and bear, were another effect of changes associated with advances in agriculture. Nevertheless, the surroundings of in Culmine, just before the arrival of the Teutonic Knights, can still be characterised as a mosaic landscape, but with an evidently smaller forest component than it had when the centre formed in the middle of the seventh century. Fields were presumably

Gdańsk Faunal collections containing nearly 250,000 pieces and originating from various chronological and location contexts (Table 4) became the basis of consideration in the case of this centre. They come from domestic mammals, wild mammals, marine mammals, birds and fish. Moreover, a fragment of pond turtle, the species of reptile, was also identified.

BALTICA 20

the predominant element in the close vicinity of the centre. Despite this fact, the generally high occurrence of remains of wild mammals in the examined faunal collections allows us to infer that hunting in those times did not result in the disturbance of zoocenotic structure, that is, the abilities of self-reproduction of the vertebrate fauna population living in the times of the settlement’s development. However, such unsettling must have taken place in subsequent centuries, because the present number of wild fauna within the Kulmerland, compared with that of the period of the functioning Slavic centre, is intensely reduced (Makowiecki 2004). These changes in the structure of the zoo-environment, or more broadly, the whole biocenosis, could have been caused by the economic activity of the Teutonic Order’s state.

ARCHAEOLOGIA

Galliformes species, capercaillie and black grouse, provide evidence of the existence of widespread woodland zones. The substantial occurrence of these wild species can be considered an additional factor indicating the existence of suitable living conditions for them in the surrounding areas. The northern goshawk is also such a proxy. Another bird of prey, the Eurasian sparrowhawk, prefers forest areas and field afforestations; whereas the raven prefers forests, as well as fields. The latter is a favourite habitat for stork and partridge as well.


Cattle, pig, sheep, goat, horse, dog and cat belong to the list of domestic mammals. Brown bear, wild boar, red deer, elk, roe deer, aurochs, aurochs/bison and bison are classified as Animalia superiora. The European hare, squirrel, Eurasian beaver, wolf, fox, marten, European badger, Mustelidae, weasel, otter, European wildcat and lynx belong to Animalia minuta. The black rat is a species representing synanthrope mammals. The remains of seal and porpoise were the most numerous from among the marine mammals. The list of birds, although based on a relatively small number of specimens, is quite long and diverse with regard to such groups as domestic fowl, waterfowl (excluding geese and ducks), geese (wild, wild/domestic), ducks, forest birds, birds of prey and synanthropes (Table 5). The domestic chicken is the most numerous species among the group of domestic birds. Moreover, in this group, some bones of goose, duck, peacock, and, in collections dated from modern times, turkey, were recognised. The presence of synanthrope species, barn owl and carrion crow/rook, was observed. Dove can be added to the last group, and to the domestic birds. Forest species are represented by black grouse, capercaillie and raven. Mainly white-tailed eagles and goshawks were identified among the birds of prey. Water birds are represented in the greatest number, with a prevalence of mallard and greylag goose.

103



Fish remains originating from freshwater, saltwater and migratory (diadromous) species were reported (Table 6). Cod, flatfish (including flounder) and herring were the most numerous of the identified marine fish. Single remains belonged to garfish and turbot. Sturgeon belonged to the main recognised migratory species, and only a few specimens belonged to the others. Several clear trends were noticed in analysing the percentages of vertebral remains in the town’s historic contexts. Firstly, domestic mammals dominate in all the assemblages, although birds and fish make up a significant proportion (Fig. 7). Wild mammals are more numerous than the second and third group mentioned above only in the Slavic (pre-Teutonic) phase, while in the younger phases they occur as a distinct minority. The presence of marine mammals, whose participation in successive stages is almost unnoticeable, is a particular feature of this collection. These observations provide sufficient grounds for us to state that the percentages of animal group proportions in the Slavic collection differ radically in comparison with assemblages from the period of the Teutonic Order and later times, which is the result of various economic strategies adopted in successive historic periods. In almost all periods, the remains of cattle prevail distinctly over other species, that is, pig and sheep/goat (Fig. 8), beginning with the phase of the Teutonic Order, whereas completely different proportions were noticed in the Slavic collection. The number of cattle and pig fragments in the last is identical. Therefore, a 100%

2,3 2,5 5,8

2,8 1,6 0,7

1,9 3,6 0,8

separate feature in this collection in comparison with those later ones is evident, as in the case of the (wild) animal groups. Much clearer trends were evident during the comparison of domestic species, horse, dog and cat, whose role in consumption is commonly recognised as being of little importance (Fig. 9). In this respect, relations between these species are clearly different in the Slavic phase, when the horse predominates, with clearly fewer dog remains, and least of all cat. A very large decrease in the proportion of horse remains and an increase in the percentage of dog remains are visible in the Teutonic Order phase. The relative representation of these animals is equalised somewhat, and in the youngest stage (the end of Royal Prussia and the beginning of the Kingdom of Prussia), dog remains are at their highest proportion and horse remains are at their lowest. In the case of cat, there is a clear percentage increase, from about 11% in the Slavic material up to 40% in the last phase. More species were registered in collections of wild mammals from the Slavic phase than from later phases. This is especially clearly visible in the presence of specific predatory fauna (Fig. 10). The other vertebrates (except bear) represent there the group Animalia minuta. Only bear was noticed in assemblages corresponding to the period of the Teutonic Order’s rule, and only red fox in the subsequent period.

1,3 2,9 0,4

2,1 4,3 0,7

80%

Fish

60%

Birds 89,2

94,8

93,7

95,3

92,9

Marine mammals Wild mammals

40%

Domestic mammals 20%

0% SL TO TO/RP RP (NISP=56510) (NISP=30553) (NISP=50097) (NISP=53987)

104

RP/KP (NISP=1145)

Fig. 7. Gdańsk: the percentage of animal groups in the historical stages (graph by authors).

TO-RP

RP

SL-TORP

RP/KP

KP

13th/14th20th c.

Total

21099

29018

9740

33532

11179

225

544

1624

129163

Pig Sus scrofa f. domestica

20213

406

4167

9547

2817

7679

1472

36

82

438

46857

Sheep/Goat Ovis ammon f. aries/Capra aegagrus f. hircus

7936

452

2527

7235

3089

7607

1880

38

97

186

31047

Sheep Ovis ammon f. aries

41

0

693

405

1445

632

7

8

69

3300

Goat Capra aegagrus f. hircus

18

0

186

118

352

56

2

2

22

756

Horse Equus ferus f. caballus

1173

21

111

231

86

293

16

2

36

1969

Dog Canis lupus f. familiaris

336

16

125

229

52

281

29

12

12

1092

Cat Felis silvestris f. catus

181

44

141

96

257

21

2

7

756

Hare Lepus europaeus

95

11

19

3

21

3

2

3

162

5

European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus

7

1

Red squirrel Sciurus vulgaris

3

European water vole Arvicola terrestris

1

Black rat Rattus rattus

3

European beaver Castor fiber

236

Grey wolf Canis lupus

16

1

1

2

6 1

3 7

6

2

1

2

248 16

Grey wolf/Dog Canis lupus/Canis lupus f. familiaris

1

2

2

35

Red fox Vulpes vulpes

31

Bear Ursus arctos

22

European polecat Mustela putorius

5

Badger Meles meles

12

12

Least weasel Mustela nivalis

1

1

European otter Lutra lutra

47

Wild cat Felis silvestris

15

Eurasian lynx Felis lynx

2

1

2 1

1

3 4

28

21

3

16

2

Red deer Cervus elaphus

433

4

89

164

24

38

12

Elk Alces alces

1033

4

3

2

4

1

Roe deer Capreolus capreolus

374

81

198

30

155

37

1

6

50

Seals Phocidae

28

Grey seal Halihoerus gryphus

77

Common porpoise Phocaena phocaena

1

Birds Aves

6

15

3

222


48

685

Aurochs Bos primigenius

I

24

Wild boar Sus scrofa

European bison Bison bonasus

BALTICA 20

TO/RP

1665

ARCHAEOLOGIA

TO

Cattle Bos primigenius f. taurus 20537

Animal

SL

SL/TO

Ta b l e 4 . G d a ń s k , P o m e r a n i a n v o i v o d e s h i p : a n i m a l t a x a a n d t h e i r N I S P i n t h e chronological context phases, by different authors and unpublished reports of Makowiecka, Makowiecki

1 1

4

764

16

781 1047

2

2

1

7

886

1

231 50

1

7

2

38 77

7

4

5

5

1 441

1387

31

499

1796

253

1586

Fish Pisces

1290

41

864

950

162

714

212

Pond tortoise Emys orbicularis

23 23

26

57

6099

24

30

4287

1

1

Identified

56505

2646

30554

50097

16362

53992

15994

341

804

2515

229810

Not identified

1543

245

2259

2350

2141

3565

4948

10

81

125

17267

Total

58048

2891

32813

52447

18503

57557

20942

351

885

2640

247077

105

73,9

73,6

70,0

62,6

60,0 50,0 %



80,0

40,0

Cattle

42,1

Pig

41,5

Sheep/Goat

30,0 20,0

66,2

Fig. 8. Gdańsk: the remains of pigs, cattle and sheep/goats in the historical stages (graph by authors).

14,5

16,4

10,0

20,6 16,7

11,9

18,6 14,8 15,2

11,3

70,0

69,4

Horse

60,0

Dog

52,2

50,0

Cat

44,6 40,0 %

39,6

38,4 35,3 38,1

30,0

39,1

33,8 30,9

23,5 20,0

19,9 15,7

10,0

10,7

8,7

0,0 SL TO TO/RP RP RP/KP (NISP=1690)(NISP=280) (NISP=601) (NISP=831) (NINSP=23)

Fig. 9. Gdańsk: the remains of horses, dogs and cats in the historical periods (graph by authors).

106

RP/KP (NISP=1041)

RP (NISP=50615)

TO/RP (NISP=46323)

TO (NISP=28672)

SL (NISP=48745)

0,0

It became evident again that the Slavic period was radically different to that of the Teutonic Order phase and the subsequent ones in the case of species from the Animalia superiora group (Fig. 11). A relatively little-differentiated representation of particular species was, first of all, characteristic of this period. However, elk was markedly the dominating mammal; wild boar, red deer, roe deer and aurochs were successively the next represented. The percentage of the first came down to almost zero as early as the Teutonic Order phase, and likewise in the case of aurochs. Wild boar is the next species indicating a downward tendency in its representation. In contrast, the number of red deer and roe deer remains increases. The proportion of red deer remains in the youngest phase, corresponding to the Kingdom of Prussia period, decreases; while the representation of roe deer reaches its highest percentage. Almost equally explicit increasing or decreasing trends were noticed among the remains of quantified species within ecosystem groups, that is, animals of: a) the forest biotope (badger, wolf, bear, wildcat, lynx, wild boar, red deer,

SL

TO

TO/RP

RP

Total

Domestic chicken Gallus gallus f. domestica

470

88

22

190

770

26

26

1

1

Turkey Meleagris gallopavo Peacock Pavo cristatus f. domestica

1

Stock dove/Dove Columba oenas/Columba domestica Dove Columba sp. Barn owl Tyto alba

1 3

1

3 1

Carrion crow/Rook Corvus corone/Corvus frugilegus

1

1

1

3

Domestic goose Anser anser f. domestica

1

3

61

65

Greylag goose/Domestic Anser anser/Anser anser f. domestica

34

1

4

61

100

Goose Anser sp.

16

7

3

23

49

Mallard Anas plathyrhynchos Mallard/Domestic duck Anas platyhrynchos/Anas platyhrynchos f. domestica Domestic duck Anas platyrhynchos f. domestica

4

4

4

14

26

1

6

15

2

2

Duck Anas sp.

2

8 2

1

Red-throated diver Gavia stellata Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo

3

7 1

1

Grey heron Ardea cinerea Mute swan Cygnus olor

2 1

1 1

Greylag goose Anser anser

4 1 1

4

4

14

22

Barnacle/Brent goose Branta leucopsis/Branta bernicla

3

3

Wigeon/Pintail Anas penelope/Anas acuta

1

1

1

1

1

3

Velvet scoter Melanitta fusca

1

Coot Fulica atra Herring gull/Lesser black-backed gull Larus argentatus/Larus fuscus White-tailed eagle Haliaeetus albicilla

2 3 1 12

1 3

6

21

1

1

Goshawk Acipiter gentilis

7

7

Black grouse Tetrao tetrix

9

9

Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus

9

Raven Corvus corax

1

1

Partridge Perdix perdix

2

2

582


3

Red kite/Black kite Milvus milvus/Milvus migrans

Total

I

1

Smew Mergus albellus Crane Grus grus

BALTICA 20

Bird

ARCHAEOLOGIA

Ta b l e 5 . G d a ń s k , P o m e r a n i a n v o i v o d e s h i p : b i r d s a c c o r d i n g t o c h r o n o l o g i c a l context (by Nogalski 1984; Makowiecki, Gotfredsen 2002; 2003)

1

110

51

1

420

11

1163

107



Ta b l e 6 . G d a ń s k , P o m e r a n i a n v o i v o d e s h i p : f i s h a c c o r d i n g t o c h r o n o l o g i c a l context (Makowiecki 2003a)

Fish

SL

TO

Pike Esox lucius

340

Carp Cyprinidae

1625

Roach Rutilus rutilus

174

Leuciscus sp.

83

83

Chub Leuciscus cephalus

5

5

Ide Leuciscus idus

16

Rudd Scardinius erythrophthalmus

14

Asp Aspius aspius

147

2

3

152

Tench Tinca tinca

303

5

3

311

Barbel Barbus barbus

1

White bream Blicca björkna

42

Bream Abramis brama

1470

TO/RP

RP

14

17

93

464

36

103

20

1784

2

5

1

181

1

18 14

1 1 9

2

43 16

1497

Zarthe Vimba vimba

92

92

Sichel Pelecus cultratus

12

12

Crucian carp Carassius carassius

13

Carp Cyprinus carpio f. domestica

1

Catfish Silurus glanis

121

Perches Percidae

13 4

5

7

3

12

143

3

32

5

40

Perch Perca fluviatilis

237

3

32

1

273

Pike-perch Sander lucioperca

3005

33

12

35

3085

Burbot Lota lota

3

Salmo sp.

3

Pollan Coregonus lavaretus Sturgeon Acipenser sp. Eel Anguilla anguilla

3

Herring Clupea harengus

4

164

6370

1 311

5

42 26

31 1

Houting Coregonus sp. Herrings Clupeidae

1

1 5853

Garfish Belone belone 1 1

1 1

361

361 1

Alosa sp.

60

10

3

72 3

Allis Alosa alosa

1

Cod Gadus morhua

15

46

101

198

360

Flatfish Pleuronectidae

42

3

34

32

111

1

Flounder Platichthys flesus

3

Turbot Psetta maxima

1

2

3

479

600

15541

Total

108

Total

13986

476

3

0,9

Red fox

0,8

Brown bear

0,7

European polecat Badger

0,6 0,5 0,4

Least weasel

0,3

Wild cat

0,2

Eurasian lynx

0,1

BALTICA 20

Gray Wolf

ARCHAEOLOGIA

1

0 SL (NISP=3393)

TO (NISP=238)

TO/RP (NISP=427)

RP (NISP=243)

Fig. 10. Gdańsk: the remains of predatory mammals in the historical stages (graph by authors).

63,8 Wild boar

60,0 50,0

46,4

40,0 % 30,0

30,4

20,0

20,2 12,8 11,0 6,5

10,0 0,0

SL (NISP=3393)

37,4 34,0

38,4

Red deer Elk


Roe deer Aurochs

11,8 1,7 TO (NISP=238)

15,6 4,9 TO/RP (NISP=427)

6,6 1,6 RP (NISP=243)

Fig. 11. Gdańsk: the remains of wild mammal (Animalia superiora) species in the historical stages (graph by authors).

aurochs and European bison); b) open/forest (fox, roe deer); c) open (hare); d) aquatic (wetland: beaver, otter) and e) wetland/forest (elk) (Fig. 12). Remains of forest animals were dominant in the Slavic phase, and their share was also the biggest in the phase of the Teutonic Order. An evident decrease in them was noticed as late as the phase associated with Royal Prussia and the Kingdom of Prussia. The opposite trend was noticed for mammals of open and open/forest biotopes, with a decreasing tendency registered in both cases already in the period of the Teutonic Order. A similarly considerable decrease was noted for species of water and wet/ forest biotopes. The high representation of seal and the low number of porpoise in the Slavic phase are characteristic in the case of marine mammals, whereas a

high representation of porpoise remains was observed in collections from the Teutonic Order phase and later times (Fig. 13). The relative representation of birds is characterised by a rather clear decrease in domestic chicken, which in ‘Slavic’ and ‘Teutonic’ collections comprises over 80%, and in subsequent times by half of that (Fig. 14). On the other hand, the noticeably small numbers of geese and birds of the aquatic biotope in the youngest phase increases threefold. Other groups from particular phases constitute a small percentage. However, it is worth noting that typically forest species, such as black grouse and capercaillie, and likewise goshawk from the birds of prey group, were registered mainly in materials from the Slavic period.

109



Fig. 12. Gdańsk: the remains of wild mammals according to ecological groups in the historical stages (graph by authors).

70,0 64,3

60,0 50,8

50,0

%

43,2

40,0

30,4

30,0 20,0

12,0 8,4 2,8

10,0 0,0

46,8 45,2

40,0

34,0

Forest Forest/Open Open area Forest/Peat bog, marsh Water

4,6 2,9

4,4

0,7

22,5 20,0 9,0 1,6

SL TO TO/RP RP (NISP=3393) (NISP=238) (NISP=427) (NISP=244)

0,0 KP (NISP=5)

Fig. 13. Gdańsk: the remains of marine mammals in the historical stages (graph by authors).

2,92,9

3,0

Grey Seal 2,5

2,3

Seals

2,0

2,1

Common porpoise

% 1,5 1,0

0,8

0,5

0,5 0,0

0,9

0,0 SL TO TO/RP RP (NISP=3393) (NISP=238) (NISP=427) (NISP=243)

Fish remains display a great dynamism of changes (Fig. 15). Sturgeon dominate in Slavic and Teutonic times. Its occurrence in later collections is distinctly lower. In comparison, an explicit increase is noted for cod, which has minimal representation in Slavic times, while in Teutonic collections it amounts to about 10%, increasing to over 20% in the youngest phase. Reverse tendencies were observed for two predatory fish species, pike and pike-perch. The representation of pike bones in the first three phases was at the same level, but

110

in the youngest phase it evidently increased. The other fish represent the third major component of the assemblage in the Slavic period, but already in the Teutonic Order phase the number of its remains is very low, and does not increase in successive younger phases. The number of Cyprinidae remains stable in comparison with the species described above, and represents a considerable component. A similar proportion is noted in the case of catfish, whose remains were noted in assemblages from all phases, although in small percentages.

80,0

Anas

70,0

Other Domestic

%

50,0 40,0

Domestic Chicken Forest

ARCHAEOLOGIA

60,0

BALTICA 20

Fig. 14. Gdańsk: the remains of birds according to ecological groups in the historical stages (graph by authors).

90,0

Open Predatory

30,0

Synanthropes

20,0

Water

10,0

Wild/Domestic goos

RP (NISP=420)

TO/RP (NISP=51)

SL (NISP=582)

TO (NISP=110)

0,0

70,0

Pike

Cyprinidae

60,0

Catfish

Pikeperch

50,0

Sturgeon

Others

40,0

Cod

Marine

%

I

Fig. 15. Gdańsk: the remains of fish in the historical stages (graph by authors).


30,0 20,0 10,0

Based on the above analyses, it can be stated that the rules for providing the centre with animal resources changed together with political, social and cultural transformations. The taking of the town by the Teutonic Order was undoubtedly a primary caesura in this case. However, before that, the inhabitants of the large and active centre of Gdańsk had relied on domestic animal husbandry, hunting wild mammals, marine mammals and fishing. Changes noted in the proportions of domestic mammals are clear enough to enable conclusions to be drawn concerning substantial changes in

RP (NISP=653)

TO/RP (NISP=425)

TO (NISP=484)

SL (NISP=13923)

0,0

the natural environment, which were the result of the functioning of the state of the Teutonic Order. Its economic structure also modified the strategies of animal exploitation and social divisions in the distribution of natural resources. It is worth adding, though, that the archaeological premises that are the grounds for this thesis can be considered only to a small extent with reference to the social changes which could have accompanied the transformation of the stronghold centre into the urban structure of the late medieval town. To explain this line of reasoning, the following perspec-

111



112

tive in thinking was accepted. Due to natural reasons, the burghers, being traders and craftsmen by profession, were a group deprived of hunting possibilities, hence hunted species rarely found their way to the tables of Gdańsk. In this situation, however, trends concerning wild mammals and birds would not have indicated increasing and declining tendencies, but they would have stayed at a constant level in subsequent younger historical contexts; but because the situation is different, these trends suggest that they can rather be treated as the result of changes occurring in the natural environment. In the Slavic stage, Gdańsk, as a rule, practised the same divisions of animal exploitation which had been implemented by the inhabitants of Culm, and more broadly the population of the Kulmerland (Makowiecki, Makowiecka 1999; Makowiecki 2003b). With reference to hunting and fishing, the centre differed from other stronghold centres situated in the interior zone of the Slavic/Prussian frontier by two important features, which resulted from clear local environmental conditions. In the first case, they were characteristics favourable for the presence of elk, which is otherwise poorly represented in other medieval centres (Makowiecki, Stach 2007). Taking into account the biotope characteristic of this species, we can assume the presence of wetland and marshy areas overgrown with forests in the vicinity. This statement is concurrent with the palaeographical characteristics of that area established by Kasprzycka (1999). According to her, in the years 800 to 1200 AD, the total annual precipitation increased, and this period is referred to as the Medieval Climate Optimum. The uplands were covered in forest, with the predominance of ash, oak, cottonwood and alder. All things considered, the dramatic drop in the representation of elk in the faunal assemblages during the next stages of the centre’s functioning (likewise other ‘aquatic’ species) is striking, which can lead us to the supposition that the environment in the discussed region was subjected to substantial transformations. Extensive deforestation could have been one of the changes, the other being transformations in the inland water network. This changing phase can be associated with the economic activity of the local population under the influence of the Teutonic Order’s management strategy. This important transformation in the natural environment during the period of the Teutonic Order’s rule is also evidenced by changes reported in relation to other wild mammals, as is reflected by the very small representation of their remains during the period of the Teutonic Order, with a clear increase in species preferring biotopes with small wooded areas (hare), or ones adapting easily to it (roe deer).

The next example of environmental conditioning and the shaping of a varied picture of natural resource exploitation is the fact that Gdańsk was situated on the mouth of a river estuary. This factor enabled mass fishing by the inhabitants, who caught species not known in the interior (such as herring, flatfish, cod), or species appearing only in small numbers (sturgeon, pikeperch). At that time, Gdańsk was one of the centres with the highest rates of sturgeon fishing. Overfishing was so intense that in the next few centuries a significant population reduction was observed (Makowiecki 2008), and although in the Teutonic Order phase it was still caught frequently, the entire process was under the strict control of the Order, for which it constituted an important dietary component. It was consumed fresh (including caviar), and smoked (Makowiecki 2008). It is possible that the decrease in sturgeon fishing was an impulse for the gradual introduction of cod into the diet of not only the Teutonic Knights, but also the burghers of Gdańsk, which is reflected in an increase of the species’ representation in ichthyological material, not only in Gdańsk, but also in other Teutonic castles, such as Mała Nieszawka (Makowiecki 2003a). In the preliminary stage it was a stockfish, and later locally caught Baltic cod (Orton et al. 2011). In the case of fish, it should be noted that contexts dating from the period of the Teutonic Order include among their ichthyological material the presence of carp, a fish not belonging to the natural component of this zone’s ichthyofauna (Makowiecki 2003a). Its breeding was documented in historical records, along with the use of ponds (Filuk 1968; Chęć 2009). On this basis, we can conclude that the Teutonic Knights contributed to introducing and popularising carp breeding in this zone (Makowiecki 2003a). The coastal situation of Gdańsk made possible the exploitation of marine mammals, although during the period of the Teutonic Order’s rule, the proportions of seal to porpoise changed in favour of the latter. It may also have been caused by changes occurring in the aquatic environment of the Baltic Sea. Comparing changes observed in Teutonic times as far as animal exploitation is concerned in the Slavic period, it can be stated that they related to almost all elements. The proportions of pig to cattle changed. Cattle became the dominant species, which on one hand could have resulted from expanding meadow areas, the diminishing forest lands, and additionally the gradual process of the drainage of Żuławy Wiślane. The more urban character of the centre compared to the state from the Slavic period caused important changes in animal exploitation. Cat keeping became more common, which could have been related in the first place to

To sum up, it is worth emphasising that the increased importance of goose, including domestic goose, and the decline in the occurrence of chicken, would have been an effect of the changes initiated in Gdańsk during the rule of the Teutonic Order, at the end of the functioning of their state rather than earlier. This tendency is known from other towns in Poland in later medieval and post-medieval times (Makowiecka, Makowiecki 2005).

Concluding remarks The changes of animal exploitation strategies and environmental features based on only two centres situated a significant distance from each other cannot be representative of the entire sphere of the Polish/Prussian frontier. Therefore, it should be treated first as the initial stage of broader analytical-synthetic studies, and second as grounds for the verification of the results presented here. Their value is significant, because they were the result of studies on very large (almost unique in their scale) faunal collections, originating (this should be emphasised here) from a centre with very well-documented archaeological and historic contexts. Thanks to these, it was easy to make the assumption at the very beginning that changes in the exploitation of animals were the reflection of social-cultural systems and structures at particular stages of the centre’s functioning. Furthermore, the demographic factor in such large human agglomerations for these periods, and their economic activities, could not have been indifferent towards biocenotic structures, including vegetation cover, and, more generally, the natural landscape surrounding these settlements. In this respect, the analyses of fauna in the contexts and with the assumptions presented above gave significant and coherent enough results to make conclusions of a synthetic nature. The thesis can be put forward that the arrival of the Teutonic Order coincided with a period when the frontier region had already seen active human agglomerations, functioning on the basis of rather stable economic structures. They had been based, to a large extent, on domesticated mammal and bird husbandry (mostly chicken and goose). Traditional occupations included the exploitation of natural faunal resources of neighbouring natural environments (land and water),

Hunting and fishing were also of great importance in the case of Gdańsk in the Slavic period. Both centres were similar in this respect, although the results reflect different environmental conditions. This is most clearly visible in the occurrence of elk. It is worth pointing out that the high numbers of this species distinguish Gdańsk when compared with other centres in Poland in the early Middle Ages (Makowiecki, Stach 2007). Gradual changes in animal exploitation coincide with the seizure of the town by the Teutonic Knights in 1308/1309. The importance of hunting dropped significantly, which was the result of the introduction of new rules in managing the animal-based economy, and transformations occurring in the natural environment. On this basis, we can conclude that in the Kulmerland also the development of the Teutonic Order’s state and its economic base resulted in an even more pronounced impact on the natural environment than had been observed during the existence of the earlier Slavic centre in Culmine.

BALTICA 20

that is, hunting and fishing. In the case of Culm, although animal husbandry was the basis of its economy, the occupations mentioned above were also important animal subsistence strategies, implemented well before the arrival of the Teutonic Order in the Kulmerland. However, even in Slavic times, the system of animal exploitation was subject to various fluctuations, reflecting the effects of political and cultural changes. During the period of the development of the centre, we can observe at least two anthropogenic impulses leading to transformations in the natural environment, which, in the light of zooarchaeological findings, reflect the diminishing areas of woodland and the expanding open spaces.

ARCHAEOLOGIA

creating favourable conditions for synanthropes, such as the rat. The next changes concerned the drop in the significance of the horse among burghers. Studies performed concerning dogs bred in towns have shown that in that period the big dog form was in a minority, and small and medium-size dogs were preferred, mostly as pets for company (Makowiecki 2006).


Acknowledgements The authors would like to express their special thanks to Aleksander Pluskowski from Reading University for correcting the English text of the paper. References Literature BARRETT, J., JOHNSTONE, C., HARLAND, J., VAN NEER, W., ERVYNCK, A., MAKOWIECKI, D., HEINRICH, D., HUFTHAMMER, A.K., BØDKER ENGHOFF, I., AMUNDSEN, C., CHRISTIANSEN, J.S., JONES, A.K.G., LOCKER, A., HAMILTON-DYER, S., JONSSON, L., LÕUGAS, L., ROBERTS, C., RICHARDS, M., 2008 Detecting the medieval code trade: a new method and first results. Journal of Archaeological Sciences 35, 850-861.

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we wczesnym średniowieczu. Studium archeozoologiczne. In: W. Chudziak, ed., Studia nad osadnictwem średniowiecznym ziemi chełmińskiej, Toruń, 27-60. MAKOWIECKI, D., GOTFREDSEN, A.B., 2002. Bird remains of Medieval and Post-Medieval coastal sites at the Southern Baltic Sea, Poland. Preceedings of the 4th Meeting of the ICAZ Bird Working Group, Kraków, Poland, 11-15 September, 2001. Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia, 45 (special issue), 65-84. MAKOWIECKI, D., GOTFREDSEN, A.B., 2003. Znaczenie ptaków w późnośredniowiecznym i nowożytnym Gdańsku. XIII Sesja Pomorzoznawcza 2. Od wczesnego średniowiecza do czasów nowożytnych. Gdańsk, 243-262. MAKOWIECKI, D., STACH, A., 2007. Ssaki wolno żyjące w holocenie Polski – aspekty środowiskowe i gospodarcze. In: M. Makohonienko, D. Makowiecki, Z. Kurnatowska, eds. Studia interdyscyplinarne nad środowiskiem i kulturą w Polsce Środowisko–Człowiek– Cywilizacja 1, Seria Wydawnicza Stowarzyszenia Archeologii Środowiskowej, Poznań, 155-170. MAKOWIECKI, D., WUSSOW, J., MÜLLER, R., 2007 Knochenfunde von Vögeln aus der Siedlung Kałdus im Weichseltal. In: N. Benecke, ed. Beiträge zur Archäozoologie und Prähistorischen Anthropologie, t. 6, Weißbach, 111-120. MATUSZEWSKI, G., MOROW, K., 1994. Kuraki leśne. Warszawa MATUSZKIEWICZ, J. M., 2008. Zespoły leśne Polski. Warszawa: Wyd. Nauk. PWN. NOGALSKI, S. 1984. Szczątki ptaków wczesnośredniowiecznych Pomorza. Szczecin. NOGALSKI, S., 1991. Szczątki kostne ptaków domowych z wykopalisk w Małej Nieszawce (woj. toruńskie). Roczniki Akademii Rolniczej w Poznaniu 227. Archeozoologia, 16, 17-24. NOGALSKI, S., 1992a. Szczątki kostne ptaków z wykopalisk w Gniewie nad Wisłą. Stanowisko 2 – Stare Miasto. Roczniki Akademii Rolniczej w Poznaniu 237. Archeozoologia 17, 49-57. NOGALSKI, S. 1992b. Szczątki kostne ptaków z wykopalisk w Gniewie nad Wisłą. Stanowisko 3 – podzamcze. Roczniki Nauk Rolniczych w Poznaniu 237, Archeozoologia, 17, 59-71. NOGALSKI, S., 1992c. Szczątki kostne ptaków z wykopalisk w Gniewie nad Wisłą. Stanowisko 5 – gród i osada wczesnośredniowieczna. Roczniki Akademii Rolniczej w Poznaniu 237. Archeozoologia, 17, 73-78. NOGALSKI, S., SAŁACIAK, A., KOSIŃSKA, B., 1992. Szczątki kostne ptaków dziko żyjących z wykopalisk w Małej Nieszawce (woj. toruńskie). Roczniki Akademii Rolniczej w Poznaniu 237. Archeozoologia, 17, 79-87. OKARMA, H., 1992. Wilk. Monografia przyrodniczołowiecka. Białowieża. OKARMA, H., 2000. Ryś. Warszawa: Wydanictvo Swiat. PANER, H., 2006. Archeologia Gdańska w latach 19882005. Archeologia Gdańska, 1. Gdańsk, 11-88. PIELOWSKI, Z., 1966. Zając. Warszawa: Państwowe Wydanictvo Rolnicze i Leśne. PIELOWSKI, Z.,1999. Sarna. Warszawa: Państwowe Wydanictvo Rolnicze i Leśne. PUCEK, Z., SYCH, L., 1984. Rząd: Parzystokopytne – Artiodactyla. In: Z. Pucek, ed. Klucz do oznaczania ssaków Polski. Warszawa, 319-354.


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Received: 14 September 2013; Revised: 21 October 2013; Accepted: 19 December 2013. Daniel Makowiecki Laboratory for Natural Environment Reconstruction Institute of Archaeology Nicolaus Copernicus University Szosa Bydgoska 44/48 PL 87-100 Torun, Poland E-mail: [email protected] Marzena Makowiecka Zakątek 3 PL 62-090 Rokietnica, Poland E-mail: [email protected]

GYVŪNŲ NAUDOJIMAS IR APLINKOS POVEIKIS LENKIJOS–PRŪSIJOS PA S I E N Y J E V I D U R A M Ž I A I S : AT V E J O S T U D I J A DANIEL MAKOWIECKI, MARZENA MAKOWIECKA Santrauka Šiame straipsnyje pristatoma santykinė gyvūnų analizė, kuriai duomenys buvo gauti tiriant XIII a. buvusiame Lenkijos–Prūsijos pasienyje du kultūrinius ir komercinius centrus: Kaldus – Kulmo žemėje ir Gdanske – Rytų Pomeranijoje. Abu centrai yra tolokai vienas nuo kito, todėl jie neatskleidžia visos ūkinės situacijos palei buvusį Lenkijos–Prūsijos pasienį. Minėtose vietovėse atlikus archeologinius ir istorinius tyrimus, nustatyta, kad Kaldus ir Gdanskas buvo XIII a. Ordino užkariautose žemėse. Per juos tarp Ordino ir Lenkijos žemių buvo palaikomi glaudūs ekonominiai ryšiai. Tyrimų metu nustatyta, kad dar iki Ordino pasirodymo šiose vietovėse tarp Lenkijos ir Prūsijos gyventojų Gdansko teritorijoje funkcionavo stabilūs ekonominiai ryšiai, kurių pagrindą sudarė žemdirbystė, gyvulininkystė ir paukštininkystė. Kaldus ūkiniame centre, be žemdirbystės, to meto ūkiui didelę reikšmę turėjo ir medžioklė bei žvejyba. Aptariamuoju laikotarpiu abiejose vietovėse miškingų vietovių buvo nedaug, tai atskleidžia zooarcheologinė medžiaga. Zooarcheologinė medžiaga rodo, kad Lenkijos (Piastų dinastijos metu) – Ordino pasienyje šiuose dviejuose tyrinėtuose centruose vyravo gyvulininkystė.

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Straipsnyje aptariamos žinduolių, paukščių ir žuvų rūšys, parodoma, kaip diachroniniai tyrimų metodai gali būti taikomi istoriniams procesams atskleisti, aptariant kultūrinius ir aplinkos pokyčius, prasidėjusius šiose pasienio regiono vietose, kai minėtas teritorijas pradėjo valdyti Ordinas. Vertė Linas Daugnora

LINAS DAUGNORA, ANDREJS VASKS, SALOMĖJA SOVAITĖ, ALGIRDAS GIRININKAS Abstract In the excavated Padure (Beltes) hill-fort in Latvia, cultural layers from the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age (Stage 1), and the Middle Iron Age and the Late Iron Age (Stage 2), were detected, which, besides the archaeological material typical of that period, provided abundant zooarchaeological material. This article presents the investigation data from the zooarchaeological material of both stages: the data relate to the butchering techniques used, and the identification of the composition of the faunal species. The investigation was carried out in the bioarchaeological laboratory of the Institute of Baltic Region History and Archaeology at Klaipėda University. As is proven by the investigation, the ratio of domestic animals to hunted wildlife in the two periods compared is not identical. In the second period of habitation of the hill-fort, the number of cattle and sheep/goats decreased, while the number of swine and especially of horses increased. The article also deals with characteristics of butchering techniques of domestic animals and wildlife in both periods of the habitation of the hill-fort, and changes identified in the meat processing. In the second period, the level of processing resulted in greater amounts of meat suitable for food, due to the technical properties of the raw material and the nutritional and commodity value. Key words: Padure (Beltes) hill-fort, Latvia, zooarchaeology, Late Bronze Age, Iron Age, slaughtering. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15181/ab.v20i0.811

Introduction The Padure (Beltes) hill-fort is located on the left bank of the River Venta. It was established on a promontory, separated by deep ravines to the north and the south, and by the steep bank of the Venta on the east. A ditch was dug on the open west side, and a fourmetre-high bank was built on the plateau. A total of 280 square metres were excavated in the total plateau area of about 1,900 square metres (Asaris, Vasks 2004, p.19ff; Vasks 2006, pp.64-75; Vasks 2008, pp.63-70). The principal data from the archaeological, pollen and zooarchaeological material, and the chronology of the habitation of the hill-fort, were presented in an article by A. Vasks, L. Kalniņa and L. Daugnora (Vasks et al. 2011, pp.73-99). The hill-fort was inhabited in two stages (Fig. 1). The early stage (areas I and III) included the Late Bronze Age and the Pre-Roman Iron Age, while the late stage (areas II, IV, V, VI, VII and VIII ) included the second half of the Middle Iron Age and the Late Iron Age. Radiocarbon dates indicate that the fortified habitation developed at the end of the 2nd mill. BC, when a wooden palisade was erected (1220–930 cal. BC) (Vasks et al. 2011, 84, fig. 5). Beltes Hill-Fort is so far the only one in western Latvia where Late Bronze Age occupation is confirmed by radiocarbon dating. The area of the hill-


Z O O A R C H A E O L O G I C A L M AT E R I A L F R O M T H E PA D U R E ( B E LT E S ) H I L L - F O RT I N L AT V I A : BUTCHERING TECHNIQUES AND THE COMPOSITION OF SPECIES


fort delimited by the palisade constituted about half of the area that the hill-fort occupied during the Late Iron Age. However, it seems that already in the early phase of occupation, as the population rapidly increased, the inhabited area of the plateau was extended, moving the palisade further to the south-west. Data on structures from that period is scarce: the only thing to be said about them is that they were above-ground structures built of posts with internal stone-lined hearths. Pottery constituted the majority of the finds dating from the early stage. There were several flint, antler and bone tools. In all, 60% of the early pottery was striated. The vessels generally had an S-shaped profile. Decoration on the outside of a vessel was rare. About 11% of the potsherds belonged to what is known as ‘early rusticated pottery’. It was the first hill-fort in western Latvia where textile-impressed pottery was found (about 2%). The investigated zooarchaeological material was collected in the period 2003 to 2006. Archaeological excavations resulted in the discovery of 5,449 bones and fragments of bones in the respective cultural layers, which were analysed. The osteological material discovered at the hill-fort reflected rather distinctly special characteristics of the domestic and wild animal butchering techniques, which were presented statistically and reflected in graphs and tables. The characteristics of the butchering techniques, especially during

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Zooarchaeological Material from the Padure (Beltes) Hill-Fort in Latvia: Butchering Te c h n i q u e s a n d t h e Composition of Species LINAS DAUGNORA, ANDREJS VASKS, SALOMĖJA SOVAITĖ, ALGIRDAS GIRININKAS

Fig. 1. A plan of the Padure (Beltes) hill-fort, indicating the areas excavated in the period 2003 to 2007 (after A. Vasks).

the second period of the habitation of the hill-fort, are manifested by the fact that the parts of carcasses that possessed the greatest amounts of meat were used for food. That was brought out by the slaughtering techniques when breaking down the carcasses and cutting up meat for food.

Material

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The osteological material from the Padure (Beltes) hill-fort was analysed in accordance with the identified cultural layers. The first cultural layer, attributed to the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age (areas I and III, in which 825 bone fragments of domestic and wild animals were analysed), was compared to the second one from the Middle and Late Iron Age (areas II, IV, V, VI, VII and VIII), where 4,624 bones and fragments of bones were excavated and analysed. Zooarchaeological analysis enabled the identification of 1,428 out of the 4,624 bones and bone fragments discovered down to the species level. The percentage calculation of the separated specimens was based on the total sum of the

identified finds. In the investigated material, the remains of domestic animals, that is, cattle, swine and sheep/goats, predominated (Tables 1, 2).

Methods For the analysis of the osteological material collected at the hill-fort, the identification of bone species, butchering and zooarchaeological material, statistical methods are referred to in the article.

The identification of bone species For the zooarchaeological investigation presented in the article, and the comparative analysis of the material, the collections of skeletons and bones of fauna (domestic and wild animals, birds and fish) of the bioarchaeological laboratory at the Institute of Baltic Region History and Archaeology, as well as the collections of bird skeletons accumulated by R. Trainienė and fish skeletons accumulated by V. Daugnorienė,

2 22 26 72 25 5 5 10

8 25 58 15 7 9 17/1

10 6 7 5 11 8 21

8 5 10 7 9 10 19

445 17 1 month; 17-24 month; 2430 month; 42-48; 36-42; 5-6 year

235 17 1 month; 3-4 month; 6-8 month; 12; 12-18 month; 23-24 month

208 122 11 7 12 month; 12- 8-10 year 16; 24; 42; 36 month

2 78 6 2 2 3 5 3 2 1 9 9

1 10 7 17 27 1 2 9 4 1 2 5 4 6 2 15

113 21

1

6 1 9 4 4 8 3 2

38 6

24 11 73 77 17 10 10 2 1 14 8 10 4 2 6 3212

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Unidentified bone fragments of the species

Birds

Wild animals

Horse

Pig/wild boar

Goat/Sheep

4 19 13 178 71 10 9 11 7 11 4 12 11 26 18 41

ARCHAEOLOGIA

Proc. cornutus Cranium Mandibula Dentes Vertebrae Scapula Humerus Ossa antebrachii Ossa carpi Ossa metacarpalia Ossa coxae Femur Ossa cruris Ossa tarsi Ossa metatarsalia Phalanx Small fractured tubular bones unidentified fragments Total MNI Age

Cattle

Skeleton bones

Ta b l e 1 . S k e l e t o n b o n e s f r o m t h e P a d u r e ( B e l t e s ) h i l l - f o r t ( 2 0 0 3 - 2 0 0 6 )


1161 79

Altogether excavated: 4,373 bones. Identified fragments: 1,161, including 476 teeth and 259 forefoot/foot bones and phalanges. Total MNI: 79.

held at the T. Ivanauskas Zoological Museum in Kaunas, were used. After the exposure of the Padure (Beltes) hill-fort’s cultural layer, a relative object signature (special stratigraphy) was recorded. The material was investigated at the University of Latvia in the office of professor A. Vasks. It was sorted out by separating very tiny bone fragments (from several millimetres up to a centimetre). Each larger fragment of a skeleton was examined and classified in accordance with its anatomical structure or the animal species. After establishing the amount of bones of each species in individual hillfort excavation areas, tables were drawn up (Tables 1, 2) which reflected the species, the number of bones, and the minimal number of individuals (MNI). The osteological analysis partly established the composition of species of wild animals (nine in the first habitation

period, and ten in the second) and livestock (four species were identified in both habitation periods) in the environs of the hill-fort. After the accumulation of a large amount of bones of one animal species, the part of the skeleton to which the bone belonged was identified (the research material was compared to contemporary collections of animal skeletons), the number of bone pairs (White 1953), their condition, the time of ossification, sex, tooth wear, and so on. During the excavation, mainly long bones from animal legs and teeth were found. Therefore, tables summarised in veterinary literature were used (Nickel et al. 1986), relating to the bone ossification time (Bullock, Rackham 1982) and the change from milk to permanent teeth (Baleišis 1977; Bull, Payne 1982; Grant 1978; 1982; Levine 1982; Magnell, Carter 2007). The very small amount of intact bones and the huge amount of tiny and larger

119

Fishes

Birds

12

8

14

9

8

1

41/ 194

Area II

57

13

31

6

28

13

24/ 331

Area III

26

10

31

37

23

4

62/358

Area IV

34

8

26

20

45

13

54/503

Area V

50

24

26

13

20

1

21

12/416

Area VI/

119

22

33

29

37

6

24

23/170

Area VI/

33

15

13

3

13

3

15

18/293

Area VII

114

141

34

5

61

22

58

42/947

Total identified bone 445 fragments MNI 17

241

208

122

236

38

149

1439

17

11

7

21

6

Animal butchering techniques Characteristics of the butchering techniques at the Padure (Beltes) hill-fort in the first and second habitation periods were analysed separately for each species identified (swine, cattle, sheep/goats), in accordance with the quantitative distribution of individual animal skeleton parts. In the osteological material from the two habitation periods of the hill-fort, the quantitative distribution of the individual bone composition amount found in the carcass quarters indicated a change in technique of individual animal butchering. This also simultaneously indicated differences in the techniques of butchering all domestic animals that formed in different periods of the habitation of the hill-fort. The following terms are employed in the article for the discussion of butchering techniques: dietary refuse, processing waste, butcher waste, and others1 (Milisau-

120

Unidentified species/Small unidentified fragments

Area I

broken or split bone fragments in the excavated collection (about 74% of the total number of excavated bone finds) prevented comprehensive bone measurement in accordance with the methodology of A. von den Driesch (von den Driesch 1976).

1

Wild animals

Horse

Pig/wild boar

Goat/Sheep

Cattle

Animals/excavated areas

LINAS DAUGNORA, ANDREJS VASKS, SALOMĖJA SOVAITĖ, ALGIRDAS GIRININKAS

Zooarchaeological Material from the Padure (Beltes) Hill-Fort in Latvia: Butchering Te c h n i q u e s a n d t h e Composition of Species

Ta b l e 2 . O s t e o l o g i c a l d a t a f r o m e a c h e x c a v a t e d a r e a a t t h e P a d u r e ( B e l t e s ) hill-fort (2003-2006)

The term ‘dietary refuse’ is used for parts of the body that possess larger amounts of meat, and include the neck, chest, and the front and the hind legs of large animals. Dietary refuse: 1. forequarter: neck (from cervical vertebra 1

6

skas et al. 2012). A carcass is defined as the body of a slaughtered and disembowelled animal (after the removal of the organs from the thoracic and abdominal cavities, bleeding, and skinning). Afterwards, the head was removed by separating the first cervical vertebra from the occipital bone. The feet were cut off through the wrist and heel hock joints. Cattle carcasses are divided into quarters (Fig. 2). The forequarters consist of the neck, shoulder, chuck/steak, brisket and flanks. The hindquarters consist of the loin, ham and hind leg (the shank/shin part). to 7), thorax (thoracic vertebrae, ribs, and sternum), scapula, humerus, the upper forearm (Ossa antebrahii) bones, and foreshank; 2. hindquarter: the last thoracic vertebra, lumbar vertebrae, or it may be part of a hipbone named loin, the thighbone (Femur) with a patella, a thighbone with a patella, and occasionally a proximal tibia part (upper hind leg), and part of a shin (Ossa cruris) and hind shank. The terms ‘processing waste’ and ‘butcher waste’ mean animal bones. The butcher waste includes 1. the head (cranium); the horn (proc. cornutus); the skull (cranium); the mandible (Mandibula); the teeth (dentes), and the hyoid apparatus lingual bone (apparatus hyoidaeus); 2. the forefoot/foot (skeleton metacarpale/metatarsale); wrist/ankle (ossa carpalia/ossa tarsalia); the forefoot consists of wrist bones, forefoot and phalanges; the hind foot (skeleton metatarsale) consists of the hock bones, foot and phalanges; 3. tail (Coccigea).

A relative frequency calculation was made, that is, the number of times the bone of the skeleton of an individual animal was repeated in the total amount of bones. The frequency was used in the analysis and assessment of the carcass partitioning and cutting, in other words, an attempt Fig. 2. Carcass quartering 1. The forequarters 2. The hindquarters (drawing by was made to analyse the differences L. Daugnora). appearing between the amounts of meat intended for food and the processing waste. The data obtained are presented in hisA halved pig carcass, after removing the head, is ditograms (Graphs 1 to 4). vided into three main parts: the front, or shoulder part; the hind, or ham part; and the middle, or the flank part. The middle third can be divided into sirloin and flank (Milisauskas et al. 2012, p.18ff).


interrelationships in accordance with Pearson’s correlation coefficients (r) and their statistical meaningfulness (p). The outcomes were considered as valid at p