Faunal Remains from Medieval San Giuliano Plateau

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Etruscan Centralization to Medieval Marginalization: Shifts in Settlement and Mortuary Traditions at San Giuliano, Italy" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

A large number of faunal remains were uncovered during the four seasons of excavation (2016–2019) at the San Giuliano Plateau (SGP), Italy. The collection consists of species that are typical to inland sites in the northern Mediterranean during the Medieval period, specifically sheep, goat, and pig. Birds and cattle also supplement the diet. These faunal remains were collected from the interior of a monumental building that sits on top of SGP as well as stone pits located to the west of the building, dating to the eleventh through mid-thirteenth centuries CE. The pit excavations brought to light a distinctive distribution of faunal remains, including a large number of partial or complete rats. Based on the lack of gnaw marks on other bones in the pits and the large number of complete rat skeletons found in the pits, it is most likely that the rats were exterminated and then dumped into the pits. The number of rats (NISP) and context in which they are found may indicate the practice of rat venery taking place at SGP.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• Etruscan Centralization to Medieval Marginalization: Shifts in Settlement and Mortuary Traditions at San Giuliano, Italy

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 32747