THURSDAY 13 OCTOBER, 4 PM CET
Dr. Ben Gruwier
Using animal remains to track agricultural modernization in the postmedieval period
ABSTRACT: In the postmedieval period Western Europe experienced a series of drastic societal changes on the demographic, social, cultural and economic level. In terms of economic change, it is often the industrial revolution in the 18th and 19th century that is emphasized as a pivotal point towards modernity. It is, however, well known from historical sources that profound changes also took place in agriculture. In order to supply a growing urban population, a series of innovations were implemented that allowed for an increase in productivity. This included the introduction of new crops and changes in land use, but also novel practices related to animal husbandry, like foddering, the introduction of more productive livestock breeds and the development of an international market in meat products. Nevertheless, the chronology and nature of this so called agricultural revolution remain a highly debated topic amongst historians.
Zooarchaeology can contribute to the debate, as the study of animal remains from archaeological sites provides an independent line of inquiry to test the currently prevailing historical narratives. Especially mammal bones can be informative about aspects such as physiological change in livestock, herd composition, slaughter age and the (environmental) conditions in which animals were kept. Synthesizing faunal data from postmedieval Flanders into an extensive zooarchaeological dataset, will allow us to track regional changes in agricultural practice and productivity. The results should lead to a better understanding of the timing and significance of the agricultural revolution in this region of Europe.