Chickens in the archaeological material culture of Roman Britain, France, and Belgium
Chickens first arrived in northwest Europe in the Iron Age, but it was during the Roman period that they became a prominent part of life. Previous research on the domestication and spread of chickens has focused on the birds themselves, with little discussion of their impact on the beliefs and symbolism of the affected cultures. However, an animal that people interact with so regularly influences more than simply their diet, and begins to creep into their cultural lexicon. What did chickens mean to the people of Roman Britain, France, and Belgium? The physical remains of these birds are the clearest sign that people were keeping them, and fragments of eggshell suggest they were being used for their secondary products as well as for their meat. By expanding zooarchaeological research beyond the physical remains to encompass the material culture these people left behind, it is possible to explore answers to this question of the social and cultural roles of chickens and their meaning and importance to people in the Roman world. Other species, most notably horses, have received some attention in this area, but little has been done with chickens. Studies of depictions on various types of artefacts have touched
Feider, Michael
Chickens in the archaeological material culture of Roman Britain, France, and Belgium. Chickens first arrived in northwest Europe in the Iron Age, but it was during the Roman period that they became a prominent part of life. Previous research on the domestication and spread of chickens has focused on the birds themselves, with little discussion of their impact on the beliefs and symbolism of the affected cultures. However, an animal that people interact with so regularly influences more than simply their diet, and begins to creep into their cultural lexicon. What did chickens mean to the people of Roman Britain, France, and Belgium? The physical remains of these birds are the clearest sign that people were keeping them, and fragments of eggshell suggest they were being used for their secondary products as well as for their meat. By expanding zooarchaeological research beyond the physical remains to encompass the material culture these people left behind, it is possible to explore answers to this question of the social and cultural roles of chickens and their meaning and importance to people in the Roman world. Other species, most notably horses, have received some attention in this area, but little has been done with chickens. Studies of depictions on various types of artefacts have touched
archaeological_material culture roman_britain france belgium first arrive northwest europe iron_age roman_period become_prominent part life previous domestication spread chicken focus bird little discussion impact beliefs symbolism affect culture however animal people_interact regularly influence simply diet begin cultural lexicon chicken mean people roman_britain france belgium physical remain bird clear sign people keep fragment eggshell suggest use secondary_product well meat expand zooarchaeological beyond physical remains encompass material_culture people leave behind possible explore answer_question social_cultural role chicken mean importance people roman_world specie notably horse receive_attention area little chicken studies depiction various_type artefact touch