The neglected goat : a methodological approach to the understanding of the role of this species in English medieval husbandry
The study of the goat has been largely disregarded by British archaeologists, partly because there is a methodological problem related to the difficulty of distinguishing goat remains from those of the more common sheep, and partly because the relative rarity of this species during the Middle Ages has contributed to the perception that this animal was not important. Despite the fact that different methodological approaches have been proposed, problems still affect our ability to correctly differentiate sheep and goat bones. The most commonly used approach relies on morphological traits that have been established by analysing goat specimens from many different parts of the world, and not all of them may necessarily apply to British populations. In addition, these criteria are based on morphological differences whose assessment may be highly subjective. The development of a more objective methodology is of paramount importance in order to address the various historical and archaeological questions concerning the role of the English medieval goat. For instance, why is the goat commonly recorded in the Domesday Book when it appears to be so scarce in the contemporary archaeological record? Is it under-represented
Salvagno, Lenny
The neglected goat : a methodological approach to the understanding of the role of this species in English medieval husbandry. The study of the goat has been largely disregarded by British archaeologists, partly because there is a methodological problem related to the difficulty of distinguishing goat remains from those of the more common sheep, and partly because the relative rarity of this species during the Middle Ages has contributed to the perception that this animal was not important. Despite the fact that different methodological approaches have been proposed, problems still affect our ability to correctly differentiate sheep and goat bones. The most commonly used approach relies on morphological traits that have been established by analysing goat specimens from many different parts of the world, and not all of them may necessarily apply to British populations. In addition, these criteria are based on morphological differences whose assessment may be highly subjective. The development of a more objective methodology is of paramount importance in order to address the various historical and archaeological questions concerning the role of the English medieval goat. For instance, why is the goat commonly recorded in the Domesday Book when it appears to be so scarce in the contemporary archaeological record? Is it under-represented
neglect goat methodological role specie english_medieval husbandry study goat largely disregard british archaeologist partly methodological_problem relate difficulty distinguish goat remain common sheep partly relative rarity specie middle_ages contribute perception animal important despite_fact different methodological_approach propose problem still affect ability correctly differentiate sheep_goat bone commonly_use relies morphological_trait establish analyse goat specimens many_different part world may necessarily apply british population addition criterion_base morphological difference whose assessment may highly subjective development objective paramount importance order_address various historical_archaeological question_concern role english_medieval goat instance goat commonly record domesday_book appear scarce contemporary archaeological_record under represented