Resources and consumption patterns of livestock in Carthago Spartaria during the Byzantine age

Abstract

This work presents the results from the analysis of the bone material from the Byzantine harbor quarter overlapping the Roman theater of Carthago Spartaria (Cartagena, Murcia). From a broad sample of 2,723 fragments from debris pits and garbage dumps, the production strategies and the consuming patterns of the livestock are established during a historical period of the city in which its appearance has nothing to do with the monumental image of a Roman town. The use of mixed farming is established, with a predominance of caprine and bovine versus a scant presence of suids and equines, as well as wild hunted fauna. Most of the animals, with the exception of goats and pigs, as well as certain bovines, were sacrificed in full adulthood. This implies that both their secondary products and their draft force were used. Livestock managing is confirmed as an important economic activity, at a moment when agricultural exploitation of the environment undergoes substantial diminishing as judged from the disappearance of the vast majority of rural sites from preceding decades. The represented livestock and the herding and maintenance conditions contribute to provide a “rural-like” image of the old Hispanic capital.

Keywords

• arqueofauna
• basurero
• dieta
• teatro romano
• cartagena