The Ritual Killing and Burial of Animals: European Perspectives

by Aleksander Pluskowski (Editor)

Overview

The killing and burial of animals in ritualistic contexts is encountered across Europe from Prehistory through to the historical period. This volume presents the state of research across Europe to illustrate how comparable interpretative frameworks are used by archaeologists working with both prehistoric and historical societies. Key questions include: How easy is it to identify ritually killed animals in the archaeological record? Can we tell if an animal has been killed specifically for such a purpose? Is it possible to reconstruct the rites associated with their deposition? What insights can be gained about the religious paradigms and ritual systems of the societies engaged in animal sacrifice? Together, the 16 papers represent a snapshot of the current state of research on this fundamental, recurring, and spectacular aspect of human societies in the past.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781842174449
Publisher:	Oxbow Books Limited
Publication date:	05/18/2012
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 9.70(h) x 0.90(d)

Table of Contents

List of Contributors v

Section 1 Interpretative Frameworks

1 Introduction: The Ritual Killing and Burial of Animals in the Past Aleksander Phtskowski 1

2 Animal 'Ritual' Killing: From Remains to Meanings James Morris 8

3 Ritualisation (or The Four Fully Articulated Ungulates of the Apocalypse) Lee G. Broderick 22

Section 2 Central and Eastern Europe

4 Nourishment for the Soul - Nourishment for the Body. Animal Remains in Early Medieval Pomeranian Cemeteries Andrzej Kitczkowski Kamil Kajkowski 34

5 Spatial Aspects of Globular Amphora Culture Funeral Rites with Animal Deposits in Poland Radoslaw Szczodrowski 51

6 Horse Burials as Public Ritual: Lithuanian Perspectives Mindaugas Bertašins 61

7 Protohistoric Animal Deposits in the Alps. Considerations about a Dog, a Pig and Four Human Neonates from the Rural Settlement of Gamsen (Valais, Switzerland) Nicole Reynaud Savioz 76

8 Late Antique and Early Medieval Animal Burials in Italy Frank Salvadori 88

9 Distinct From the Everyday and Beyond Counting Calories: Animal Bones from "Ritual Spaces" in Late Neolithic Settlements at Lake Constance and in Upper Suebia Karlheinz Steppan 100

10 Animal Deposits in the Late Copper Age Settlement of Balatonöszöd-Temetöi dülö, Hungary Tünde Horváth 115

Section 3 Western Europe

11 Dealing with Deposits in the Dutch River Area: Animals in Settlement Rituals in the Roman Period Maaike Groot 137

12 Sheep Foundation Burials in Roman Winchester Mark Maltby 152

13 Early Anglo-Saxon Horse Culture and Funerary Ritual (c. AD 450-650): Active Mythology in a European Context Chris Fern 164

14 Evolving Traditions: Horse Slaughter as Part of Viking Burial Customs in Iceland Rúnar Leifsson 184

15 Sacred Cows or Old Beasts? A Taphonomic Approach to Studying Ritual Killing with an Example from Iron Age Uppakra, Sweden Ola Magnell 195

16 Flesh on the Bones: Animal Bodies in Atlantic Roundhouses Jacqui Mulville Richard Madgwick Adrienne Powell Mike Parker Pearson 208

17 "Stone Dead": Dogs in a Medieval Sacral Space László Bartosiewicz 223

Editorial Reviews

[Readers] should definitely examine some of the papers, both for the strange and varied relationships between dead humans and dead animals and for Broderick's fascinating example of how the meanings of archaeological evidence can be thrown into question by a change of interpretive framework.

Fortean Times, 292/September 2012 - Jay Rath

Overall, this is a genuinely interesting assemblage of research, not only for the zooarchaeologically oriented or the ritually inclined as the generally fascinating nature of the topic of study makes it a thought-provoking read.

Medieval Archaeology, Vol. 57 (2013) - Eric Tourigny