Publications & Manuscripts

Noble Meals instead of Abstinence? A faunal Assemblage from the Dominican Monastery of Norden

Küchelmann, Hans Christian (2012): Noble Meals instead of Abstinence? A faunal Assemblage from the Dominican Monastery of Norden, Northern Germany. in: Lefèvre, Christine (ed.): Proceedings of the General Session of the 11th International Council for Archaeozoology Conference (Paris, 23-28 August 2010), British Archaeological Reports International Series 2354, 87-97, Oxford

Abstract
The faunal remains recovered from the site of a late medieval mendicant order are presented here. The assemblage shows indications for wealth and high social status. The archaeozoological results are discussed in the light of historic facts known about the Dominican order revealing obvious discrepancies. Differences are visible between the refuse from early and late features suggesting a change from a diet consisting predominantly of fish in the 13th century to a preponderance of meat from the 15th century onwards. It is assumed that these changes may reflect a shift in ethical values.

Download (pdf 2,8 MB)

 

A skull bone (Parasphenoid) of a cod (Gadus morhua) from the construction time of the monastery (13th-14th century) has been sampled as reference for local southern North Sea catch in the isotope analysis of Hutchinson et al. (2015), concerned with the provenance of the provisions found in the wreck of the Mary Rose (sunken 1545):

Hutchinson, William F. / Culling, Mark / Orton, David Clive / Hänfling, Bernd / Lawson Handley, Lori / Hamilton-Dyer, Sheila / O’Connell, Tamsin C. / Richards, Michael P. / Barrett, James H. (2015): The globalization of naval provisioning: ancient DNA and stable isotope analyses of stored cod from the wreck of the Mary Rose, AD 1545. – Royal Society Open Science 2, 1-13
Download (pdf 0,7 MB)