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The introduction of the European fallow deer to the northern provinces of the Roman Empire: a multi-proxy approach to the Herstal skeleton (Belgium)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2020

Fabienne Pigière Open the ORCID record for Fabienne Pigière [Opens in a new window] ,
Denis Henrard ,
Naomi Sykes ,
Nathalie Suarez-Gonzalez  and
Gontran Sonet
Fabienne Pigière*
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology, University College Dublin, Ireland Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium
Denis Henrard
Affiliation:
Agence wallonne du Patrimoine, Liège, Belgium
Naomi Sykes
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Exeter, UK
Nathalie Suarez-Gonzalez
Affiliation:
Faculté de Philosophie et Sciences Sociales, Département d' Histoire, Arts et Archéologie, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
Gontran Sonet
Affiliation:
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium
*
*Author for correspondence: ✉ fabienne.pigiere@ucd.ie
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Abstract

Many exotic animal species were introduced to Northern Europe during the Roman period, including fallow deer (Dama dama). To date, however, finds of fallow deer bones at archaeological sites in this region have been sporadic and disarticulated, leaving uncertainty over their origins. This article presents the first known articulated fallow deer skeleton from Roman North-western Europe. Osteological, ancient DNA, radiocarbon dating and stable isotope analyses confirm that the species was established in this region by the Roman period, probably originating from translocated, rather than native, Mediterranean populations. Clarifying the origins of fallow deer in North-western Europe is critical for understanding the dynamics of species exchange around the Roman Empire.

Keywords

Roman Empirefallow deeranimal translocationzooarchaeologyradiocarbon datingstable isotopesancient DNA
Type
Research Article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 94 , Issue 378 , December 2020 , pp. 1501 - 1519
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antiquity Publications Ltd

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