NEW TECHNOLOGY OR ADAPTATION AT THE FRONTIER? BUTCHERY AS A SIGNIFIER OF CULTURAL TRANSITIONS IN THE MEDIEVAL EASTERN BALTIC

Abstract

This paper focuses on a number of examples of cut marks on animal bones from a range of sites associated with the cultural transformations in the eastern Baltic following the Crusades in the 13th century. Recorded observational and interpretational characteristics are quantified and explained through more detailed selected case studies. The study represents a pilot project, the foundation for a more detailed and systematic survey of a larger dataset within the framework of the ecology of Crusading project. Relatively clear differences between sites are observable on the basis of the cut marks; however, the initial trends do not suggest a straightforward connection between butchery technology and colonisation in the east Baltic region. Key words: zooarchaeology, butchery, technology, Crusades, colonisation, Teutonic Order, eastern Baltic. DOI:  http://dx.doi.org/ 10.15181/ab.v20i0.808