Póczy Klára: Forschungen in Aquincum 1969- 2002 (Aquincum Nostrum 2. Budapest, 2003)

6. Die Wirtschaft Aquincums im Spiegel der neuen Funde - 6.3. Animals and Roman lifeways in Aquincum (Alice M. Choyke)

provincial capitals such as Aquincum must have been complex indeed.

6 Archaeozoology has gradually increased in importance until today there are few archaeologists who would consider excavating without gathering the faunal material as well as ceramics and other conventional artifacts. Screening soil is a regular phenomenon at excavations insuring a more well-rounded picture of what animals were actually consumed. This has especially impacted the recovery of the bones of smaller animals such as hare, rabbit, dove, chicken and particularly fish as well as the bones of immature animals, including those of piglets which are significantly less likely to be found. Areas of interest have expanded to cover research into changing and variable preferences in draught, diet and butchery. Researchers are also conscious of problems of interpretation related to taphonomic loss resulting from natural agents, ancient human behavior as well as excavation techniques. The 'laundry lists' of species of fifty years ago are now considered somewhat naive starting points and not the goal of research. In order to produce stronger arguments, greater attempts are made to coordinate the archaeological results with those deriving from the analysis of bone materials. The situation at Aquincum is particularly lucky in this regard. With a special bone and plant macro-rest room having been made available students are now abole to come to study bones from individual sites, speeding the analysis of the enormous material. 6 Fitz, J., The Population. In: (A. Lengyel and G.T.B. Radan eds.) The Archaeology of Roman Pannónia, Budapest, 1980, 141; Mócsy, A., Lakoság és társadalom [Population and society]. In: (A. Mócsy and J. Fitz eds.) Pannónia: régészeti kézikönyve [Archaeological Handbook of Pannónia], Budapest 1990, 237-242. Aside from the various aboriginal Celtic tribes, there was a continuous influx of foreign soldiers and their families/followers from Italia, Gaul, Britannia, Africa and the East into Pannónia. Small groups of so-called Barbarians also found their way into the region. All these groups must have had impact on agricultural tradition, tastes and preferences in food, cults and rituals and designs on bone objects. At the same time, the picture is confused by the need to maintain the symbols and tastes of Imperial Rome itself as the superior, sought after, culture. The excavations which have been conducted at Aquincum have all been carried out under the aegis of the Aquincum Museum since its founding well over one hundred years ago as the first Municipal museum in Budapest (POCZY 1998/2, 219). Bones have been regularly collected during excavations since the 1970s even if the techniques used may not have been as fine tuned as could be desired. As the sites are slowly analyzed, the opportunity for real collaboration increases since the faunal analyst and the archaeologists find themselves under one roof. Areas of immediate concern for the specialists studying find materials from Aquincum include farming practices, distribution networks for meat products, dietary practices within social and ethnic groups, supplying the military and craft activities such as the preparation of hide, horn, glue and manufacture of bone/antler/ivory objects. The proportion of the species present at a given town, village or fort, kill-off patterns related to age, butchery patterns reflected by body part distributions and butchery marks, estimations of size and marks of manufacture and use wear on bone ornaments all contribute to the general understanding of Roman Period human-animal relationships. We know about the Roman farming and dietary ideals in Italy, but it is useful sometimes to look away from the center when trying to understand the nitty-gritty necessities of life in the provinces, including the region surrounding the capital of Pannónia. A warning is due, however. The bones found during archaeological excavations usually directly reflect consumption behavior at settlements of most types rather than production related to farming, butchery or even craft activities. Any conclusions concerning farming practices based entirely on bone material from urban settlements or cemeteries must be treated with caution. The most secure picture emerges when faunal data can be combined with other kinds of corroborating archaeological evidence. The converse is true of course true of conclusions based on archaeological material where burdens of proof also include a look at the archaeozoological picture. The great