CHANGING CATTLE HUSBANDRY IN LATE MEDIEVAL AND MODERN FLANDERS (BELGIUM): EVIDENCE FROM MORPHOMETRICS AND ISOTOPE ANALYSES

In Northwestern Europe, the transition from the Late Middle Ages to the Modern era is marked by profound changes in agricultural practice. As part of the so-called (second) “agricultural revolution”, innovations were implemented in animal husbandry, in response to an increasing demand for food products. Livestock, such as cattle, were improved to mature faster and become larger and more productive. These evolutions coincided with an expansion of the networks along which animals were traded. Despite having been extensively studied by agricultural historians, the timing, nature and regional variation of these trends remain poorly understood. Zooarchaeology offers an alternative line of evidence through which these issues can be addressed.

This study assesses (post)medieval evolutions in cattle husbandry in present day Flanders via a combination of morphometrics and oxygen (δ18O) and strontium (87Sr/86Sr) isotope analyses. Using skeletal measurements, spatial and temporal variations in the size and shape of cattle are explored as proxies for livestock improvement. Evidence of increasing morphological variability is used in concert with oxygen and strontium isotope analyses on teeth, to track diversification of source populations and mobility in animals. The results of the morphometric analyses suggest the appearance of improved cattle from the 16th century, but with notable regional variations. Postmedieval cattle assemblages show an increasing morphological variability, which is mirrored by particularly variable 87Sr/86Sr and some values suggesting trade with a coastal region. Our findings demonstrate that combining multiple lines of bioarchaeological evidence can highlight aspects of agricultural history that have been difficult to untangle using documentary sources alone.