The Diversity of Archaeological Animal and Plant Remains Discovered at 18th–19th-Century Sites in Iași City (NE Romania)

Animal and plant remains recovered from two archaeological sites in Iași city (NE Romania) were analyzed in this work. The aim of this study was to contribute to the economic and environmental evaluation of an old urban settlement. The analyzed sites, both of value in archaeological preventive resea...

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Main Authors: Margareta Simina Stanc, George Bilavschi, Ludmila Bacumenco-Pîrnău, Dan Aparaschivei, Luminița Bejenaru, Mihaela Danu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-08-01
Series:Diversity
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/16/9/520
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author Margareta Simina Stanc
George Bilavschi
Ludmila Bacumenco-Pîrnău
Dan Aparaschivei
Luminița Bejenaru
Mihaela Danu
author_facet Margareta Simina Stanc
George Bilavschi
Ludmila Bacumenco-Pîrnău
Dan Aparaschivei
Luminița Bejenaru
Mihaela Danu
author_sort Margareta Simina Stanc
collection DOAJ
description Animal and plant remains recovered from two archaeological sites in Iași city (NE Romania) were analyzed in this work. The aim of this study was to contribute to the economic and environmental evaluation of an old urban settlement. The analyzed sites, both of value in archaeological preventive research, are dated to the 18th–19th centuries. The archaeozoological analysis consisted of anatomical, taxonomic, and taphonomic identifications, quantification, estimations of age at slaughter and sex, and osteometry. The results revealed that the animal remains are of domestic origin, as indicated by traces of butchering, and can be mainly described in terms of their frequencies (i.e., number of identified specimens and minimum number of individuals), selection for slaughter, morphology, and size. The results show that animal husbandry (e.g., cattle, sheep/goat, pig, and horse) had significant importance in the economy of the settlement, and cattle were preferred for consumption. Few remains were identified for wild mammals (i.e., red deer, wild boar, and hare), birds, and mollusks. The phytolith analysis indicated that some plant resources were used in the economy of this settlement. The identification of opal silica bodies revealed the presence of grasses and cultivated cereals.
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spelling doaj-art-08f8727c067242aeb5cb4bfabce439422025-08-20T01:55:22ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182024-08-0116952010.3390/d16090520The Diversity of Archaeological Animal and Plant Remains Discovered at 18th–19th-Century Sites in Iași City (NE Romania)Margareta Simina Stanc0George Bilavschi1Ludmila Bacumenco-Pîrnău2Dan Aparaschivei3Luminița Bejenaru4Mihaela Danu5Faculty of Biology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, 700505 Iasi, RomaniaFaculty of Biology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, 700505 Iasi, RomaniaFaculty of Biology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, 700505 Iasi, RomaniaInstitute of Archaeology, Romanian Academy, Iasi Branch, 700479 Iasi, RomaniaFaculty of Biology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, 700505 Iasi, RomaniaFaculty of Biology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, 700505 Iasi, RomaniaAnimal and plant remains recovered from two archaeological sites in Iași city (NE Romania) were analyzed in this work. The aim of this study was to contribute to the economic and environmental evaluation of an old urban settlement. The analyzed sites, both of value in archaeological preventive research, are dated to the 18th–19th centuries. The archaeozoological analysis consisted of anatomical, taxonomic, and taphonomic identifications, quantification, estimations of age at slaughter and sex, and osteometry. The results revealed that the animal remains are of domestic origin, as indicated by traces of butchering, and can be mainly described in terms of their frequencies (i.e., number of identified specimens and minimum number of individuals), selection for slaughter, morphology, and size. The results show that animal husbandry (e.g., cattle, sheep/goat, pig, and horse) had significant importance in the economy of the settlement, and cattle were preferred for consumption. Few remains were identified for wild mammals (i.e., red deer, wild boar, and hare), birds, and mollusks. The phytolith analysis indicated that some plant resources were used in the economy of this settlement. The identification of opal silica bodies revealed the presence of grasses and cultivated cereals.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/16/9/520archaeozoologyarchaeobotany18th–19th centuriesIași cityRomania
spellingShingle Margareta Simina Stanc
George Bilavschi
Ludmila Bacumenco-Pîrnău
Dan Aparaschivei
Luminița Bejenaru
Mihaela Danu
The Diversity of Archaeological Animal and Plant Remains Discovered at 18th–19th-Century Sites in Iași City (NE Romania)
Diversity
archaeozoology
archaeobotany
18th–19th centuries
Iași city
Romania
title The Diversity of Archaeological Animal and Plant Remains Discovered at 18th–19th-Century Sites in Iași City (NE Romania)
title_full The Diversity of Archaeological Animal and Plant Remains Discovered at 18th–19th-Century Sites in Iași City (NE Romania)
title_fullStr The Diversity of Archaeological Animal and Plant Remains Discovered at 18th–19th-Century Sites in Iași City (NE Romania)
title_full_unstemmed The Diversity of Archaeological Animal and Plant Remains Discovered at 18th–19th-Century Sites in Iași City (NE Romania)
title_short The Diversity of Archaeological Animal and Plant Remains Discovered at 18th–19th-Century Sites in Iași City (NE Romania)
title_sort diversity of archaeological animal and plant remains discovered at 18th 19th century sites in iasi city ne romania
topic archaeozoology
archaeobotany
18th–19th centuries
Iași city
Romania
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/16/9/520
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