Makowiecki Et Al the Character of Animal Exploitation and The
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THE CHARACTER OF ANIM AL EXPLOITATION AND THE ENVIRONM ENT AT THE POLISH/PRU SSIAN FRONTIER IN THE M EDIEVAL PERIOD: A CASE STU DY BALTICA 20 BALTICA DANIEL MAKOWIECKI, MARZENA MAKOWIECKA Abstract ARCHAEOLOGIA This paper presents a comparative, diachronic study of the faunal assemblages recovered from two key political, cultural and commercial centres in the medieval Polish-Prussian borderlands: Kałdus in the Kulmerland, and Gdańsk in Pomerania. Both centres were situated in a region which was incorporated into the Teutonic Order’s state following the Crusades against the Prussian tribes in the 13th century. Although comparative trends are noticeable between the two centres which can be linked to the development of the Polish (Piast) state, the variation reflects specific local ecological and cultural contexts. Due to the constraints of space, this study focuses on the relative representation of different species of mammals, birds and fish, demon- strating how diachronic trends can be linked to the marked historical phases associated with the cultural and environmental transformation of this frontier, from one dominated by the Piast state to the later Teutonic Order’s polity. I Key words: zooarchaeology, Kałdus, Gdańsk, Polish state, Teutonic Order, environment, mammals, birds, fish. LIFE AT THE FRON- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15181/ab.v20i0.810 TIER:THE ECOLOGICAL S IGNATU RES OF HUMAN The region, its history, and In Kałdus, the first zooarchaeological research was C OLONISATION the zooarchaeological background carried out in the 1970s, when a small assemblage of IN THE NORTH mammal remains and birds was investigated (Sobocińki If the term ‘Polish/Prussian frontier’ is coined with re- 1980; Waluszewska-Bubień 1980). Beginning from spect to the Middle Ages, it must be expressed with 1996, new studies combined with the interdisciplinary at least some basic impression of the delineated area project concerning historic in Culmine were under- which is related to it. Regarding present-day histori- taken (Chudziak 2003). The effects of the first zoo- cal knowledge of the tribes settling the area around the archaeological analyses were short articles reporting south Baltic coast, it is sensible to say that the River animal taxons, the most important animal subsistence Vistula broadly delineates a natural border between strategies, and some features of the natural environ- Slavs on its left bank and Prussian tribes on the right ment. In 2010, a decade of research was concluded (Fig. 1). (1996 to 2005) with a voluminous zooarchaeological In the previous century, archaeological research car- monograph presenting the spectrum of data, debates on ried out along the Vistula documented many settle- animal subsistence strategies, hunting, fishing, social ments related to the early medieval period. At the same differentiation, and the natural environment (Makow- time, numerous assemblages of animal remains were iecki 2010). Data and the aforementioned topics were collected and investigated. The results were published considered in the well-elaborated archaeological tem- in many reports relating to mammals (e.g. Sobociński poral and spatial context (Chudziak 2003). 1968; 1978; 1979; 1980; 1988; 1991a; 1992a, b; Remains from Gdańsk, recovered in the 1950s and Sobociński, Makowiecki 1992), birds (Nogalski 1991; 1960s, mainly from the early medieval stronghold 1992a, b, c; Nogalski et al. 1992; Waluszewska-Bubień adjacent to its port and settlements, were analysed by 1976; 1980) and fish (Iwaszkiewicz 1991). different researchers. They reported their results in nu- The most numerous zooarchaeological collections merous publications, mainly related to mammals (Ja- were recovered from two localities, which in the me- worski 1952; Krysiak 1955; 1956; 1967; Kubasiewicz dieval period were very important centres. The first, 1977) and fish (Dąbczewski 1952; Susłowska 1966, Kałdus (a small village close to Chełmno, reported in 1967, 1968; Susłowska, Urbanowicz 1967; Urbanow- historical records as Culm), is on a tributary of the Vis- icz 1965; 1967), and some scarce data was related to tula (the Nogat), and the second, Gdańsk, is about 150 birds (Nogalski 1984). kilometres north of the first one. Starting from the 1990s, a number of excavations were taken up in places that are historically linked to the de- 91 The Character of Animal Exploitation and the DANIEL Environment at the Polish/ 92 MAKOWIECKI, Prussian Frontier in the MARZENA Medieval Period: A Case MAKOWIECKA Study Fig. 1. A map of the region, with the locations of the two centres mentioned in the paper (prepared by authors). velopment of the city, from the time of the Crusaders In a very short time, the Crusaders took advantage of until Prussian times. In the study, a number of remains the unstable political situation among the Piast dukes, were recovered belonging to mammals, birds and fish. and built their own powerful state in the region of Prus- Their analyses were conducted by the authors in a vari- sia. Subsequently, at the beginning of the 14th century, ety of projects and collaborations with the Archaeolog- they incorporated into their state the eastern part of ical Museum in Gdańsk and some private companies. Pomerania, which had earlier belonged to the Piasts. The growing number of material was so significant that In fact, the crusading state was created, and started to the main effort was focused on current analysis, with grow into a political and economic power through a 20 BALTICA results presented in unpublished reports stored in the very well-organised administrative system with a net- archives of the Archaeological Museum (Paner 2006). work of castles. Therefore, it is expected that the ex- From these early stages of research, some prelimi- ploitation of natural resources and a visible impact on nary data and reflections on mammals were published the environment occurred at this time. in one article (Makowiecka et al. 1998), and in two Finally, in 1466, after three centuries of dynamic de- ARCHAEOLOGIA other papers on bird remains (Makowiecki, Gotfredsen velopment and conflict, the Teutonic Knights lost a 2002; 2003). Records relating to fish were included in vast part of the area on the left bank of the Vistula, a separate analytical-synthetic study devoted to the his- and some on the right bank of the river as well. There- tory of fish and fishing (Makowiecki 2003a), and the fore, from that date, it is sensible to indicate the third remains of cod were examined in isotopic projects on stage, with Gdańsk being part of the Kingdom of Po- cod fishing and trade in medieval northern Europe (see land. This would be called the ‘post-Crusaders stage’. Barrett et al. 2008; Orton et al. 2011). I In 1525, the state of the Teutonic Knights was forced to become the fief of the Polish king, and it was secu- LIFE AT THE FRON- The main events associated with the larised and transformed into the Duchy of Prussia, the TIER:THE first Protestant state. From the year 1793, a new stage ECOLOGICAL historical context S IGNATU RES in the city’s history is bound up with the Kingdom of OF HUMAN C OLONISATION Animal subsistence on the Polish/Prussian frontier Prussia, which incorporated Gdańsk into its structure. IN THE NORTH should be considered in at least three stages. This is It is worth mentioning that the Crusaders stage is one sensible, because of political and cultural events re- of the characteristic periods in the history of the Polish/ ported in historical records. The first will be called the Prussian frontier, and not only because of the Teutonic ‘pre-Crusades stage’, and started in 966 with the in- Knights, but at the same time because of changes in the troduction of Christianity into Slavic territory between structure of the system of human settlements, which the rivers Vistula and Oder by Mieszko I, a duke of consisted of castles, towns and villages. This must the Piast dynasty. He started by creating a stable po- have created different strategies in agriculture and the litical, cultural and economic structure, which can be exploitation of the environment, such as forests, fields, described as European. It was based on central places rivers and lakes. consisting of prominent fortified wooden strongholds and unfortified adjacent villages with cemeteries (Fig. In the historical context presented above, Kałdus is re- 2). In the most important of them, called sedes regni garded as the most important cultural, economic and principalis, a stone basilica constituted the character- political centre in the Kulmerland, and it existed from istic architectural form. The dynastic successors of the turn of the seventh century to the turn of the 12th Mieszko I continued the development of the state, and century. All reported zooarchaeological material corre- extended it to regions in all possible directions. Only sponds with the pre-Crusaders stage. Gdańsk started its one region close to the state, located on the right bank history from the tenth/11th century, and it has contin- of the Lower Vistula, belonged to the pagan Prussians, ued to be occupied until today. When excavations were who posed a serious military threat to the young Chris- carried out in different parts of the city, a huge amount tian Polish state. of zooarchaeological data was collected and analysed, and it can be arranged in relation to all the historical In 1226, we may point to the second stage related to stages described above. the period of crusading (the ‘Crusaders stage’), when Konrad I, a local duke of Masovia from the Piast dy- Taking into account the present state of knowledge nasty, intending to solve the Prussian problem, invited concerning the historic development of both centres, the Teutonic Knights and granted them the Kulmerland common and various features can be indicated. Com- (Chełmno land), located just beside the frontier with mon characteristics include their important roles in the the Prussian territories.