Some considerations about the evolution of the animal exploitation in Central Italy from the Bronze Age to the Classical period

This paper follows the work presented to the Conference “From Huts to Houses. Transformations of Ancient Societies”. At that time I analysed how changes in the social order of a population condition and modify the sample of faunal remains. In the present work I underline the specific rule of pig and sheep/goat in the economy of various settlements from the Bronze Age to Medieval times in Central Italy . In the Bronze and Iron Age there was an integration between agricultural and animal herding, in the Roman times the changing demographic conditions caused pork to become and important part of the diet. This tendency reaches its peak in the full Imperial period. After the end of the Roman period pig decreased a lot, maybe because of the decrease in population that happened in Rome after Alaric’s sack in 410 AD. In the Middle Ages Rome showed a typical framework, characterised by the presence of large destroyed part of the town alternated with kitchen-gardens, vineyards and uncultivated spaces for animal keeping. The percentages of pig progressively decreased and the sheep-keeping increased again.