Did the Romans bring fallow deer to Portugal?

Authors: Davis, Simon; MacKinnon, Michael

Source: Environmental Archaeology, Volume 14, Number 1, April 2009 , pp. 15-26(12)

Publisher: Maney Publishing

Included in the following Connect Compilations:

Virtual Maney - Archaeology

Buy & download fulltext article:

The full text is free.

View now:

PDF 905.9kb

Abstract:

We describe six cervid bones — a distal humerus, three distal tibiae, and two astragali — from two Roman sites, São Pedro Fronteira and Torre de Palma, in the Alentejo of Portugal. They are identified on morphological and osteometric grounds as fallow deer, Dama dama. They represent the earliest Holocene evidence for this species in Portugal, and it is suggested that, like the camel, the Romans were responsible for its spread within their Empire. While remains of this animal have not so far been reported in any Moslem period assemblages, there is documentary evidence for the existence of fallow deer in Portugal in the 12th and 13th centuries AD, although the possibility that fallow deer disappeared with the end of Roman rule should be considered.

Articles that cite this article?

Keywords: DAMA DAMA; EUROPEAN FALLOW DEER; INTRODUCTIONS; ROMANS; PORTUGAL

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/174963109X400646

Publication date: 2009-04-01

More about this publication?