Wild Mammals in the Economy of Wrocław (Poland) as an Example of a Medieval and Modern Era City in the Light of Interdisciplinary Research

Abstract

Simple Summary The animals that held the greatest importance in the economy of a medieval and early modern city were domesticated species, such as cattle, pigs, goats and sheep. These animals were used as sources of meat, bone, horn and leather in crafting items for daily use; however, skeletal remains belonging to wild animals are also encountered during archaeological research. The purpose of this article was to determine the role of wild animals in the economy of a historical city on the basis of research conducted in Wrocław. The base material consists of bone remains belonging to various species, as well as items manufactured from the leather, horn and bones of wild animals. The collected information was compared with the current state of historical research. It turned out that the analysis confirmed the fact that wild animals played a small but constant role in the economy of medieval and early modern Wrocław from the 11th to the 17th century. The rare use of such materials might indicate occasional breaching of hunting laws and limitations functioning until the 15th c., the characteristics of the local environment with its low amount of wild game and the elite characteristics of wild animal meat and products. Abstract The purpose of this article was to determine the role of wild animals in the economy of a historical city on the basis of archaeological and cultural layers of medieval and early modern Wrocław from the 11th to the 17th century. Archaeozoological analyses were applied, mainly encompassing the percentage share of particular animal species and the research of material culture, i.e., items manufactured from bones, antlers and hides of wild animals. The collected data were compared with written sources. As a result of the following analysis, a low but stable frequency of bone remains in urban layers and is evidence for occasional breaching of the medieval hunting laws by burghers, possibly driven by the opportunity to sell meat and other wild animal products on the markets. Moreover, the relatively low amounts of items made from bones, antlers and wild animal leather may indicate low availability or seasonality (shed antler) of the materials, which might have indirectly raised the product price. Additionally, the area around Wrocław did not feature large forest complexes, which are habitats of wild game, thus explaining the low frequency of wild animal remains in the archaeozoological material.