Zwischen Wandel und Beständigkeit

The late La Tène and early Roman Periods represent a phase of intensive cultural change for the Alpine region and the northern Alpine foreland: Developments such as the collapse of the Oppida Civilisation, the emergence of the final La Tène Southeast-Bavarian Group and the gradual expansion of Rome into the Alps, which culminated in the occupation of the entire mountain region including its northern foreland in 15 B. C., led to massive socio-cultural and economic changes in this region. This monograph examines these processes of cultural change from an archaeozoological perspective. On the basis of 14 archaeofaunas from pre-Roman [Oppida Civilisation, Southeast-Bavarian Group, Fritzens-Sanzeno Culture] and Imperial Period [„Romanised“ milieu, Heimstetten Group] contexts presented for the first time, the development of livestock farming between the Danube and the southern edge of the Alps in the centuries around the turn of the Common Era is traced in connection with already published material. The focus here is on the extent to which livestock farming developed continuously from the late Iron Age into Roman times and what changes occurred in animal husbandry under the impression of the complex cultural transitions of this period. A central aspect of this question is also an archaeozoological comparison of the „Romanised“ communities with the so-called Heimstetten Group, which is probably the autochthonous population of the province of Raetia. These studies comprise four overarching thematic areas: The supply structures with animal goods, the disposal of food and slaughter waste, the manner of carcass processing and the development of the size and stature of domestic animals. Beyond this economic focus, digressions also provide insight into the changing role of animals in ritual behaviour and burial customs of that period.