Monastic meals: The role of birds in the diet of the Poor Clares at the Monastery of Santa Maria de Pedralbes (Barcelona, Spain) from medieval to modern periods (14th to 19th centuries AD)

Abstract

Bird remains recovered from two trial pits and a rubbish dump dated from the 14th to 19th centuries AD at the Monastery of Santa Maria de Pedralbes in Barcelona (northeast Spain) are studied. The variety of avian taxa is low, with domestic fowl (Gallus gallus domesticus) clearly dominating the assemblage. The age at death and the sex profile data suggest that both chickens and hens were preferably consumed. The analysis of body parts indicates a preponderance of the meaty parts of legs, breast, and wings. Chops and cuts also suggest an interest in these anatomical parts. In addition, eggshell remains were recovered, indicating that eggs also played a role in the kitchen of this monastic community. Finally, our data are contrasted with available documentary evidence on historical monastic dietary practices.

Songs of the past ‐ papers of the 10th ICAZ Bird Working Group Meeting

“…The often restrictive and self-reliant diet of religious sites can be reflected in the bird bone assemblage by low species diversity and relatively high percentage of domestic species, as shown by Lloveras et al (2023) for the 14th-19th century assemblage of the Monastery of Santa Maria de Pedralbes Barcelona, Spain. However, Gál (2023) points out in her overview of avian assemblages from ecclesiastical sites in Hungary, which show a rather large variety in species, that differences in recovery methods and analysis play an important role in the abundance and diversity of species recovered from a site.…”

“…The GIS-based approach by Orchard et al (2023) provides a promising avenue to study large-scale patterns in species distributions. Literary and iconographic evidence remain important sources of information for understanding past human-animal relationships, as demonstrated in several papers (e.g., Alaica, 2023;Fernández et al, 2023;Lloveras et al, 2023). With regard to future literary sources of avian zooarchaeology, Dirrigl and White (2023) developed useful guidance and best practices for…”