Social islamisation and livestock improvement in Qurtuba in Early al-Andalus (8th-10th centuries)

Abstract

The Arab conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in 711 marked the beginning of a process that, over the following centuries, would involve the profound transformation of the structures inherited from Late Antiquity at various levels. Former Hispania, known since then as al-Andalus, progressively became part of the wider Islamic cultural koine that was forming at the same time in the East and West. This led to structural changes that, among other consequences, affected the production and consumption patterns of animal-source food as a result of the process of social Islamisation. This paper presents some of the results derived from the study of several archaeofaunal assemblages recovered from two different areas of Qurtuba, the current city of Cordoba and the capital of al-Andalus during the Umayyad period, namely the suburb of Saqunda and the Cercadilla Archaeological Zone. The frequency of pig remains allows to gain insights into the social context of food consumption and the possible religious identity of consumers. On the other hand, the biométrie analysis of sheep and chicken suggests possible dynamics of intensification or improvement of these two species, probably in progress from the mid-8th century in the case of chicken. The results demonstrate the relationship between the consumption and production spheres of animal food, and between the social and economic domains of human existence.