Barbuda’s national animal is the fallow deer, Dama dama dama, a species that is native to the eas... more Barbuda’s national animal is the fallow deer, Dama dama dama, a species that is native to the eastern Mediterranean but that has been transported around the world by people. The timing and circumstances by which fallow deer came to be established on Barbuda are currently uncertain but, by examining the archaeological, genetic, documentary and iconographic evidence, this paper will examine the validity of existing theories. It will review the dynamics of human-Dama relationships from the 1600s to the present day and consider how the meaning attached to this species has changed through time: from a symbol of colonial authority and dominance, to a ‘walking larder’ after the slave emancipation of 1834, and now an important part of the island’s cultural heritage.
The extent to which breeding populations of fallow deer were established in Roman Europe has been... more The extent to which breeding populations of fallow deer were established in Roman Europe has been obscured by the possibility that the skeletal remains of the species, in particular Dama foot bones and antlers, were traded over long distances as objects in their own right. This paper sets out to refine our understanding of the evidence for the transportation of living and dead fallow deer in Iron Age and Roman Europe. To achieve this, museum archives containing purportedly early examples of Dama antler were searched, with available specimens sampled for carbon, nitrogen and strontium isotope analyses, and compared with data for archaeological fallow deer from across Europe. Importantly, the resulting isotope values can be interpreted in light of new modern baseline data for fallow deer presented here. Together these multi-isotope results for modern and archaeological fallow deer provide a more critical perspective on the transportation of fallow deer and their body parts in antiquity.
Barbuda’s national animal is the fallow deer, Dama dama dama, a species that is native to a small... more Barbuda’s national animal is the fallow deer, Dama dama dama, a species that is native to a small area of Anatolia but that has been transported around the world by people.1 According to historical accounts, fallow deer were imported to Barbuda, from England, by the Codrington family, who sought to establish both a British colony and lifestyle upon the island. By examining the archaeological, scientific (genetic and isotope data), historical and iconographic evidence relating to fallow deer, this paper will examine the validity of these historical accounts. It will review the dynamics of human-dama relationships from the 1600s to the present day and consider how the meaning attached to this species has changed through time: from a symbol of colonial authority and dominance, to a ‘walking larder’ after the slave emancipation of 1834, and now an important part of the island’s cultural heritage. Notes 1. Fallow deer are the subject of our AHRC-funded project Dama International: Fallow ...
ABSTRACT The extent to which breeding populations of fallow deer were established in Roman Europe... more ABSTRACT The extent to which breeding populations of fallow deer were established in Roman Europe has been obscured by the possibility that the skeletal remains of the species, in particular Dama foot bones and antlers, were traded over long distances as objects in their own right. This paper sets out to refine our understanding of the evidence for the transportation of living and dead fallow deer in Iron Age and Roman Europe. To achieve this, museum archives containing purportedly early examples of Dama antler were searched, with available specimens sampled for carbon, nitrogen and strontium isotope analyses, and compared with data for archaeological fallow deer from across Europe. Importantly, the resulting isotope values can be interpreted in light of new modern baseline data for fallow deer presented here. Together these multi-isotope results for modern and archaeological fallow deer provide a more critical perspective on the transportation of fallow deer and their body parts in antiquity.
Barbuda’s national animal is the fallow deer, Dama dama dama, a species that is native to the eas... more Barbuda’s national animal is the fallow deer, Dama dama dama, a species that is native to the eastern Mediterranean but that has been transported around the world by people. The timing and circumstances by which fallow deer came to be established on Barbuda are currently uncertain but, by examining the archaeological, genetic, documentary and iconographic evidence, this paper will examine the validity of existing theories. It will review the dynamics of human-Dama relationships from the 1600s to the present day and consider how the meaning attached to this species has changed through time: from a symbol of colonial authority and dominance, to a ‘walking larder’ after the slave emancipation of 1834, and now an important part of the island’s cultural heritage.
The extent to which breeding populations of fallow deer were established in Roman Europe has been... more The extent to which breeding populations of fallow deer were established in Roman Europe has been obscured by the possibility that the skeletal remains of the species, in particular Dama foot bones and antlers, were traded over long distances as objects in their own right. This paper sets out to refine our understanding of the evidence for the transportation of living and dead fallow deer in Iron Age and Roman Europe. To achieve this, museum archives containing purportedly early examples of Dama antler were searched, with available specimens sampled for carbon, nitrogen and strontium isotope analyses, and compared with data for archaeological fallow deer from across Europe. Importantly, the resulting isotope values can be interpreted in light of new modern baseline data for fallow deer presented here. Together these multi-isotope results for modern and archaeological fallow deer provide a more critical perspective on the transportation of fallow deer and their body parts in antiquity.
Barbuda’s national animal is the fallow deer, Dama dama dama, a species that is native to a small... more Barbuda’s national animal is the fallow deer, Dama dama dama, a species that is native to a small area of Anatolia but that has been transported around the world by people.1 According to historical accounts, fallow deer were imported to Barbuda, from England, by the Codrington family, who sought to establish both a British colony and lifestyle upon the island. By examining the archaeological, scientific (genetic and isotope data), historical and iconographic evidence relating to fallow deer, this paper will examine the validity of these historical accounts. It will review the dynamics of human-dama relationships from the 1600s to the present day and consider how the meaning attached to this species has changed through time: from a symbol of colonial authority and dominance, to a ‘walking larder’ after the slave emancipation of 1834, and now an important part of the island’s cultural heritage. Notes 1. Fallow deer are the subject of our AHRC-funded project Dama International: Fallow ...
ABSTRACT The extent to which breeding populations of fallow deer were established in Roman Europe... more ABSTRACT The extent to which breeding populations of fallow deer were established in Roman Europe has been obscured by the possibility that the skeletal remains of the species, in particular Dama foot bones and antlers, were traded over long distances as objects in their own right. This paper sets out to refine our understanding of the evidence for the transportation of living and dead fallow deer in Iron Age and Roman Europe. To achieve this, museum archives containing purportedly early examples of Dama antler were searched, with available specimens sampled for carbon, nitrogen and strontium isotope analyses, and compared with data for archaeological fallow deer from across Europe. Importantly, the resulting isotope values can be interpreted in light of new modern baseline data for fallow deer presented here. Together these multi-isotope results for modern and archaeological fallow deer provide a more critical perspective on the transportation of fallow deer and their body parts in antiquity.
Uploads
Papers by Holly Miller