Excavating the history of ancient veterinary practices

Binois, Annelise

doi:10.1136/vr.h991

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…The importance of the hide as a source of revenue is repeatedly evidenced by the abundance of skinning marks on animal remains, the range of decrees and bylaws restricting the flaying of animals that had died of diseases, and the lengths the authorities went to prevent these skins being used (28). The intact skeleton of a cow from a 14th-century burial at Téteghem Carlines 3 (Northern France) that died of a dystocic calving (29) gives a further insight into the importance (or otherwise) of uterine hides. Although the cow's hide had been removed, the calf remained trapped and unflayed in the birth canal, despite the fact that it could have been easily released and flayed to obtain uterine calfskin for parchment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Animal origin of 13th-century uterine vellum revealed using noninvasive peptide fingerprinting

Fiddyment

Holsinger

Ruzzier

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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158

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Tissue-thin parchment made it possible to produce the first pocket Bibles: Thousands were made in the 13th century. The source of this parchment, often called "uterine vellum," has been a long-standing controversy in codicology. Use of the Latin term abortivum in many sources has led some scholars to suggest that the skin of fetal calves or sheep was used. Others have argued that it would not be possible to sustain herds if so many pocket Bibles were produced from fetal skins, arguing instead for unexpected alternatives, such as rabbit. Here, we report a simple and objective technique using standard conservation treatments to identify the animal origin of parchment. The noninvasive method is a variant on zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry (ZooMS) peptide mass fingerprinting but extracts protein from the parchment surface by using an electrostatic charge generated by gentle rubbing of a PVC eraser on the membrane surface. Using this method, we analyzed 72 pocket Bibles originating in France, England, and Italy and 293 additional parchment samples that bracket this period. We found no evidence for the use of unexpected animals; however, we did identify the use of more than one mammal species in a single manuscript, consistent with the local availability of hides. These results suggest that ultrafine vellum does not necessarily derive from the use of abortive or newborn animals with ultrathin hides, but could equally well reflect a production process that allowed the skins of maturing animals of several species to be rendered into vellum of equal quality and fineness. Hamlet, V.i

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Animal origin of 13th-century uterine vellum revealed using noninvasive peptide fingerprinting

Fiddyment

Holsinger

Ruzzier

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

Self Cite

158

134

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However some operations were specific to animals, like castration to improve the performance and manageability of horses and livestock, 17 and -as revealed by archaeological evidence -the tail-docking of female lambs to protect them from maggots. 18 The Renaissance witnessed a resurgence of surgical experiments on animals. 19 Revisionist analysis is beginning to unpack their different practices and epistemic motivations.…”

Section: Pre-modern Animal Surgerymentioning

confidence: 99%