Zooarchaeological evidence for meat consumption at Zita, Tunisia, during the Punic to Roman occupations (2nd century BCE to 3rd century CE)

Abstract

Although Roman North Africa is known for its production of cereals, faunal evidence from the Neo‐Punic urban mound of Zita in South East Tunisia shows that meat was an important part of the diet. Similarly to other North African sites, sheep and goat contributed the most to meat consumption in all time periods. The proportions of cattle, sheep/goat, and pig (the most common sources of meat in most Roman influenced sites) are closer to the nearby site of Meninx than to Carthage. This research uses the complete collection of faunal material from one feature at Zita to analyse pre‐Roman and Roman meat consumption. Because data from few comparable sites are available, this analysis adds new understanding to diet over time in the region, but further studies at Zita and in the region more broadly would help confirm these findings. Zooarchaeological remains show a diet heavily dependent on sheep and goat, with fish, molluscs, cattle, pig, and chicken also commonly consumed. Wild animals in the diet include hare and birds. Other fauna recovered were indirectly related to human activities; small terrestrial animals like amphibians, snakes, and rodents were likely attracted to refuse and increased as the site became more industrialised in the Roman period. The data show that the diet at Zita remains consistent across time, indicating a strong and ongoing local influence on cuisine despite transitions in the political infrastructure from Carthaginian to Neo‐Punic/Roman periods.

Wool sheep and purple snails—Long‐term continuity of animal exploitation in ancient Meninx (Jerba/Tunisia)

“…In order to find out if the long-term continuity of economic structures like those seen in Meninx (Figure 7) was paralleled elsewhere in Punic-Roman settlements on the Tunisian and Libyan Mediterranean coasts, intersite comparisons were carried out ( Figure 6). Like in Meninx, analysis of the archaeofauna from Libyan Berenice (Benghazi), for which Barker (1979b) (Moses et al, 2019). For some continuously inhabited sites like Bir Messaouda, decreasing proportions of cattle and an increase in ovicaprines could be observed, which may signify a higher demand for wool in Roman times (Azaza & Colominas, 2019).…”

“…In other words, barnyard composition in the environs of Carthage was much more influenced by Roman–Italic husbandry practices (MacKinnon, 2018) than in Berenice or Meninx. Also, evidence for pig husbandry in Zitha implies new cultural influences in Roman times, even if in this case, the economic continuity into the Punic Period is much more stable (Moses et al, 2019). For some continuously inhabited sites like Bir Messaouda, decreasing proportions of cattle and an increase in ovicaprines could be observed, which may signify a higher demand for wool in Roman times (Azaza & Colominas, 2019).…”

“…Insight into faunal developments in the latter region mainly comes from antique seaports, primarily Carthage (e.g., MacKinnon, 2010). In the last decade, however, particularly the eastern coast of southern Tunisia witnessed intense archaeological research, for example, at Ghizène (Ben Tahar, 2016/17), Zitha (Moses et al, 2019), Henchir Bourgou (Ben Tahar, 2018; Ben Tahar et al, 2020) and more recently, at Meninx, a major ancient harbour located on the island of Jerba (Ritter & Ben Tahar, 2020; Ritter, Ben Tahar, Fassbinder, & Lambers, 2018) (Figure 1). The site of Meninx has been the focus of investigation since 2015 and offers significant scientific potential due to the extensive excavations and field surveys carried out by the joint efforts of the Institut National du Patrimoine Tunisie and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) (Ritter et al, 2018).…”

“…In the course of more than a millennium of continuous site habitation at Meninx, exploitation patterns of local and nonlocal georesources and bioresources underwent modifications triggered by diverse economic, cultural and ecological factors. Particularly the lengthy conflicts between Rome and Punic northern Africa, terminating with the integration of the latter region into the Imperium Romanum (second/first century BCE), or the collapse of the Roman Empire succeeded by the Vandalic/Byzantine Period (fifth to seventh century CE), represented major political developments associated with significant sociocultural and economic consequences (e.g., Azaza & Colominas, 2019; MacKinnon, 2018; Moses et al, 2019). Arguably, processes of transformation were by no means of uniform intensity in Tunisia nor in the neighbouring regions.…”

“…In addition to other issues, this study will examine the faunal record with specific emphasis on changes brought about by the rise and fall of the Roman Empire and the extent to which Italian agricultural practices influenced local traditions of livestock husbandry. In order to address the wider perspective of the results obtained at Meninx, comparisons will be made with published archaeofaunas from Punic, Roman and Byzantine levels at F I G U R E 1 Location of Meninx in its contemporaneous North African context (Paul Scheding) sites located in the Tunisian-Libyan coastal region, such as Benghazi (Barker, 1979a(Barker, , 1979b, Bir Messaouda (Slopsma, van Wijngaarden-Bakker, & Maliepaard, 2009) and Carthage (e.g., MacKinnon, 2010) and Zitha (Moses et al, 2019). Archaeofaunal results from other Punic-Roman sites in Jerba, for example, Ghizène (Azaza & Colominas, 2019) and Henchir Bourgou (Ben Tahar et al, 2020), will be considered in order to provide details on insular developments.…”