Historical parchment as a biomolecular record of sheep husbandry practices in the Iberian Peninsula

Presentation by Laura Cristina Viñas Caron.

The study of animal remains in archaeology has typically focused on understanding the processes by which domestic cattle, sheep, and goats were first managed and domesticated, all of which occurred in the Fertile Crescent between 11000 and 10000 years ago. Nevertheless, later stages in the history of domestication have generally received less attention. During my PhD, I explored aspects of the domestication and evolution of sheep from the Iberian Peninsula in mediaeval and post- mediaeval times concerning wool production. To do so, different methods, including genomics and proteomics, were applied to a largely unexplored material: the skin of sheep converted into parchment, the main writing material used before the advent of paper. I will present the results of my thesis with a special focus on wool production and sheep management.

The presentation will be followed by a discussion.

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