Klaipėdos universitetas

This paper presents a comparative, diachronic study of the faunal assemblages recovered from two key political, cultural and commercial centres in the medieval Polish-Prussian borderlands: Kałdus in the Kulmerland, and Gdańsk in Pomerania. Both centres were situated in a region which was incorporated into the Teutonic Order’s state following the Crusades against the Prussian tribes in the 13th century. Although comparative trends are noticeable between the two centres which can be linked to the development of the Polish (Piast) state, the variation reflects specific local ecological and cultural contexts. Due to the constraints of space, this study focuses on the relative representation of different species of mammals, birds and fish, demonstrating how diachronic trends can be linked to the marked historical phases associated with the cultural and environmental transformation of this frontier, from one dominated by the Piast state to the later Teutonic Order’s polity.

This paper focuses on a number of examples of cut marks on animal bones from a range of sites associated with the cultural transformations in the eastern Baltic following the Crusades in the 13th century. Recorded observational and interpretational characteristics are quantified and explained through more detailed selected case studies. The study represents a pilot project, the foundation for a more detailed and systematic survey of a larger dataset within the framework of the ecology of Crusading project. Relatively clear differences between sites are observable on the basis of the cut marks; however, the initial trends do not suggest a straightforward connection between butchery technology and colonisation in the east Baltic region.

Authors present problems connected with horse sacrifices in Early Middle Ages in Prussia. Discoveries nearby Poganowo site IV hill-fort, create new possibilities to discuss about Prussian religion in Early Middle Ages. Stone statue, cairns, hearths and remains of sacrificed horses have similarities to numerous cult places in Europe and in Asia.