‘Rock Salt Around the Clock’. Ethnoarchaeological Research Concerning Traditional Extraction of Salt for Animal Consumption
‘Rock Salt Around the Clock’. Ethnoarchaeological Research Concerning Traditional Extraction of Salt for Animal Consumption
Author(s): Felix-Adrian Tencariu, Andrei AsănduleseiSubject(s): Archaeology, Ethnohistory, Ancient World, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology
Published by: Editura Universităţii »Alexandru Ioan Cuza« din Iaşi
Keywords: Ethnoarchaeology; rock salt; pastoral mobility; Subcarpathian area;
Summary/Abstract: In Romania, an EU Member State since 2007, there are several mountainous areas with enduring ancient practices of animal husbandry and exploitation of salt resources. Here, shepherds quarry rock salt from outcrops two to three times per year as nutrients for their sheep flocks, for which they travel up to 20–30 km. Salt thus becomes an essential element for increasing the spatial parameters of pastoral mobility. Complex ethnological models emerged within a broader research project (cf. ethnosalro.uaic.ro), opening new windows to understanding the prehistorical or historical pre-mining phase of rock salt exploitation.
Journal: Studia Antiqua et Archaeologica
- Issue Year: 25/2019
- Issue No: 2
- Page Range: 495-505
- Page Count: 11
- Language: English