The pig – a mystery of medieval Makuria
The pig – a mystery of medieval Makuria

Author(s): Marta Osypińska
Subject(s): Archaeology
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: medieval Nubia; pig husbandry; archaeozoology; animals in Makuria; economy
Summary/Abstract: Regular archaeozoological research at key sites from the region of Makuria has contributed significant data on animal breeding and meat consumption in this Nubian kingdom. The appearance of the domestic pig, absent earlier from sites in the Middle Nile Valley, was one of the most distinctive features of the Makurian economy. Pig has been demonstrated to be the third most important meat for consumption, likewise in historic Dongola and in Banganarti (after cattle and ovicaprids) in all phases of Nubian history, including sporadic occurrence in contexts dated to the Funj period. The article looks at the origins and importance of the pig as a species in Makurian animal economy and the tentative socio-economic implications of this unique phenomenon in Nubia.

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