Livestock and deadstock in early medieval Europe from the North Sea to the Baltic

The relative abundance and mortality profiles of cattle, sheep and pigs from a series of 8th- to 11th-century sites across northern Europe are reviewed with the aim of identifying broad regional trends in livestock husbandry and redistribution. Although based on published NISP data derived from hand-collected material, the broad scale and coarse precision of the survey mitigates the worst effects of differential recovery. Marked local variation in the relative abundance of cattle and of pigs is noted in certain regions. In the latter case, the association of pigs with more easterly sites is tested and discussed. Evidence from York and its region are discussed in more detail, including an association between chalk uplands and sheep husbandry in the Middle Saxon period.