p.429
>>>
The animal husbandry of the Celts showed the typical picture of people
living a settled way of life. Its main species were pig and cattle; the
first was their main meat supply, the other was the draught animal of
agriculture and the main milk producer. Of these two species, pig cannot be
herded over long distances, and cattle as slow-moving draught animals could
only cover short distances. Strabo noted in Book IV of his Geographika that
the Celts' "food mainly consisted of milk and different kinds of meat,
particularly of fresh and salted pork." He also mentioned that they exported
salted meat in large quantities not only to Rome but also to other parts of
Italy. Sheep and goats were somewhat rarer, and horses were very infrequent,
though the Celts were famous riders in those days. Dogs were kept in even
smaller numbers but a very important species of the modern domestic fauna,
the hen, another animal associated with settlement life, also played a
certain role in their animal husbandry. In fact, after the introduction of
the hen by the Scythians, the Celts were responsible for the spread of this
bird in central and western Europe. The possibility of keeping of ducks and
geese (again fowl of sedentery life) in Celtic settlements cannot be
excluded either, although direct evidence of this is still missing.
The cat is missing from the domestic fauna of the Celts. It was first domesticated in Egypt and although it reached the northern Black Sea area as the pet of rich Scythians and even earlier (at the beginning of the first century B.C. Greece and Italy), it first arrived north of the Alps with Roman legionnaires. As a result, its remains can only be found in Gallo-Roman sites, at the end of the Late La Tene period. <<<
Yinkin imported from Peloria, anyone?
>>>
Celtic cattle were - along with the early medieval species - the smallest in
the whole evolution of domestic cattle; in fact the height of their withers
hardly exceeded 110 centimeters. Celtic cattle were slenderly built, skinny
animals with short horns and narrow skulls as evidenced both by bone finds
and artistic representations. That Roman cattle were at least 16-17
centimeters larger than the Celtic ones is demonstrated by a comparison of
the cattle of the Celtic oppidum Manching and those of a Pannonian Roman
town (Tac-Gorsium) and of a Roman fortress on the Danube (Intercisa).
<<< (Sorry, Peter, couldn't resist)
The same goes for Celtic horses - depictions showing the riders' feet almost on the ground are acurate wrt the bone finds - and pigs. The Scythian horses (Grazers?) were larger, and much sought by western chieftains.
>>>
The goat bucks were similar in size to a buck in a modern improved breed;
the females were smaller. It can be assumed that at least in some regions
the goats were kept in small, comparatively poor households. Thus goats
played the role of the "poor man's cow.
<<<
Celts, or Orlanthi?
On cats vs. dogs another tidbit:
>>>
The dog's primary importance was as a worker. They were used as hunting
companions (according to Strabo the Celts used imported dogs bred in
Brittania and in their wars), herd dogs, watch dogs, and lap-dogs. Dog meat
was also eaten at least in certain territories or by certain tribes or
classes. This is demonstrated by finds of dog bones with clearly visible
cutmarks that went far beyond a simple skinning and could be considered
butchering marks.
<<<
A good reason for (poor) Orlanthi to keep dogs besides sheep, it seems. If they were also shaggy, they even produced wool...
Another tidbit I found of interest to Gloranthans: Some Celtic finds of pottery - especially vessels with a graphite-coating used for cooking - have strange impressions on their bottoms, almost like duck feet. The signs of their makers? Are there clay deposits in or around the Upland Marsh?
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