Nostra Senyora dels Àngels d’Avinganya (Seròs, NE Iberia). Zooarchaeology studies in a rural monastery (16th-19th centuries)

• This paper presents the zooarchaeological findings from the monastery of Avingaya (Seròs, NE Iberia) during its occupation in the 16th-19th centuries. • The data reveal differences in the consumption of animal resources compared to other urban friaries of the same period. • The animals consumed were from the area surrounding the site. • There were no standardized patterns in the processing of the carcasses. The monastery of Avinganya (Seròs, Lleida, north-eastern Iberia) was founded at the beginning of the 13th century (1201) and was occupied by the Trinitarian Order. Initially it operated as a male community although it subsequently became a nunnery (1251), reverting to being a friary (1529) until its final demise and abandonment in 1835. In addition, in its early stages, it was a burial space for some important figures of the Catalan-Aragonese nobility, and a place of hospitality for pilgrims throughout its history. The study of the faunal remains, which has focused on the second phase of the friary (16th- early 19th centuries), has enabled us to observe a variety of events that can be related to the use of the different spaces of the monastery during the course of its history. Moreover, the results of this analysis reveal differences in the management of food resources of animal origin with respect to other previously studied monastic houses in Catalonia, especially those located in urban or peri -urban contexts. In the case of Avinganya, the low proportion of food of marine origin is apparent, together with a greater anatomical diversity among domestic fauna, especially caprines, as well as a certain importance of hunting. This is understood to be a consequence of food production being of a fundamentally local nature, with animal carcass processing being carried out entirely on site or nearby.