Consumption and marrow extraction in 14th century Oudenaarde (Belgium): a zooarchaeological study of a late medieval cattle assemblage

This study reports on a late medieval collection of faunal remains from a pit in the historical centre of Oudenaarde (Belgium), which was characterized by a peculiar predominance of cattle mandibles. To investigate the human activities leading to the accumulation of this assemblage, the materials were subjected to a combination of zooarchaeological and metric analysis. The results suggest the presence of a combination of consumption refuse and craft production waste in the form of clearly selected, characteristically chopped −and possibly heated- mandibles. Comparison with two similar assemblages from the region confirms the hypothesis that the cattle mandibles most likely represent waste resulting from specialized marrow oil extraction. Although the animals used for this activity were probably drawn from the general supply of livestock that entered the town for consumption, a possible preference for young individuals was visible. The relatively small number of specimens and its association with domestic consumption waste, suggests that marrow oil extraction in Oudenaarde was perhaps more organized as a system of small-scale household production than as a highly organized industrial activity.