The role of birds in the economy of medieval and post-medieval Flanders: a diversity of interpretation problems
Anton Ervynck

ABSTRACT: This paper evaluates the role of birds in the meat supply of medieval and post-medieval Flanders, Belgium. Apparently, bird remains are rather scarce in the archaeozoological record from Flemish sites. Are birds then only of minor economical importance or is the scarcity of their remains the result of a biased sample? Some factors that could theoretically be responsible for an underrepresentation of bird bones in archaeological contexts and archaeozoological inventaries are outlined. Two case studies suggest that these factors have only minor influence and that bird bones are indeed not frequent in the sites. In terms of human consumption the breeding of birds was perhaps not very significant but birds could still be economically important because they were expensive and because one was interested in their secondary products (eggs).