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ABSTRACT: The paper report on a series of bird remains
recovered from the excavation of a pit-hole used as a refuse dump during
the Middle Ages in Madrid. According to the archaeological remains we have
dated the site in the beginning of the 12th century. Most remarkably has
been the detection of the Demoiselle Crane (Anthropoides virgo),
a species at present extinguished from Western Europe. The faunal
association indicates a marhsland biotope within a steppe ecosystem. The
incredibly low number of domestic birds in such a recent site speaks in
favour of a dietary regime for people of high rank, probably aristocratic
falconers.
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