Why study animals in the Middle Ages?

There are a number of reasons why research into human interactions with animals and their environments in the past is not only interesting and useful from an archaeological or historical perspective, but also highly relevant to our present society. Modern ecological concerns regarding human impact on species overexploitation, extinction, habitat disruption and fragmentation require an awareness and understanding of the cumulative historical effects of human interactions with other organisms. Our choice to conserve certain species and environments is a product of our time, and is very much an ethical and sociopolitical issue, increasingly informed by ecological science (Begon, Harper and Townsend 1996:952).

In exploring past ecosystems we are not only reconstructing 'species history', of which humans are an integral part, but linking varying ecological conditions with specific cultural contexts. In focusing on the Middle Ages, we are able to adopt a broad interdisciplinary perspective and address a diverse range of research questions. Here, we are dealing with very different societies to our own; with significantly smaller populations and varying experiences and understandings of the natural world. Our conclusions will provide a context for the present, and an increasing awareness of the complex relationships between ecology and culture to inform future decisions.

This is perhaps most clear in the case of marine fauna, where the relevance of historical research is outlined by HMAP (History of Marine Animal Populations, historical component of the Census of Marine Life Programme):

"Research is needed into the history of marine animal populations in order to understand the present and manage the future. We need to know what life used to be in the sea in order to assess the current health of the world's oceans, and set targets for future management of the seas."

And from an archaeological perspective:

"our task as archaeologists is to show how humans have used the marine environment and its resources, the successes and failures that we have experienced in that pursuit, the consequences of these successes and failures for the oceans and their resources and also for us." (Monks 2005:172)

The protracted but seemingly inevitable drive to re-introduce large carnivores (wolf, bear, lynx) back into European landscapes remains controversial, and varying perceptions of human relations with these animals in the past often play a role in the polemic of both sides. A significant understanding of the interplay between cultural and ecological contexts in the past is required to make informed decisions about the present and future, as I have argued in my work on the wolf.

References

Begon, M. Harper, J. L. and Townsend, C. R. 1996. Ecology: Individuals, Populations and Communities. Oxford.

Monks, G. G. 2005. 'Discussion: sea mammals in zooarchaeology AD 2002', in G. G. Monks (ed.) The Exploitation and Cultural Importance of Sea Mammals. Oxford.

Winiwarter, V. 2003. 'Approaches to environmental history', in J. Laszlovszky and P. Szabó (eds.) People and Nature in Historical Perspective. Budapest.