The Project
The Fallow Deer Project is an AHRC-funded multi-disciplinary
study looking at the cultural history of Dama
dama dama, the European fallow deer. The project is being led by Dr Naomi Sykes, an archaeologist from the University of Nottingham, Prof. Rus Hoelzel (a
geneticist from the University of Durham) and BGS’s Prof. Jane Evans. The team
are working with researchers from a number of fields and institutions up and
down the country- from archaeologists and art historians, to musicians and deer
stalkers.
Why Fallow Deer?
Of
all the world's deer none has a closer relationship to people than the
European Fallow Deer. Ever since the Neolithic, humans have selectively
transported and maintained this elegant animal, taking it from its native,
restricted range in the eastern Mediterranean across Europe where it is now an
established icon of stately homes. Wherever fallow deer have been introduced
they have altered the physical and psychological landscape and their
distribution is a direct record of human migration, trade, behaviour and
worldview. Given their impact and significance, fallow deer have the potential
to provide cultural data of the highest significance to a range of disciplines
and audiences.
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| Holly Miller processing samples at BGS |
One aspect of the project is the investigation of the
biogeography and management of fallow deer through history. For this we are
using a combination of isotope analyses (C, N, Sr, S, O) to look in depth at
the archaeological remains of ancient and modern fallow deer populations.
Stable isotopes, chemical signatures retrieved from the bones and teeth of
archaeological and modern deer, effectively record traces of what and where
individual animals were eating at different points in their lives. This can
help us to look at questions related to the importation of animals, founding
herds and changing management practices. This part of the investigation is
being undertaken at the BGS NIGL facility in Keyworth by the projects
Co-Investigator, Professor Jane Evans, Isotope Geochemist Dr Angela Lamb and
me: Post-Doctoral Researcher Dr Holly Miller.
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'analysis by BGS has shown that this jaw bone, came from an animal that was imported to the Roman Palace at Fishbourne (Sussex) |
Project Website; http://www.fallow-deer-project.net/home
Tweet us @DeerProject
by Holly Miller
ED: Check out the website for their great work... and to read ''The Pooping Deer of Belton' a poem by Ione Jones.
by Holly Miller
ED: Check out the website for their great work... and to read ''The Pooping Deer of Belton' a poem by Ione Jones.
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