Indirect Evidence of Falconry in Medieval Poland as Inferred from Published Zooarchaeological Studies

• Published in: International Journal of Osteoarchaeology
• Main Authors: Bochenski, Z. M., Tomek, T., Wertz, K., Wojenka, M.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2015
• Subjects: Accipiter gentilis; Haliaeetus albicilla; White-tailed eagle
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/oa.2457; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Foa.2457; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/oa.2457

Abstract Although written sources indicate that falconry or hawking was very popular already in early medieval Poland, there is no hard zooarchaeological evidence that would support it. So far, only two studies based on animal remains suggested hawking in medieval Poland. The purpose of this study was to examine all published zooarchaeological reports from all archaeological sites in Poland and check for possible clues of hawking. Altogether, 281 remains of 12 species of diurnal birds of prey were recorded from 38 sites (49 time‐site units) in Poland beginning from the Middle Ages onward. The most frequently found was the goshawk Accipiter gentilis followed by the white‐tailed eagle Haliaeetus albicilla and the sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus . Clues of possible hawking include high status of sites, occurrence of species used in falconry outside their natural ranges, preponderance of females, the presence of sub‐adult specimens and others. It is suggested that surface damage observed on prey bones done by the hawks' beaks and claws may be an extra evidence of hawking. The present study strongly supports the notion that hawking was a very popular activity in medieval Poland. In the future, medieval bone assemblages should always be checked for clues of hawking. The present study may also be used as a source of raw data for other analyses because it includes detailed information on birds of prey from all zooarchaeological reports published so far in Poland. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.