Global Integrative Studies, School of
Date of this Version
2018
Document Type
Article
Citation
Environmental Archaeology (2018) 23(1): 47-55.
doi: 10,1080/14614103.2017.1349027
Abstract
Barbuda and Antigua’s national animal is the fallow deer, Dama dama dama, a species native to the eastern Mediterranean that has been transported around the world by people during the last 8000 years. The timing and circumstances by which fallow deer came to be established on Barbuda are currently uncertain but, by examining documentary, osteological and genetic evidence, this paper will consider the validity of existing theories. It will review the dynamics of human–Dama relationships from the 1500s AD to the present day and consider how the meaning attached to this species has changed through time: from a symbol of colonial authority and dominance, to a ‘walking larder’ after the slave emancipation of 1834, and now an important part of the island’s economy and cultural heritage that requires careful management.
Included in
Animal Studies Commons, Archaeological Anthropology Commons, Biodiversity Commons, Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons, Geography Commons, International and Area Studies Commons
Comments
Copyright 2018, the authors. Open access material.
License: CC BY 4.0.
Published by Routledge/Taylor & Francis.