CROW - CultuRal co-evOlution of corvids: Winged omens of the times

Corvids – birds of the crow family, including ravens, crows, jackdaws, magpies, jays and choughs – are among the most ubiquitous and intelligent birds in the world. Their adaptability to anthropogenic environments and omnivorous scavenging makes them commensal and synanthropic species in both urban and rural settings. Their frequent proximity to humans has enabled deep sociocultural attachments as well as cultural co-evolution. However, this proximity has also created conflict: corvid persecution in England today is controversial and commonly assumed to be ancient tradition. To assess the validity of this assumption, this thesis investigates human-corvid interactions in England from Palaeolithic to present. By combining avian ecology, historical literature, art historical context, artefactual representation, archaeological presence, zooarchaeological analysis and isotopic data, it provides a detailed diachronic analysis that reveals how attitudes to corvids have changed through time. This study determined that vilification and intentional killing of corvids is far more modern than previously assumed. Furthermore, this recent historic bias against corvids has obscured a wealth of fascinating and positive interactions from our deeper heritage. Incorporation of wild and pet corvids into anthropogenic settings throughout the Iron Age and Roman periods likely encouraged urban adaptation and modified corvids’ ecological niches, with sociocultural significance persisting into the medieval periods. Perceived conflict over protection of human food sources motivated exaggerated accusations against all corvids in the 16th century, establishing them as vermin and encouraging widespread persecution; intentional corvid killing heightened further following popularisation of gamekeeping in the 18th century. Many of the historical allegations against corvids persist within modern persecution narratives despite ecological evidence objecting to the necessity of widespread corvid extermination. This thesis concludes that understanding the origins of historic biases allows us to question the validity of past and present motivations for corvid persecution. Archaeological evidence enables us to assess the impacts of previous campaigns of corvid killing on species’ geographic distributions, while highlighting ancient positive human-corvid relationships lets us celebrate how these birds are and have always been part of our culture.<p></p>

Author dc:creator

• Riley Smallman (21058283)

• archaeology
• corvids
• England
• persecution
• ecology
• zooarchaeology
• dietary isotopes
• iconography
• history

Statement dc:rights

• All rights reserved
• Embargoed

Identifier

10779/exe.32076525.v1

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:figshare.com:article/32076525