Production and Consumption of Animals in Roman Italy

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Michael MacKinnon, The Production and Consumption of Animals in Roman Italy: Integrating the Zooarchaeological and Textual Evidence (Portsmouth, RI: Journal of Roman Archaeology, 2004)

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Different from the other suggestions included here as it takes a “hard science” approach to the raising of animals and eating of animals in ancient Rome. Not exactly a “good read,” nonetheless, it provides a great deal of solid evidence for Roman farming practices and preferences for the raising and eating of cows, pigs, sheep, and goats. The really great thing, however, is how MacKinnon brings together the “scientific” evidence of animal bones with the “literary” evidence available in Greek and Roman texts. We need a lot more work that crosses disciplinary lines even just within the field of Classics itself. - SUSAN A. CURRY