Milking

Scope note:

“Milking” denotes the intentional and managed harvesting of milk from domestic animals including sheep and cattle. Milking practices may involve the selective management of parts of the animal population. Milking activities may be communal or individual. Key sources of evidence include zooarchaeological assessments of animal population profiles and documentary discussion.

Examples:

• Milking may be associated with the construction and use of task specific structures including sel and sheilings.

• Milk production and exchange may be reflected in the use and disposal of task specific containers and tools.

• Specific age and sex profiles of sheep populations near farm buildings, evidenced through zooarchaeological study, may suggest milking was an important economic activity in that location.

  References to discussions of milking:

• Hambrecht, G. (2009). Zooarchaeology and the archaeology of early modern Iceland. Journal of the North Atlantic, 2(sp1), 3-22.

• Harrison, R. (2009). The Gásir Area A Archaeofauna: An Update of the Results from the Faunal Analysis of the High Medieval Trading Site in Eyjafjörður, N Iceland (No. 44). NORSEC Zooarchaeology Laboratory Report.

CIDOC CRM mappings:

• E7