The Zooarchaeology of an Iberian Medieval Jewish Community: The Castle of Lorca (Murcia, Spain) García García, Marcos Eiroa, Jorge A. González Ballesteros, José Ángel Celma Martínez, Mireia Foodways Identity Judaism Kosher Nikkur This research was developed thanks to the Project “Los judíos del Reino de Murcia durante la Baja Edad Media: cultura material, documentos y memoria” (21864/PI/22), funded by Fundación Séneca (Agencia Regional de Ciencia y Tecnología, CARM), and it is framed within the Synergy Project MEDGREENREV funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's HORIZON ERC programme (Grant agreement No. 101071726). The CILANTRO Project (A-HUM-239-UGR23), funded by Consejería de Universidad, Investigacion e Innovacion and by the ERDF Andalusia Program 2021-2027. Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Granada / CBUA. Archaeological excavations at the castle of Lorca (Murcia, Spain) led to the identification of part of the Jewish district of the town. This area, occupied between the 14th and 15th centuries, represents a unique example of a medieval frontier Jewish quarter defined by complex urban planning, a synagogue, and various domestic units. Archaeological work allowed the recovery of a large number of animal remains. This paper deals with the results of the zooarchaeological study of this archaeofaunal assemblage, aiming to shed light on the ways in which animals were exploited, distributed, prepared and consumed by medieval Jewish population of Lorca. The results reveal a model of animal economy centered on the exploitation of caprines (sheep/goat) and, to a lesser extent, cattle, chickens and other secondary species, although the presence of non-kosher species such as pigs and rabbit is noteworthy. The identification of butchery marks attributed to the porging of the hindquarters of caprines, a practice typical of medieval Jewish communities, represents a marker of ethno-religious identity of great historical interest. 2024-11-27T08:07:07Z 2024-11-27T08:07:07Z 2024-11-20 journal article García García, M., Eiroa, J., González Ballesteros, J. and Celma Martínez, M. (2024), The Zooarchaeology of an Iberian Medieval Jewish Community: The Castle of Lorca (Murcia, Spain). International Journal of Osteoarchaeology e3373. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.3373 https://hdl.handle.net/10481/97427 10.1002/oa.3373 eng info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/ERC/101071726 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ open access Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional Wiley