Katie Tardio

Feeding Tarraco: The Animal Economy of Hispania Tarraconensis

This project investigates the animal economy of Hispania Tarraconensis, focusing on Tarraco (modern Tarragona, Spain) from the 1st-4th centuries CE. By analyzing animal bone specimens from archaeological sites, I explore how urban and rural communities navigated Roman influences through dietary patterns, economic strategies, and social dynamics. The findings challenge the idea of a uniform Roman diet, revealing early imports of fallow deer that reflect shifts in dietary practices and social stratification. This project contextualizes Tarraco’s data within broader regional and imperial trade networks, enhancing our understanding of food accessibility and community agency in a multicultural Roman settlement.

Katie Tardio is an Assistant Professor of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies at Bucknell University, where her research focuses on the archaeology of the Roman provinces. Specifically, she studies human-animal relations through zooarchaeology to gain insight into daily life and lived experience in the ancient world. Her work investigates urban and domestic foodways, trade, and cultural, socio-economic, and gender disparities in the Roman world. Katie received her PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2023 and her research has been supported by Fulbright, Wenner-Gren, and the Archaeological Institute of America. Currently, Katie is the faunal analyst for the following archaeological excavations: the Athenian Agora (Athens, Greece), the Casa della Regina Carolina (CRC) Project, (Pompeii, Italy), Project I.14 (Pompeii, Italy), and the Gardens of the Hesperides Archaeological Project (Larache, Morocco).