Los dados de Ausa y Mendikute (s. XIII-XIV): la elaboración de objetos lúdicos en hueso en algunas fortificaciones medievales del territorio guipuzcoano
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[1] Universitat de Barcelona
Universitat de Barcelona
Barcelona, España
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- Localización: Munibe Antropologia - Arkeologia, ISSN 1132-2217, Nº 68, 2017, págs. 273-288
- Idioma: español
- Títulos paralelos:
- Dice from Ausa and Mendikute (13th – 14th Centuries): The elaboration of bone game pieces in some medieval fortresses from Gipuzkoa
- Enlaces
- Dialnet Métricas: 3 Citas
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Resumen
- español
El estudio arqueológico de los recintos fortificados de Ausa y Mendikute permitió recuperar una muestra significativa de útiles y complementos óseos correspondientes a la fase final de su ocupación militar. Entre los objetos elaborados en hueso, cabe destacar un conjunto de piezas de carácter lúdico, mayoritariamente dados, así como otros elementos residuales del proceso de elaboración. Dichos testimonios avalan que se trata de una manufactura local realizada por la soldadesca de ambas fortificaciones fronterizas.
- English
The archaeological study of the medieval fortresses of Mendikute and Ausa allowed discovering a significant sample of bone tools and accessories from the final phase of their military occupation. Among these objects made of bone, a set of game pieces mostly including dice has been studied together with other elements related to the manufacturing process. Such evidences suggest that these manufactures where local productions made by the soldiers of both border fortifications. The study presented throughout these paper aims at offering a new data for the increasing of the state-of-the-art with regard to medieval games and leisure activities.
The fortresses of Mendikute (Albiztur, Gipuzkoa) and Ausa (Zaldibia, Gipuzkoa) are set upon the southern area of the historical Gipuzkoan landascape, on the Upper Oria Basin, where the flows of rivers Goierri and Tolosaldea join together. Both fortresses exhibit high similarities with regard to their function, architecture and inner layout. These parallels suggest a most likely coetaneous building within the implantation process of the Navarre kingdom in the Basque Country.
The archaeological materials studied were found at the occupation and destruction layers at both fortresses. The entire assemblage is formed by a set of bone dice and some auxiliary elements for their fabrication. These are bone prismatic bars ready for dice-cutting, bone cubes already cut and prepared for point marking and some remains of scrapped bones where prismatic bars were so far obtained.
The most interesting aspect of these materials is the punctuation of dice, which mostly follows the late medieval convention placing 1 opposite to 6, 2 opposite to 5, and 3 opposite to 4. While this is the normal rule in most individuals, one dice from Mendikute (MEN 525) exhibits wrong punctuation in the form 1/6, 2/3, 4/5. This is not an isolated phenomenon, as some other parallels of erratic punctuation are known, even if they are not tricky dice. Examples of erratic punctuation are those that do not follow the normal rules, but there is no deceit in their fabrication.
The found of auxiliary elements for dice fabrication, which points towards the local production of Ausa and Mendikute’s dice, has also other parallels in the nearby area, the Iberian Peninsula, Southern France or Great Britain, as demonstrated throughout this piece of research.
The process of dice fabrication and their chronology are discussed according to the archaeological and written sources. Archaeological evidence reveals that most of these elements were made of bone, whilst this material is not exclusive as many others are known, such as wood, ivory or stone. The Alphonse X’s Book of Games shows some activities related to dice fabrication beautifully represented in its illuminations. The book itself offers remarkable information about the prescriptions and rules for the placement of the punctuation onto the cubes in late Middle age, which is slightly different from the majoritarian one in ancient times.
To sum up, the study of medieval dice needs a holistic approach including written and archaeological evidence to determine the production processes and rules for game practices. Bone dice found at the medieval fortresses of Ausa and Mendikute, together with the remains of their fabrication, provide some evidence for their local production, probably made by soldiers guarding the border and aiming at amusing themselves in their leisure time.
- euskara
Ausako eta Mendikuteko esparru gotortuen ikerketa arkeologikoaren bidez, haren okupazio militarraren amaierako faseko hezur-osagarri eta tresnen lagin esanguratsua berreskuratu ahal izan da. Hezurrarekin egindako objektuen artean, izaera ludikoko piezen multzoa (batez ere dadoak) eta prestaketa-prozesuko hondakin-elementu batzuk nabarmendu behar dira. Testigantza horiek agerian utzi dute bi gotorleku mugakideetako soldaduek bertan egindako manufaktura direla.
- español
