This paper examines archaeological bird bones from Viljandi – one of the strongest centres in prehistoric and medieval Estonia – and covers material from the Late Iron Age to Early Modern Period, c. 950–1700. Over 5000 bird bones were analysed in this study. Our main aim was to explore the role of birds in people's diet and its relevance to social status, but also to explore the birds' habitats and environmental background, including commensalism and seasonal occurrence. This study highlighted differences between the four areas of Viljandi – the prehistoric rural settlement, historic castle, town, and suburb. We discuss diachronic trends in the utilisation of birds in these areas, largely determined by the 13th century Baltic Crusades and the transition from the Prehistoric to the Middle Ages, but also by population expansion and the social divergence that followed. In Prehistory, we witnessed more chicken exploitation, while wild birds seem to have played a smaller role. In the Historic Period, on the contrary, the utilised species are more diverse – probably to manifest social status. The main use of birds was for meat, eggs, and other products. Some species might have been used for hawking.

本文研究了来自维尔扬迪（Viljandi）的考古鸟类骨骼——史前和中世纪爱沙尼亚最强大的中心之一——并涵盖了从铁器时代晚期到现代早期的材料，c。950–1700。在这项研究中分析了 5000 多根鸟骨头。我们的主要目的是探索鸟类在人们饮食中的作用及其与社会地位的相关性，同时也探索鸟类的栖息地和环境背景，包括共生性和季节性发生。这项研究强调了维尔扬迪四个地区之间的差异——史前农村定居点、历史城堡、城镇和郊区。我们讨论了这些地区鸟类利用的历时趋势，主要取决于 13 世纪的波罗的海十字军东征和从史前时代到中世纪的过渡，但也受到人口扩张和随之而来的社会分化的影响。在史前史中，我们目睹了更多对鸡的剥削，而野鸟似乎发挥了较小的作用。相反，在历史时期，被利用的物种更加多样化——可能是为了体现社会地位。鸟类的主要用途是肉类、蛋类和其他产品。有些物种可能已被用于贩卖。