Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ZOOCRETE (The ZOOarchaeology of Historical CRETE: A Multiscalar Approach to Animals in Ancient Greece)
Reporting period: 2021-09-01 to 2023-08-31
In the first millennium BCE, communities in the Greek world were transformed from smaller villages to larger citizen states (poleis). One of the most important components to this transition was citizens of these communities joining together in communal feasts. The public sacrifice of animals at sanctuaries and civic city centers was one of the more important rituals that bound these citizens together. Given the quantity of textual evidence for this practice, few assemblages of animal remains have been intensively studied by zooarchaeologists in the historical Greek world and on Crete.
The “Zooarchaeology of Historical Crete: A Multiscalar Approach to Animals in Ancient Greece” (ZOOCRETE) project examined how Cretan communities came together for commensal feasting and residential dining and how the management and consumption of animals underpinned the resilience of Greek citizen states. Our research applies cutting-edge archaeological science methods with an in-depth analysis of ancient Greek history, working at multiple scales from the site to the context or the bone to the biomolecules to reconstruct the composition of animals and dietary signatures of sheep and goats managed at ancient Cretan sites.
The project included a deeply contextualized study of animal remains from several sites across Crete, with a focus on significant assemblages from ancient Azoria and Knossos. Thousands of animal remains were analyzed for evidence of processing and consumption, and selected mandibles and teeth were sampled for isotope analyses. Carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses on mandibular bone and oxygen isotope analyses on tooth enamel revealed the seasonal trends to management strategies that underpinned ancient Greek feasts as a diverse range of practices.
Understanding the economic underpinnings of urbanism in the ancient Greek world helps us understand the range of human-environmental interactions that occurred in the past, informing our own approach to the world.
The project’s main objectives are:
1. Examining the composition of animal remains across ancient Cretan communities, assessing the differences between public feasting, commercial processing, and residential dining.
2. Assessing the lifeways of select individuals through cutting-edge isotope analyses in order to examine the management strategies that underpinned the economies of ancient Cretan communities.
3. Integrating the evidence from archaeological, biomolecular, and textual sources and approaching our study of the ancient world from an interdisciplinary, multi-scalar level in order to understand the nuanced relationships between humans and animals in the ancient Greek world.
The “Zooarchaeology of Historical Crete: A Multiscalar Approach to Animals in Ancient Greece” (ZOOCRETE) project examined how Cretan communities came together for commensal feasting and residential dining and how the management and consumption of animals underpinned the resilience of Greek citizen states. Our research applies cutting-edge archaeological science methods with an in-depth analysis of ancient Greek history, working at multiple scales from the site to the context or the bone to the biomolecules to reconstruct the composition of animals and dietary signatures of sheep and goats managed at ancient Cretan sites.
The project included a deeply contextualized study of animal remains from several sites across Crete, with a focus on significant assemblages from ancient Azoria and Knossos. Thousands of animal remains were analyzed for evidence of processing and consumption, and selected mandibles and teeth were sampled for isotope analyses. Carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses on mandibular bone and oxygen isotope analyses on tooth enamel revealed the seasonal trends to management strategies that underpinned ancient Greek feasts as a diverse range of practices.
Understanding the economic underpinnings of urbanism in the ancient Greek world helps us understand the range of human-environmental interactions that occurred in the past, informing our own approach to the world.
The project’s main objectives are:
1. Examining the composition of animal remains across ancient Cretan communities, assessing the differences between public feasting, commercial processing, and residential dining.
2. Assessing the lifeways of select individuals through cutting-edge isotope analyses in order to examine the management strategies that underpinned the economies of ancient Cretan communities.
3. Integrating the evidence from archaeological, biomolecular, and textual sources and approaching our study of the ancient world from an interdisciplinary, multi-scalar level in order to understand the nuanced relationships between humans and animals in the ancient Greek world.
ZOOCRETE researcher Dr Flint Dibble has examined tens of thousands of animal remains and sampled fifty individuals from Azoria and Knossos each, examining carbon and nitrogen isotopes from mandibular bone collagen and carbon and oxygen isotopes from tooth enamel in order to put together a detailed picture of the production and consumption of animals at these sites.
The major achievements of ZOOCRETE include identifying the ways in which the ancient animal economy underpinned urbanism on Crete, demonstrating that animals that were consumed in the scope of public feasts were processed in amore ostentatious fashion as part of the ritual and derived from communal herds that were managed by specialist herders. These practices contrasted with the contingent management strategies and animal processing that was found at home.
These archaeological and biomolecular studies were assessed through comparison with textual datasets providing a robust picture of ancient Greek humans and their animals. A 2024 publication presented, for the first time, material evidence for a sacrificial ritual found in the ancient Greek Hymn to Hermes. Forthcoming articles assessing biomolecular and zooarchaeological remains address the “agropastoral debate,” demonstrating conclusively that animals were both managed in larger, semi-specialist herds and smaller, variable herds.
Project methods and results have been presented at six international conferences. One project publication has appeared, two have been submitted for review, and three additional publications are in draft stage for submission to leading academic journals.
The major achievements of ZOOCRETE include identifying the ways in which the ancient animal economy underpinned urbanism on Crete, demonstrating that animals that were consumed in the scope of public feasts were processed in amore ostentatious fashion as part of the ritual and derived from communal herds that were managed by specialist herders. These practices contrasted with the contingent management strategies and animal processing that was found at home.
These archaeological and biomolecular studies were assessed through comparison with textual datasets providing a robust picture of ancient Greek humans and their animals. A 2024 publication presented, for the first time, material evidence for a sacrificial ritual found in the ancient Greek Hymn to Hermes. Forthcoming articles assessing biomolecular and zooarchaeological remains address the “agropastoral debate,” demonstrating conclusively that animals were both managed in larger, semi-specialist herds and smaller, variable herds.
Project methods and results have been presented at six international conferences. One project publication has appeared, two have been submitted for review, and three additional publications are in draft stage for submission to leading academic journals.
The methods and results from ZOOCRETE are at the cutting edge of understanding human-environmental interactions in the field of archaeology. MSCA-recipient Dr Flint Dibble received substantive laboratory and research skill training during the fellowship, including comprehensive multi-isotope analysis training at the CUBA laboratory in Cardiff (Figure 1). The protocol developed for sequential sampling of oxygen and carbon from tooth enamel will have a global impact on how other researchers apply this method.
As well, developing skills and experience with public outreach was a significant ambition of the ZOOCRETE project. Hundreds of thousands of people were reached through online science communication: participating on podcasts, posting threads and updates to social media, and creating YouTube videos on archaeological topics. Publicly accessible, online lectures on ZOOCRETE results were delivered for audiences in Europe, North America, and South America, and an innovative online conference, “Zooarchaeology Saves the World,” with materials viewed widely by both scientists and members of the public, was organized by Dr Dibble and other researchers at Cardiff University.
As well, developing skills and experience with public outreach was a significant ambition of the ZOOCRETE project. Hundreds of thousands of people were reached through online science communication: participating on podcasts, posting threads and updates to social media, and creating YouTube videos on archaeological topics. Publicly accessible, online lectures on ZOOCRETE results were delivered for audiences in Europe, North America, and South America, and an innovative online conference, “Zooarchaeology Saves the World,” with materials viewed widely by both scientists and members of the public, was organized by Dr Dibble and other researchers at Cardiff University.