Descrizione del progetto
Fare luce sul cibo sacrificale nelle società greco-romane
A tutt’oggi, restano delle lacune nelle nostre conoscenze sul sacrificio di animali nelle società classiche, elleniche e romane. Per colmare tali lacune, il progetto SACHROFICS, finanziato dall’UE, condurrà uno studio interdisciplinare sul cibo sacrificale in queste società, al fine di scoprire come venivano trattati gli animali prima, durante e dopo gli eventi sacrificali. Il progetto si avvarrà dell’archeozoologia associata alle analisi degli isotopi stabili, della microusura dentaria e di archeobotanica. Il lavoro svolto dal progetto fornirà una migliore comprensione dell’intera catena di operazioni previste nell’atto sacrificale del cibo e contribuirà ai dibattiti sul ruolo degli alimenti nelle società greco-romane sotto l’aspetto diacronico.
Obiettivo
Animal sacrifice was a major institution for meat distribution in Classical, Hellenistic and Roman societies. Early research suggested that meat consumption was infrequent in the Greco-Roman world but recent zooarchaeological and isotopic data indicate larger quantities from a diverse suite of animals consumed in temple precincts. Sacrificial meat was also consumed in secular contexts but the details are unknown. Despite recent advances, important aspects are in urgent need of investigation through primary data. These include the husbandry systems that produced the animals, the selection process for sacrificed and non-sacrificed animals, the logistics of consumption and differences between religious and secular contexts. Plants also played roles in sacrificial practices and fluctuations in their use is another proxy for cultural and economic change. In addition to these themes, our knowledge of sacrificial food suffers from geographical gaps and a dearth of diachronic studies. Project SACHROFICS addresses these gaps through an interdisciplinary study of sacrificial food in Classical, Hellenistic and Roman Cyprus. This choice covers an important geographic gap, provides an ideal ‘laboratory’ to assess external influences and a cultural melting pot to study the fusion of eastern and Greco-Roman cultures. The project aspires to achieve high-resolution insights into animal treatment before, during and after sacrificial events through a methodological suite spearheaded by zooarchaeology and complemented by stable isotope, dental microwear and archaeobotanical analyses. These insights form a solid basis to fulfil its objective of understanding the entire chain of operations involved in sacrificial food (production, consumption, deposition), and contribute to debates on the role of food in Greco-Roman societies diachronically. The integration of the project’s findings in the eastern Mediterranean amplifies the knowledge produced and increases its relevance to other areas.
Campo scientifico
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinatore
2121 Nicosia
Cipro