Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SACHROFICS (Sacrificial food in Classical, Hellenistic and Roman Cyprus: an interdisciplinary diachronic approach in an island laboratory.)
Reporting period: 2021-11-01 to 2024-10-31
The archaeology of food is a major research field and remains of food preparation and consumption give valuable glimpses into past societies, but major knowledge gaps exist even for well-known societies such as ancient Greece and Rome. Project SACHROFICS investigates the role of food and more specifically sacrificial meat, in the societies developed in Cyprus during the Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods (450 BCE-400 CE). Spearheaded by zooarchaeology (the study of ancient animal remains) and complemented by the study of microwear on animal teeth and archaeobotanical data (ancient plant remains), SACHROFICS generates high-resolution insights on cultural, political, social and economic dynamics as reflected in sacrificial practices. For the first time, analysis of eastern Mediterranean faunal assemblages elucidates the production, distribution and deposition of sacrificial meat remains. Food, beyond sustenance and health, offers an arena for individuals, social groups and entire societies to negotiate social, economic and political relations. The democratic ideals and civic values bequeathed to us by the Greco-Roman world were mediated through sacrifice, which is thus a vital part of our European heritage. With its study, SACHROFICS enriches our understanding of the origins of contemporary society. Thysia (‘Olympian’ sacrifice) in particular (the burning of femur/tail bones in fat), was the main public institution for distributing meat in Classical cities and their Hellenistic and Roman successors. Meat was politically and socially important, sparking debates on frequency, scale, contexts of its consumption and role in levelling or re-affirming status. These debates have been dominated by literary sources, but SACHROFICS provides scrutiny of those sources with data based on the study of animal remains in sanctuaries. In addressing these gaps, SACHROFICS focuses on the production, distribution and consumption of sacrificial meat in Cyprus (450 BCE-400 CE). Its broad chronological span is balanced by its geographical focus, zooarchaeological core and interdisciplinary approach. The large volume of zooarchaeological data collected document clear differences between secular and ritual contexts in human-animal interactions, as well as important differences in the practices between different sanctuaries. This is also supported by dental microwear analysis (i.e. the diet of animals before sacrifice), as well as data from neighbouring geographical areas. Integration with archaeobotany, human osteology, literary evidence, and studies of sacrificial food in the eastern Mediterranean contributes a fuller, more balanced picture and integrates Cyprus in her wider region.
During project SACHROFICS several thousand animal remains from seven archaeological sites have been studied zooarchaeologically in detail. The analysis of zooarchaeological data has shown that there are significant and interesting differences between secular and sacrificial contexts, such as in taxonomic composition (less animal species present in sanctuaries), age-at-death (younger animals sacrificed in sanctuaries). Important differences are also detected between different sanctuaries, usually depending on the deity worshipped but also the context of each sanctuary (e.g. rural vs urban). Also, selected samples of sheep and goat teeth (the most common animal species in Cyprus diachronically) have been analysed for dental microwear with interesting results showing differences between sheep and goat and between different individual animals, raising the possibility for special 'treatment' of animals destined for sacrifice in sanctuaries. These results are also being currently integrated with archaeobotanical data to achieve a more nuanced understanding of what plants were used inside and outside sanctuaries in conjunction with animal husbandry and human-animal interactions within sanctuaries. Several written publications on the zooarchaeology of Cyprus have already been published and several more are currently being produced on different aspects of the interactions between people and animals within and out of ancient sanctuaries. Among them are articles in a new Encyclopedia of Archaeology, an osteobiography of an ancient dog and detailed analyses on the lives and deaths of sacrificial victims in ancient sanctuaries. These results have also been disseminated in several international conferences and workshops, as well as a multitude of public outreach activities such as TV shows, podcasts, social media posts, live events and even an experimental pyre open to the public (see image at the end)!
The implementation of project SACHROFICS has delivered a novel methodological suite to the archaeological research ecosystem of Cyprus. The results of the project have shed light into human behaviour in the context of ritual and religion, which in turn contributes to the understanding of the world we live in today. This understanding promotes tolerance and respect of religious/cultural differences, as well as a deeper understanding of the interplay between religion, politics, economics and other aspects of human existence in the present and the past. Project SACHROFICS highlights that human ritual behaviour is also informed by environmental, economic and culinary factors and traditions. Overall, the project has advanced significantly the level of zooarchaeological research conducted in Cyprus, introduced new methodological tools and approaches and, through an extensive public outreach programme, has disseminated new knowledge far and wide in the wider society.