Overview

Excavations on the border between Greece (sector Promachon) and Bulgaria (sector Topolnica) in the basin of the river Strymonas, in Macedonia northern Greece, have revealed a 'flat-extended' settlement dating to the Late Neolithic. In addition to the rich array of material culture evidence, the excavation yielded a substantial quantity of animal bones, thus offering an unparalleled opportunity to study the human-animal relationships. This book focuses on the study of the faunal assemblage from the Greek sector of Promachon, and examines the role and the contribution of domestic and wild animals in subsistence. This information is especially valuable considering the scarcity of faunal data from contemporary settlements across the basin of the Strymonas during a time period (the 5th millennium BC) that is considered one of the most dynamic eras in the prehistory of southeastern Europe. This study also clarifies trends in animal management at both the micro and the macro scales, through a detailed comparison of faunal data between Promachon and other contemporary sites from northern Greece and the Balkan regions.

Full Product Details

Author:   George Kazantzis
Publisher:   BAR Publishing
Imprint:   BAR Publishing
Weight:   0.869kg
ISBN:  

9781407316581

ISBN 10:   1407316583
Pages:   200
Publication Date:   30 October 2018
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Mixed media product
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Available To Order  
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Table of Contents

List of Figures List of Tables Abstract Chapter 1 Prologue 1.1 The Neolithic 1.2 The Neolithic of Macedonia 1.2.1 A brief history of the research 1.2.2 The Late Neolithic of Macedonia: Promachon-Topolnica in context Chapter 2 The Site 2.1 Location 2.2 History of the research 2.3 The excavation on Promachon sector 2.3.1 Phase I (Layers 4 to 11) 2.3.2 Phase II (Layers 2 and 3) 2.3.3 Phase III (Layer 1) 2.4 Absolute dating 2.5 Material culture evidence Chapter 3 State of the Art and Aims 3.1 Zooarchaeology in Greece 3.2 Faunal studies in Neolithic Macedonia 3.3 Pilot study and doctoral research: two sides of the same coin 3.4 Aims 3.4.1 General aims 3.4.2 Specific research aims Chapter 4 Methods and Analytical Techniques 4.1 Methodological considerations 4.2 Identification (challenges) 4.3 The recording protocol 4.4 Quantifying the faunal material 4.5 Ageing and sexing 4.6 Pathology, gnawing, burning and butchery Chapter 5 Results 5.1 Breakdown of the faunal material 5.2 Agents affecting the faunal assemblage 5.2.1 Preservation 5.2.2 Retrieval biases 5.2.3 Fragmentation 5.3 Taxa representation 5.4 The human agent: butchery and burning 5.4.1 Butchery marks 5.4.2 Burning 5.5 Body part distribution 5.5.1 Bos taurus body part distribution 5.5.2 Caprinae body part distribution 5.5.3 Sus body part distribution 5.5.4 Cervidae body part distribution 5.5.5 Body part distribution of the remaining fauna 5.6 Contextual distribution 5.6.1 Distribution of the faunal material per context type 5.6.2 Distribution of the three main domesticates per context type 5.6.3 Body part distribution of the three main domesticates per context type 5.6.4 Distribution of taphonomic modifications per context type 5.7 Age-at-death of the three main domesticates 5.7.1 Bos taurus age-at-death 5.7.2 Caprinae age-at-death 5.7.3 Sus age-at-death 5.8 Sexing 5.9 Intra-site analysis 5.9.1 Promachon sector versus Topolnica sector 5.9.2 Structure n. 4 and the rest of deposits of Phase I 5.10 Pathologies 5.11 Metrical analysis 5.11.1 Bos taurus size 5.11.2 Caprinae size 5.11.3 Sus size 5.11.4 Canis familiaris size Chapter 6 Contextualizing Promachon 6.1 From local to regional: assessing the risks and the incompatibilities 6.2 The domestic and the agrion 6.3 Age-at-death of the main domesticates 6.3.1 Bos taurus age-at-death 6.3.2 Caprinae age-at-death 6.3.3 Sus age-at-death 6.4 Metrical analysis 6.4.1 The size of the main domesticates in the wider Late Neolithic context of northern Greece 6.4.2 Contemplating the size of domestic ruminants and pigs during the Late Neolithic of Macedonia and Thessaly Chapter 7 Synthesis 7.1 Putting together the evidence 7.2 Economic considerations 7.2.1 Scale and nature of animal husbandry 7.2.2 The economic importance of cattle 7.2.3 The economic importance of wild resources 7.3 Social and symbolic considerations 7.3.1 Contemplating the social significance of meat consumption in Promachon 7.3.2 The symbolic significance of cattle 7.3.3 The social and symbolic significance of hunting 7.4 Use of space and chronological development 7.4.1 Phase I and structure n. 4 7.4.2 Phase II 7.4.3 Phase III: a time of change? 7.4.4 Human remains 7.4.5 Beyond the site: Macedonia, Thessaly and the Balkans Chapter 8 Epilogue Bibliography Appendix: Animal Bone Material Please note that additional tables of data showing the full ranges of tooth and postcranial measurements for each species are available to download

Reviews

'The data fill the void existing in the region of southeast Europe for this time period. . The subject of the Neolithic of the Balkan Peninsula is important for the whole European continent, as new ways of life from the Near East were transferred to this region first, and then spread out. The role of animal husbandry in this process was of prime importance. This study will be of interest for those researching early stages of animal husbandry throughout the world.' Prof. Vesna Dimitrijevic, University of Belgrade 'The author combines classical archaeozoological research methodology based on morphological animal bone identification with modern insights into taphonomy and subtle cultural interpretations. . This is not only an important contribution to understanding Late Neolithic animal exploitation at an important archaeological site in Greek Macedonia, but also has broader implications for other regions.' Prof. Laszlo Bartosiewicz, Stockholm University 'The quality of the data is very high. . In terms of the time period it covers, the region it focuses on, and the quality of the methods and data, this is a substantial contribution to existing scholarship.' Dr Canan Cakirlar, Groningen Institute of Archaeology, Netherlands

'The data fill the void existing in the region of southeast Europe for this time period. . The subject of the Neolithic of the Balkan Peninsula is important for the whole European continent, as new ways of life from the Near East were transferred to this region first, and then spread out. The role of animal husbandry in this process was of prime importance. This study will be of interest for those researching early stages of animal husbandry throughout the world.' Prof. Vesna Dimitrijevic, University of Belgrade 'The author combines classical archaeozoological research methodology based on morphological animal bone identification with modern insights into taphonomy and subtle cultural interpretations. . This is not only an important contribution to understanding Late Neolithic animal exploitation at an important archaeological site in Greek Macedonia, but also has broader implications for other regions.' Prof. Laszlo Bartosiewicz, Stockholm University 'The quality of the data is very high. . In terms of the time period it covers, the region it focuses on, and the quality of the methods and data, this is a substantial contribution to existing scholarship.' Dr Canan Cakirlar, Groningen Institute of Archaeology, Netherlands

Author Information

George Kazantzis received his PhD in Zooarchaeology in 2015 from the University of Sheffield, UK. He is involved in a number of projects dealing with the study of faunal assemblages from northern Greece, with Neolithic Macedonia as his primary research interest. In recent years he has also been working on prehistoric faunal assemblages from southern Greece and the Cyclades.

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