While food studies have long been part of archaeological research, they have only recently entered the archaeology of the Islamic world. The archaeology of food and cooking has been primarily based on botanical analysis of kitchen waste and formal stylistic ceramic analysis of cooking wares, with the aim to describe in broad terms diet and consumption. We know very little, however, about actual practice: how people prepared food, why they chose the ingredients they did, and how the household kitchen functioned on a daily basis. This essay is a study of evolving cooking practices at the Transjordanian site of Tall Ḥisbān through the life history of a single cook pot in its larger setting, pulling on the analysis of the well-preserved botanical remains of the pot’s associated fill, materials analysis of the vessel, and a critical reading of Arabic cooking manuals of the period. Macrobotanical, phytolith, starch, residue, isotope, and use-wear analyses together reconstruct cooking conditions (cooking temperature and time, fuel used), ingredients and seasoning, and special characteristics of the cooking vessel. The article, further, compares 13th-century practices to later periods at the site, which have been more extensively studied and reflect a more urban culture, as well as spatial distribution of activities related to food preparation.
During Classical and Hellenistic times, mainland Greece witnessed profound historical and sociopolitical changes, including warfare, urbanization, and extensive exchange networks that shaped the broader Graeco-Roman world. Boeotia played an active role in these developments, with Thebes emerging as a major regional power until its destruction by Alexander the Great in 335 bce. Following this event, its population was displaced to adjacent cities, with some returning after Thebes was rebuilt by Kassandros two decades later, whereas Macedonian and later Roman presence in the area further contributed to population movements. These sociopolitical dynamics make Thebes an ideal case for studying human mobility in the region. This study employs biodistance analysis based on dental nonmetric and metric data to examine the degree of phenotypic heterogeneity within the NE cemetery of Thebes across the Classical and Hellenistic periods. The study also explores intracemetery biological kinship patterns and evaluates whether biological relatedness influenced burial organization and whether a common lifestyle was shared among biological relatives. Results indicate only limited phenotypic differentiation between periods, suggesting that population movement had a modest effect on the local gene pool and/or that exogamy was restricted. Furthermore, no particular association was found between biological relatedness and burial proximity, implying that kinship likely extended beyond immediate biological ties to include extended, social, or fictive kin relationships. The analysis of skeletal biomarkers showed no significant differences between closely or distantly related individuals, suggesting broadly similar lifestyles. Overall, the findings indicate that although biological relatedness contributed to identity formation, it had limited influence on lived experiences or burial organization in the cemetery.
Donnees scientifiques produites :Thasos SIG par EFASIG de Thasos Chroniques de l’EfA :Thasos, Abords Nord de l'Artemision Comme les rapports precedents, celui-ci rend compte en une fois de deux campagnes, d’etude et restauration uniquement desormais : en effet, l’equipe est engagee maintenant dans la preparation de la publication de la demeure protobyzantine DOM5 (architecture et trouvailles mobilieres) et des etats anterieurs sous la forme d’une monographie destinee a la collection des Etude...
Data related directly to the First Plague Pandemic [FPP] (541–750 CE) in the Byzantine Empire has been gathering for over a century. Initially, only textual evidence was used, resulting in varied interpretations. In recent decades, however, a wider range of materials from natural sciences and archaeology has been included in FPP reconstructions. The methods used to analyze and interpret these data differ across disciplines and have varying levels of margin of error. The cross-disciplinary use of such data, still in early development, has produced interpretations that are sometimes debated, mainly due to a lack of familiarity and ongoing communication among relevant fields. Even within the same dataset, like written sources, the persistent use of significantly different approaches has resulted in various FPP reconstructions. Our goal is to change that by reexamining both the original data from the eastern and central Mediterranean from the mid-sixth to the mid-eighth century and the methods behind them. We explore new data and apply methods from a broad range of disciplines to identify gaps and uncertainties and suggest ways to address them.
Phytolith analysis conducted at the pre-pottery Neolithic site of Aşıklı Höyük has revealed the common use of basketry and plant fibre matting in domestic and burial contexts. The analysis focused on phytolith traces that preserve the shape of the original artefact on the surface of human skeletons buried below house floors, baskets from houses and burials, as well as within the perforated areas of beads that decorated the skeletons. This article presents results on the plant raw materials used and the fibre production techniques employed. The social customs and the fashion of the time were also investigated. The results show that the mats recovered in almost all the archaeological layers of the site were manufactured from the stems and leaves of common reed (Phragmites australis), following the same tradition through time. Reed leaf fibres seem to have been used for stringing the beads of a necklace that was found on an infant skeleton. For the mats, the makers applied a tabby technique in most cases, and they employed a variety of patterns to create more complex textures. Special care in the mat weaving is indicated only for the material encasing the infant burials. For the baskets, the makers adopted different techniques and plant materials, depending on the use and needs as well as plant availability. These methods involved coiling and plaiting of reeds (Arundinoideae), sedges (Cyperaceae) and grasses (Gramineae), as well as a combination of common reed stems and ash (Fraxinus sp.) branches.
