Although traditional demarcations for sacrificial faunal remains among ancient Greek sites—(i) altar offerings; (ii) consumption debris; (iii) butchery refuse—provide a basis for study, the reality is not always so simple. This chapter re-examines the representation of heads and feet within zooarchaeological data for Greek ritual sites in light of the cultural and natural biases that can affect these samples. Attention here focuses upon aspects including (1) taphonomic factors shaping assemblage formation; (2) the association of heads and feet with an animal’s hide, and, in turn, the role of the hide in ritual operations; (3) the relationship between holocaust sacrifice and expected representation of heads and feet; (4) consumption of heads and feet in feasting; (5) symbolism (whether expressed or not) surrounding the use, display or role of animal heads and feet in antiquity. Where possible, comparisons are made with the evidence for heads and feet among non-ritual zooarchaeological assemblages in Greek antiquity to provide a wider context for their distribution among ritual sites and to explore further the relationship between sacred and profane in this respect.

Agriculture is the most important intersection between farming communities and the natural world, with major implications for land exploitation and labour organisation. In Italy, at the heart of the Roman Empire, understanding of agriculture remains heavily dependent on ancient sources, which are unable to provide a regional or diachronic view of practices across the socio-economic spectrum. In order to gain insight into agricultural economies in Roman Italy and their social and environmental implications, this article reconstructs agro-pastoral strategies at an imperial estate in southern Italy through a multi-isotope investigation of livestock bone collagen and tooth enamel. Analysis of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and strontium isotopes (delta 13C, delta 15N, delta 18O, 87Sr/86Sr) are combined to evaluate animal management and mobility at Vagnari vicus and the villa of San Felice in the Basentello Valley. Results reveal taxon-specific herding strategies with the potential for significant inputs from legume forage/fodder and/or natural environments. Caprine herding did not appear to include long-distance transhumance. This analysis moves past previous text-based generalisations to provide a new and nuanced perspective on animal production in rural southern Italy and its economic and environmental implications.

Abstract Zooarchaeology/archaeozoology focuses on the investigation of animals in the past through analysis of recovered faunal remains, largely teeth and bones, from archaeological sites. As such zooarchaeological analyses can disclose much about the animals themselves, the environmental and ecological parameters in which they existed, as well as the cultures that kept, herded, controlled, hunted, manipulated, killed, ate, valued, symbolized, treated, and exploited them. The historical development of zooarchaeological study within classical archaeology showcases its expansion from earlier studies (in the 1970s and 1980s) that concentrated on reconstructing the core economic and ecological roles of animals in antiquity to its current state, which emphasizes more diversified, multidimensional investigations of animals across all spectra and components of ancient life. Key topics of interest in the discipline include ancient husbandry operations; the interaction between animals and ecological settings; the input of meat and other animal foodstuffs in ancient diets; the exploitation of non-consumable animal products, such as bones, hides, and wool in antiquity; breeding regimes and their effects on animals during Greek and Roman times; and the roles and characteristics of work, pet, and sacrificial animals in the past.

Abstract Much has been written about the role of animals in Greco-Roman religion. Arguments surrounding the symbolism inherent in animal sacrifice and the social and political functions these actions served, as well as debates about the secular/sacred nature of meat consumption in antiquity dominate the bulk of this scholarship. Less attention, however, has been placed upon the seemingly practical and economic side to animal sacrifice and ritual. What types of animals were used, and how did this vary among public and private ritual ventures? What costs were involved in maintaining, selecting, acquiring, transporting, processing, and ultimately sacrificing animal victims? Who bore these expenses, and how might these be negotiated among different individuals or networks? How did such costs balance, or otherwise compare, with the ‘benefits’ (be these, tangible/intangible; social/spiritual) that accrued from animal sacrifice? This chapter explores these components through an integrated assessment of ancient textual, iconographical, and zooarchaeological evidence for animal sacrifice in Roman antiquity, with particular focus upon the Mediterranean context. Data reveal relatively cost-effective decisions often underscored the choice of animal sacrificed or dictated the actions involved in feasting upon the victim (in sacrifices involving feasting), or in interring the victim (in some burial and funerary contexts). Pigs and domestic fowl often were central among familial-sponsored rituals, even in areas where cattle or sheep and goats might be more plentiful or important as regards to husbandry and dietary aspects. Larger livestock were typically selected at public events. Finally, the seemingly unremunerative nature of animal burial, notably in the case of whole livestock or cuts of meat that might otherwise be consumed, need not be labelled as such when a broader spectrum of practical and economic factors is considered.

Assessment of zooarchaeological data for the principal livestock (i.e., cattle, sheep, goats and pigs) reveals regional and cultural variability in how animals were manipulated, marketed, bred, and utilized over the course of antiquity. This paper focuses upon those developments, as reconstructed through zooarchaeological frequency and morphometric data for the period from c. 1000 BCE to c. 700 CE. Regionally, North Africa encompasses a vast territory, from Egypt, in the East, to Mauretania, in the West. Ecologically, there are variations within each of these zones. Culturally, moreover, these regions witnessed the introduction and influence of different social and economic agents and factors over the timeframe under investigation. This paper examines patterns in these components in a broad synthetic manner, using zooarchaeological data across the entire expanse of Roman North Africa—from Egypt to Mauretania. Focus centers upon the nature and degree of size and shape changes within the principal livestock, modifications that were in part influenced by aspects such as the scale and pattern in trade, dietary appeal for animal products (notably fatty meats), market demands, ecological adaptations, as well as economic and cultural contact among areas. Key similarities and differences in faunal patterns, across time and space within ancient North Africa, and the links these share with changes in animal husbandry schemes are outlined.

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes of bone collagen, coupled with osteological evidence, are used to examine diet and health at the site of Torre de Palmas, Alto Alentejo, Portugal, a large mixed-economy agricultural estate with a basilica dating to the Late Roman/Late Antiquity era (LRLA, late fourth to seventh centuries CE). Stable isotope ratios from 51 adults indicate a diet based on C 3 plants, plentifully supplemented by protein from terrestrial animals (deer, pigs, sheep/goats), and possibly with minor amounts of a C 4 plant such as millet, or perhaps small amounts of marine foods. There were no significant differences between female and male isotope ratios, and no isotopic evidence for differences in diet between possible high-status LRLA individuals buried in the Capela and those of presumed lower status buried in the adjacent cemeteries. Adult mean stature exceeds means from Late Antiquity, Medieval, and early modern population samples in Portugal, reflecting the protein-rich diet of this unusually tall community. Two adults with atypically positive δ 13 C values may be recent “incomers” from areas where more millet or marine foods were consumed.

In areas where the extent of animal management is debated, stable isotope analysis of animal teeth provides valuable insights into the diet and mobility of herders and their animals. Current research on ancient pastoralism in Thessaly, Greece, is divided over the presence, prevalence, and degree of seasonal livestock movement (transhumance), a discussion often referred to as the agropastoral debate. We present the first application of stable isotope methods to contribute to this discussion, and include a case study from the Hellenistic (323-31 BCE) site of Kastro Kallithea in Thessaly. In particular, we serial sample sheep and goat third molars (M-3) recovered from Building 10 and isotopically analyze the resulting enamel segments to record diet (delta C-13), seasonality (delta O-18), and geolocation (Sr-87/Sr-86). We integrate the use of stable isotope analysis with archaeological, ethnographic, and literary data to examine various management strategies used in Thessaly. We present evidence of sedentary and seasonally mobile management, including the first recorded cases of transhumant animal management in Thessaly from the Hellenistic period. Each management strategy has corresponding impacts on ancient economy, human ecology, land use, and human-animal relationships. Research of this nature has only just started gaining precedence in Greece, but is a valuable tool for studying the spatiotemporal distribution of shepherding and ultimately recording animal management strategies in the Mediterranean.

Drawing upon each, but with particular attention to the ancient textual and zooarchaeological records, this chapter provides an overview of understanding of the contribution of meat and other animal products in the ancient Roman diet. Discussion of the contribution of meat and other animal products in the Roman diet requires, as a foundation, some context about Roman meals. While ancient texts provide a list of different types of animals consumed and parts that were edible, they supply no explicit details about how much and what types of meat, milk, cheese, eggs and other animal resources were eaten, or how contributions varied culturally and temporally. Zooarchaeological evidence indicates that meat was often considered a status item among many ancient cultures. To understand more about the social role of meat in antiquity it is important to consider how fat content in animal products influenced tastes, values, and choices in consumption.

Urban environments host multiple organisms, which interact in myriad ways. Although this may seem obvious, dissecting the complexities surrounding this phenomenon proves challenging. Traditional accounts of the rise of urbanism typically focus upon the ancient Near East. Thereafter, various civilizations emerge in places such as Egypt, the Indus Valley, the Aegean and Mediterranean, China, Mesoamerica, and South America. It is beyond the scope of this chapter to detail developments across each setting; rather, attention here focuses upon urban contexts during Roman antiquity, broadly between c. 500 bc to c. 500 ad. This period certainly cultivates a range of urbanized places (here defined broadly as any nucleated settlement, from large cities, to smaller towns, and including military settlements; for brevity, 'city' is used loosely to collect all 'urbanized' spaces under one term) which variously may experience processes of evolution, development, transformation, disintegration, and decline. Within such settings, however, regardless of size or character, reside both humans and non-humans. But, who is influencing whom, and in what ways? How might incorporation of a multi- and inter-species perspective yield insight into the wider realm of ecological and cultural operations, attitudes, and behaviors among occupants—human and non-human? These questions shape the agenda, explored largely using zooarchaeological evidence from ancient urban sites (including Pompeii, Ostia, Athens, Carthage).