Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Faunal Economy And Social Complexity

University Of Florida, Gainesville FL

Investigators

Abstract

Complex state level societies are a recent development in human prehistory and archaeologists want to understand how they emerged and functioned. How, for example did hierarchical political and economic structures develop. As this took place how did they function and how were multiple systems integrated? This project addresses these issues directly through the analysis of faunal remains recovered from an Iron Age site. It employs isotopic analysis of animal bone. Isotopic patterns reflect how animals during their lifetime moved across the landscape. Under the direction of Dr. John Krigbaum, Gypsy Price will analyze isotope ratios (delta 13C, 15N, 18O, and 87Sr/86Sr) derived from faunal bones and teeth from disparate socio-economic contexts of the iconic palatial settlement of Mycenae, Greece, during the Late Bronze Age (circa 1600-1150 BC). Historically, Mycenaean economies were characterized as re-distributive systems in which exchange of goods/labor were regulated by a central authority (the palace). Recent investigations challenge these models, noting that they ignore the practical circulation of mundane resources such as subsistence goods, interactions between the non-elite, and site-specific variation. Rather, it is argued that multiple economic systems operated concurrently between palatial and non-palatial settlements. These systems mobilized resources upwards towards palatial settlements in response to political and social strategies (e.g., feasting, production of wealth items, mortuary ostentation, and reverence of divinities/ancestors). This research will contribute a unique, micro-scalar perspective to Mycenaean economy by integrating isotopic data and zooarchaeological analyses to assess patterns of faunal resource use. Material will be sampled from two sites: Petsas House, thought to have operated within an independently provisioned industrial/domestic sphere; and the Cult Center, thought to have operated within a state provisioned religious/cult sphere. Isotopic variation by taxon and excavated context will allow assessment of the management and distribution of exploited faunal resources (e.g., provisioning techniques, seasonal movement, place of birth) to clarify distinct faunal economies within a larger socio-political network. This research will apply social and political economic theory to clarify the interaction between resource production, resource distribution, and political authority. Methods employed will facilitate the construction and testing of nuanced socio-economic networks by using well-excavated faunal remains to augment existing interpretative narratives. Additionally, this study will provide comparative data for dietary and mobility studies of human and faunal remains in the region, as well as contribute methodologically to traditional zooarchaeological analysis by utilizing isotopic ratios to assist in the identification of intra-taxonomic subgroups which were previously unidentifiable. The broader impacts of this research include methodological and theoretical contributions to understanding early complex societies, education and public outreach, and undergraduate and graduate training. This research represents the combined efforts and support of the University of Florida, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Connecticut, the Mycenae Archaeological Museum, the Archaeological Institute of America, and the Archaeological Society of Athens. It calls upon multiple disciplines to generate and interpret data using methods developed in paleontology and geochemistry and theoretical methods based on socio-economic theory. Results from this research will be presented at national and international meetings, integrated into curricula at the University of Florida, University of California, Berkeley, and Thayer Academy in Braintree, MA, presented during field site tours attended by locals and groups affiliated with various educational institutions, and help inform the displays at the Archaeological Museum at Mycenae. Additionally, this research will provide training in analytical and lab techniques geared towards using small samples size to minimize destruction to the archaeological record for undergraduate and graduate students in the Bone Chemistry Lab, Department of Anthropology, University of Florida.