Tracking down the first chefs

Archaeological sites speak about the everyday lives of people in other times. Yet knowing how to interpret this reality does not tend to be straightforward. We know that Palaeolithic societies lived on hunting and gathering, but the bones found in prehistoric settlements are not always the food leftovers of the societies that lived in them. Or they are not exclusively that. Peoples of this type were nomads and used to be constantly on the move across the territory, so other predators, such as hyenas or wolves, lurking around in search of food remains left by humans would be a common occurrence. Or even at a specific moment, carnivores could have sheltered in a cave abandoned by Prehistoric peoples and there raise their puppies and bring in the bones of the animals caught to feed them. These predators used to bite the bones leaving their teeth marks on them.

A piece of experimental research has shown that human bites on bones have distinctive features 
allowing them to be differentiated from the bites made by other animals, and that cooking the meat
 in advance influences the appearance of these marks. This study provides valuable conclusions
 for analyzing food remains found on sites [Credit: Antonio J. Romero/UPV/EHU]

So it is very difficult to identify, for example, a roasted shoulder of mouflon eaten several thousand years ago from a few bone fragments that remain of it today. To be able to identify cases like this one, a novel way is to analyse the marks that we humans leave on bones when eating meat today. Human beings not only alter the bones when using stone knives on them and exposing them to fire to cook them, but like other animals, we also leave bite marks on the surface of the bone when we remove the meat to feed ourselves.

In this respect, the researcher at the UPV/EHU's Department of Geography, Prehistory and Archaeology of the Faculty of Arts Antonio J. Romero has led a piece of experimental research in which ninety lamb bones -- phalanges, radii and scapulae -- were studied and the meat of which was consumed by ten volunteers using only hands and teeth. To control the variables resulting from the processing of the food beforehand, a third of the sample was eaten raw, another third roasted and the rest boiled.

What did they eat and how?

The results, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, show that over half of the bones bore the marks of human bites, teeth marks as well as fractures caused by chewing. These marks, analysed under a binocular magnifying glass have a set of characteristics (size and morphology) that allows them to be differentiated from those produced by other animals. Furthermore, as the researcher explained, "although the men produced more marks than the women, according to these data, it is not possible as yet to differentiate between them." On the other hand, cooking the meat beforehand affects the appearance of marks: "the teeth marks tend to appear more regularly in the roasted or boiled specimens," pointed out the researcher, "while the damage on the tips, edges and crushing tends to be more usual in the bones eaten raw."

"There are various similar studies that have explored in depth the damage caused by animals on bones when feeding, but not dealing with the marks that we humans leave behind," explained Antonio Romero. Studies of this type have a clear application in the analysis of archaeological remains, in particular for historical eras. So in each case a whole set of characteristics is studied, such as the location of the damage left on the bones, its morphology and dimensions, which is not always easy to apply to the archaeological record, but "together with other prints of human activity that are more reliable, such as the marks of stone knives, etc., it is possible to complete the interpretation," he insisted. This research constitutes a real breakthrough in the possibility of finding out what kind of meat foods hominids consumed and in what circumstances (whether or not they cooked the meat before they ate it). "It allows us to find out more about human beings in the past and the origin of our modern behaviour, about the way we process foods (cooking them or not) and about our way of eating," he concluded.

Source: University of the Basque Country [August 02, 2016]

Tracking down the first chefs

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Ancient underwater city of Pavlopetri at risk

�The community is the best guardian for Pavlopetri and it needs to be helped,� says Dr Nicholas Flemming, a marine geo-archaeologist at the Institute of Oceanography at the University of Southampton.

Pavlopetri was listed on the 2016 World Monuments Watch in October 2015 
[Credit: Kathimerini]

Flemming was the first to discover, in 1967, the Bronze Age city of Pavlopetri, underwater off the coast of southern Laconia in the Peloponnese. He recently went back to the site he first explored almost half a century ago, to observe the delineation of the underwater archaeological site.

Pavlopetri was listed on the 2016 World Monuments Watch in October 2015. Launched in 1996, the World Monuments Watch is issued every two years by the World Monuments Fund, an independent organization devoted to saving the world�s treasured places. The listing of Pavlopetri, it is believed, will help raise awareness about the threats facing the site and foster public participation in its protection.

Underwater ruins face three kinds of threats, says Barbara Euser, president of the Greek chapter of the Alliance for the Restoration of Cultural Heritage (ARCH), which promoted the nomination of Pavlopetri on the World Monuments Watch list: first, pollution caused by commercial ships; second, shifting sediment caused by smaller boats traveling over the archaeological remains can damage the foundations and walls; a third threat is looting of findings from the sea floor.

Flemming and Despina Koutsoumba, an archaeologist at the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities, recently organized an underwater tour at the site. �Some walls can be seen at a depth of half a meter,� Koutsoumba said.

Meanwhile, the Ephorate, the Municipality of Elafonisos and the Regional Authority of the Peloponnese, recently joined forces to promote the site by installing underwater signs, handing out informative material, preparing a waterproof map and designing a tour for visitors.

Creating a sea park is a possibility, Flemming says, adding, however, that authorities should be extremely careful about how they run a Bronze Age underwater site so as to prevent any damage.

Early research at Pavlopetri was carried out in the late 1960s by a team of archaeologists from Cambridge University who mapped the ancient city. About four decades after the first divers visited Pavlopetri, interest in the site resurfaced. In 2009 the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities of the Greek Ministry of Culture, the Hellenic Center for Maritime Research and the University of Nottingham launched a five-year project to outline the history and development of Pavlopetri.

Having explored about 400 underwater archaeological sites, Flemming believes that Pavlopetri still holds many secrets. The city was gradually covered by water thousands of years ago as the sea level rose due to earthquakes and the end of the ice age. However, he says, the ancient city serves as a model of a fishing village that was turned into a port and commercial center, well protected from the natural environment.

�Seamen never make a mistake when they pick a port,� Flemming says. �And that was true five thousand years ago.�

Author: Sakis Ioannidis | Source: Kathimerini [August 01, 2016]

Ancient underwater city of Pavlopetri at risk

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2016 excavation results at the Late Bronze Age site of Dromolaxia-Vizakia

The Department of Antiquities of the Republic of Cyprus announced that, during five weeks in May and June 2016, the New Swedish Cyprus Expedition, headed by Professor Peter M. Fischer (University of Gothenburg), carried out excavations at the Late Bronze Age site of Dromolaxia-Vizakia (Hala Sultan Tekke), close to Larnaca International Airport and the famous homonymous mosque.

Mycenaean crater [Credit: Peter M. Fischer]

The excavations continued to expose City Quarter 1 (CQ1). There are three city quarters (CQ1-3) in the northern and north-western part of Hala Sultan Tekke, the size of which may have been as large as 50 hectares. These three city quarters are separated from each other by streets. Based on the pottery, the life span of this Late Bronze Age city was from roughly 1600 BC to 1150 BC. At around the mid-12th century BC the city was destroyed and abandoned, never to be occupied again.

Aerial photograph of excavated areas (from west to east): Area 6W (2015) with the defence wall north 
of the white and west of the black car; Area 6W (2013-15) in centre; Area 6 (2010-12) to the east 
[Credit: Peter M. Fischer]

The extension of CQ1 was guided by the results of three sophisticated ground penetrating radar and magnetometer surveys. These surveys were carried out within the framework of a collaborative project between the University of Gothenburg and the University of Vienna, the team of the latter headed by Dr. Immo Trinks. The georadar results, which were supported by magnetometer measurements, suggested that the already exposed stone-built compound in CQ1 continued further south, i.e. outside the previously fenced Area 6. Consequently, the fence was moved 15 m to the south in order to completely expose CQ1.

Radar image of the new city quarter to the west 
[Credit: I. Trinks/K. L�cker/R. Totschnig]

The preliminary results from 2016 (and earlier years) point to three occupational phases in CQ1: Stratum 1 (most recent), 2 and 3. Unfortunately, farming activity has affected Stratum 1. According to the pottery, the uppermost two strata date to the 12th century BC. However, 13 radiocarbon dates of samples were taken from these two strata, which indicate that these dates could be raised to the second half of the 13th century BC or, at the latest, shortly after 1200 BC. These results demonstrate, once again, that both occupational phases ended with catastrophic events as indicated by layers of ash and shattered architectural structures.

Mycenaean Chariot crater with woman dressed in Minoan fashion 
[Credit: Peter M. Fischer]

The structures found in Stratum 1 indicate that the area was used for the storage of grain and liquids and the remains of several large pithoi (storage vessels) were recorded. Evidence also shows that working and cooking took place on-site. A bath tub of fired clay was used during this phase of occupation. Amongst the more spectacular finds from this phase is an Egyptian-made, faience button. Stratum 2, which is in a much better state of preservation, consists of several well-constructed rooms. Amongst the building elements are (reused) ashlar blocks of stone. Finds from Stratum 2 include several wall brackets and Mycenaean-imported pottery of which only minor quantities were uncovered. Below Stratum 2 lie large walls, proving the existence of an even older phase of occupation. At present, there is no detailed information concerning Stratum 3.

Egyptian faience button  [Credit: Peter M. Fischer]

Parallel with the excavation in the city, additional excavations took place in Area A. This area, where excavations were carried out during previous years (2013-2015), is roughly 500 m east of CQ1 and close to the mosque of Hala Sultan Tekke. Again, the decision of where to excavate was guided by geophysical prospecting which demonstrated the presence of 83 "pits" within an area of one hectare. Previous excavations have shown that these "pits" are ancient wells, tombs and offering pits which all are dated to the Late Cypriot period (1500-1200 BC). Two of the pits excavated this year were wells (Pits S and T). Pit V turned out to be an offering pit, in the shape of a lying "8". It contained a large amount of sophisticated pottery (roughly 70 vessels), much of which was Mycenaean-imported. However, no skeletal remains were found so the preliminary interpretation is that it was an offering pit. Amongst the vessels are some rare chariot kraters of exceptional quality and a krater with the image of a woman clothed in a sophisticated long dress of Minoan fashion. This offering pit has preliminarily been dated to the 14th century BC.

Syrian cylinder seal of haematite [Credit: Peter M. Fischer]

Pit X turned out to be a very rich, possibly family, tomb. Like Pit V, this tomb is also in the shape of a double-pit resembling a lying "8". The disorder amongst the huge mass of finds and the skeletal remains of this tomb indicated that it was reopened at some point in antiquity. The pottery repertoire consisted of roughly 70 complete vessels, among which were vessels of Base-ring ware, White Slip I and II wares, Red-Lustrous Wheel-made spindle bottles and bowls and numerous Mycenaean imports. Amongst the latter is a jug dated to Late Helladic IIA (roughly 15th century BC) which would make it one of the earliest Mycenaean imports to Cyprus. Other finds include jewellery, such as earrings, beads and a decorated headband, as well as numerous carnelian beads.

Scarab with the cartouche of Thutmosis III (1479-1425 BC) 
[Credit: Peter M. Fischer]

Amongst several scarabs are two which are mounted in a metal frame, one of which is of steatite and the other of faience. The steatite scarab has white inlays for the eyes which is very rare. This scarab is incised with the hieroglyphic signs "men-chepher-re" together with the image of the pharaoh to the left: this arrangement corresponds to the cartouche of Tuthmosis III (1479-1425 BC). Another find, which should be mentioned, is a complete bronze dagger. The team�s preliminary conclusion is that the family tomb and the offering pit, both of the same shape of a lying "8", are associated with each other.

Red lustrous wheel-made spindle bottle 
[Credit: Peter M. Fischer]

The 2016 excavation results confirm that the architectural remains in the settlement in and around Area 6 (CQ1-3, and Area 8 and annexes) date to the 13th-12th Centuries BC, but the pottery from Stratum 3 seems to be older. However, the pits, tombs and wells, recorded in Area A, are of much earlier date (15th-13th Centuries BC), which raises the question of where the settlement was. Additional geophysical prospecting in the area between Area 6 and A followed by excavations could possibly provide an answer to this question.

Source: Press and Information Office, Republic of Cyprus [August 01, 2016]

2016 excavation results at the Late Bronze Age site of Dromolaxia-Vizakia

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