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Hellenistic Dietary Reconstruction and Population Mobility at the Site of New Halos, Thessaly, Greece

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Hellenistic Dietary Reconstruction and Population Mobility at the Site of New Halos, Thessaly, Greece Taking a Bite out of History: Hellenistic Dietary Reconstruction and Population Mobility at the Site of New Halos, Thessaly, Greece by Hillary Anne Sparkes A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology University of Alberta © Hillary Anne Sparkes, 2017 Abstract The Hellenistic site of New Halos in Thessaly Greece was founded around 302 BC and was occupied for a short period of time until it was destroyed by an earthquake. The short occupation makes New Halos an ideal site for study because it represents a snapshot of rural Hellenistic life. Both the site of New Halos and an associated Hellenistic cemetery were excavated prior to this research. Skeletal remains from 98 individuals were collected for stable isotope analysis. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes from bone collagen and enamel carbonate were used to analyze diet composition. Mobility patterns were studied using strontium and oxygen isotopes from enamel apatite. The goals of this study were to investigate dietary habits at New Halos and understand dietary preferences. This study evaluated the importance of marine resources at New Halos. New Halos is situated close to the coast and during the excavations many marine shellfish were recovered suggesting they were an important dietary resource. The majority of the individuals at New Halos were consuming a C3 terrestrial based diet. Some individuals showed signs of marine input while others appear to have consumed a diet whose protein was drawn primarily from domesticated animal products. A second thread of investigation involved examining migration patterns and population composition. During the Hellenistic period many new settlements were established, but it is unclear where the population of these new settlements came from. The strontium and oxygen isotope results were able to identify that the population of New Halos was a mixture of both local and non‐local individuals. It appears that the majority of non‐local individuals were from areas to the west of New Halos towards the Othris mountain chain; others could have come from further afield. The isotopic investigation at New Halos has provided exciting results about this population. ii Preface This thesis is an original work by Hillary A. Sparkes. The research project, of which this thesis is a part, received research ethics approval from the University of Alberta Research Ethics Board. “Taking a Bite out of History: Dietary Reconstruction and Population Mobility at the site of New Halos, Thessaly, Greece. No. 18071, 5 June 2012. iii Acknowledgements This PhD has been a long time coming and I would like to sincerely thank my primary supervisor Dr. Sandra Garvie‐Lok for her patience, generosity, support, and guidance over the years. Dr. Margriet Haagsma, my co‐supervisor, thank you for your guidance with the Hellenistic period and your archaeological expertise about New Halos. I have truly enjoyed working on this project and learning about this population. My supervisory committee, Dr. Lesley Harrington and Dr. Robert Losey have been wonderful mentors during my time at the University of Alberta. I was a teaching assistant for both and I learned a great deal from them. Additionally, I appreciated their comments and help with this research project. Their experience and understanding greatly improved this work. Thank you to Dr. A. Keenleyside for being my external reader and for taking the time to provide excellent detailed comments. I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Rupp, Director of the Canadian Institute in Greece, and Dr. V. Rondiri. They were both instrumental in acquiring the skeletal samples for this projects and for getting them to Canada. I would like to recognize the work done by Dr. R. Creaser and Dr. M. Ma. Their Laboratories analyzed my samples and provided the data for this research. I would also like to acknowledge the Department of Anthropology at the University of Alberta. This department provided me with many opportunities to refine my teaching skills and develop a wide network of colleagues. To Jennifer Miller, Stephanie Brown, Erin Jessup, Lacey Flemming, and Thea Luig thank you for the many lunch and coffee breaks, constant friendship, and support during this degree. These incredible women are fantastic colleagues, but more importantly friends. A special acknowledgment goes out to my friends and family. To Marcy, Alana, Lucy, Thomas, and Pam thank you for the many years of friendship and all the support you have given me. Mom, Dad, Ainsley, and Rowan thank you for not letting me give up and for always offering to listen and offer words of encouragement. Ainsley and Rowan, thank you for the constant stream of Maeve photos, they really got me through some long days of writing and editing. Lastly, to my husband and best friend Kyle, thank you for your patience, support, and love. I am very proud of this accomplishment and I truly could not have done it without you. iv Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Preface ............................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iv List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... ix List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2 Historical Background .................................................................................... 7 2.1 Before the Hellenistic Period ................................................................................. 7 2.2 The Hellenistic Period .......................................................................................... 15 2.2.1 The Greek Political Landscape During the Hellenistic Period ....................... 17 2.2.2 Hellenistic Economy ..................................................................................... 19 2.2.3 The Thessalian Landscape ............................................................................ 21 2.3 Evidence for Daily Life in the Hellenistic Period .................................................. 22 2.4 Daily Life in Hellenistic Greece ............................................................................ 23 2.5 The Expansion of Cities in the Hellenistic Era .................................................... 27 2.6 Subsistence .......................................................................................................... 30 2.6.1 Health and Food ........................................................................................... 31 2.7 Diet in Hellenistic Greece .................................................................................... 32 2.8 The End of the Hellenistic Period ........................................................................ 39 2.9 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 39 Chapter 3 New Halos .................................................................................................... 40 3.1 The Site and Location of New Halos .................................................................... 41 3.1.1 Dating Evidence for the Foundation and Destruction of New Halos ......... 45 3.2 Evidence for Diet at New Halos ........................................................................... 47 v 3.3 The Cemetery at New Halos ................................................................................ 52 3.4 Summary.............................................................................................................. 55 Chapter 4 Stable Isotopes ............................................................................................. 57 4.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 57 4.2 What are Isotopes? ............................................................................................. 57 4.2.1 Measurements, Notation, Fractionation ...................................................... 58 4.3 Carbon Isotopes .................................................................................................. 59 4.3.1 Stable Carbon Isotopes in Plants .................................................................. 59 4.3.2 Carbon Isotopes in Animals and in Skeletal Tissues ..................................... 61 4.4 Nitrogen Isotopes ............................................................................................... 64 4.4.1 Nitrogen in Ecosystems ............................................................................... 64 4.4.2 Nitrogen in Skeletal Tissues ......................................................................... 66 4.4.3 Other causes of 15N variation .................................................................... 67 4.5 Strontium Isotopes ............................................................................................. 69 4.5.1 Strontium Isotopes in Ecosystems .............................................................
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