Isotopic Study of Diet During the Bronze and Early Iron Ages at Mitrou and Tragana Agia
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Template B v3.0 (beta): Created by J. Nail 06/2015 Isotopic study of diet during the Bronze and Early Iron Ages at Mitrou and Tragana Agia Triada, Greece By TITLE PAGE Stephanie M. Fuehr A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Mississippi State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Applied Anthropology in the Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures Mississippi State, Mississippi August 2016 Copyright by COPYRIGHT PAGE Stephanie M. Fuehr 2016 Isotopic study of diet during the Bronze and Early Iron Ages at Mitrou and Tragana Agia Triada, Greece By APPROVAL PAGE Stephanie M. Fuehr Approved: ____________________________________ Michael L. Galaty (Major Professor) ____________________________________ Nicholas P. Herrmann (Committee Member) ____________________________________ Molly K. Zuckerman (Committee Member) ____________________________________ David M. Hoffman (Graduate Coordinator) ____________________________________ Rick Travis Interim Dean College of Arts & Sciences Name: Stephanie M. Fuehr ABSTRACT Date of Degree: August 12, 2016 Institution: Mississippi State University Major Field: Applied Anthropology Major Professor: Michael L. Galaty Title of Study: Isotopic study of diet during the Bronze and Early Iron Ages at Mitrou and Tragana Agia Triada, Greece Pages in Study 124 Candidate for Degree of Master of Arts The stable isotopes carbon and nitrogen from 18 skeletal and 51 dental samples from various burial contexts at the Bronze and Iron Age sites of Mitrou and Tragana Agia Triada are examined to understand diet in prehistoric central Greece. The samples are compared by cultural period, site, and burial type in order to determine if diet was affected by changes in society or by social status as determined by burial form. In addition, isotopic data from across Greece is compared to understand diet from the Neolithic to Iron Age and in different regions of the country. The results of the Mitrou- TAT study indicate no change in diet through time or between the two sites. No significant differences were found between diet and burial types as well. When applied to the broader aspect of societal change, these results suggest that, even with a significant societal change, diet is not significantly influenced. DEDICATION To my parents ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Nick Herrmann, I can’t express enough my gratitude for your help and guidance. It has been an honor being your student for the majority of my graduate career. Thank you for bringing me to Mitrou the summer before I started graduate school and the following two summers, as well as Cyprus. Thank you for always pushing me to be a better researcher. You have provided me with so many research opportunities during my time at MSU, from which I have learned a lot. And especially, thank you for teaching me everything I need to know about Thermopylae - based on the bald guy from 300 - and that it is totally acceptable to transport thesis samples in an origami box. Mike Galaty, thank you so much for all the advice and guidance over the past few years. I would never have made as much progress on my thesis proposal had it not been for the independent studies I took with you. Molly Zuckerman, thank you for the advice and edits on my thesis, your comments are always beneficial. A huge thanks to Shane Miller. I can’t thank you enough for all the stats help. That portion of my thesis would have taken a much longer time if it wasn’t for you. Thank you for also helping me make my maps. And of course, thanks for all the Ham visits! David Hoffman, thank you for being a phenomenal graduate coordinator. Jimmy Hardin, thanks for always being willing to talk soccer and I can’t thank you enough for convincing me to coach with Starkville Soccer Association. A huge thank you to Dr. iii Kecia Johnson and Dr. Nicole Rader for being incredibly understanding when it came to my TA duties and finishing my thesis. Thank you to AMEC, the Cobb, and the University of Tennessee Classics Department for funding my trips to Greece. Thank you to Dr. Nick Herrmann for paying for half the isotope analysis and Dr. Aleydis Van de Moortel for using INSTAP funds for the other half. Also, thank you to the 14th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities for giving us permission to do destructive analysis. To my wonderful parents, thank you for always being supportive and allowing me to follow my dreams. Thank you for sitting for hours looking at all of my pictures, without too much complaining, after every trip of mine to Europe, and for not being grossed out whenever I talk about bones or show you pictures of them. To quote our favorite show, you “are my twin pillars without whom I could not stand.” Jeremy, Christopher, and Michael, you have always been my role models and I’m so glad to have you as my brothers. Christopher and Michael, I’ll be forever grateful to the both of you for making me a Tennessee fan. Go Vols! Teri Welgan, I cannot thank you enough for your influence in my life, it is because of you that I am doing what I am. You introduced me to the Greek world and archaeology and I can never express enough how grateful I am for that. Amy Mundorff, I was so lucky to have you as my professor for osteology and thank you for always challenging me. You have been so supportive throughout my undergraduate and graduate career. Aleydis Van de Moortel, thank you for allowing me to do my thesis research on remains from Mitrou and always being supportive while I was at UT and MSU. iv Thanks to my friends for their patience and understanding during the times when I was freaking out about thesis samples, writing, and everything else. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without y’all. Thank you so much to Monica Warner for showing me how to prep my thesis samples and for assisting me with half of the sample preparation. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION .................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ x CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................1 Problem Statement .................................................................................................2 II. BACKGROUND LITERATURE .........................................................................7 Archaeological Background Description ..............................................................7 Review of Greek Archaeology and Chronology ............................................7 Mitrou ..........................................................................................................13 Tragana Agia Triada ...................................................................................15 Isotopic Background Description ........................................................................17 Carbon .........................................................................................................18 Nitrogen .......................................................................................................20 Prior Isotopic Analyses in Greece ...............................................................21 III. RESEARCH DESIGN ........................................................................................23 Hypothesis 1 ........................................................................................................23 Hypothesis 2 ........................................................................................................25 Hypothesis 3 ........................................................................................................27 IV. MATERIALS AND METHODS ........................................................................29 Samples ................................................................................................................29 Sample Preparation ..............................................................................................34 Data Collection and Analysis/Procedures ...........................................................35 Statistics Used .....................................................................................................37 V. RESULTS ...........................................................................................................39 vi Hypothesis 1 Results ...........................................................................................41 Early Periods vs Bronze Age .......................................................................41 All Bronze Age Periods vs. Iron Age ...........................................................44 Bronze Age/Iron Age Transition ..................................................................47 Mitrou Comparative Study ..........................................................................50 Central Greece .........................................................................................51 All of Greece ...........................................................................................55 Hypothesis 2 Results ...........................................................................................60