In this paper we investigate local foodways and ritual consumption in Iron Age Sicily through a s... more In this paper we investigate local foodways and ritual consumption in Iron Age Sicily through a study of cooking pots, integrating contextual, archaeozoological, archaeobotanical and chemical data. We focus on material from the central cult site of the settlement of Monte Iato, located in the hinterland of western Sicily, in order to explore the interaction between food, people, bio-/artefacts and environments as a process of formulating and reformulating social relationships and local power dynamics within specific social spaces and settings. We reveal different foodways and consumption practices within the same cult site, characterized on the one hand by long-standing traditions, with more or less constant and unchanging dishes, and on the other by the integration of external stimuli. We discuss the emergence of foreign- (Greek/Phoenician-) style cooking pots and ingredients as markers of an haute cuisine, developed with the aim of social differentiation.
The Dakhleh Oasis is an isolated region in the Western Desert of Egypt. It lies some 800 km south... more The Dakhleh Oasis is an isolated region in the Western Desert of Egypt. It lies some 800 km south-south-west of Cairo, and 300 km west of the Nile, and is centred in Mut, its capital, on 25°30 ́N at 29°07 ́E. In antiquity travelling time to the Nile Valley was about eight days. The oasis is an undulating plain sitting beneath a 300 m limestone escarpment and rises slightly towards the south. It covers an area of about 2,000 sq km. The climate today is hyperarid with a mean annual precipitation of 0.7 mm, which occurs as occasional local downpours. Relative humidity rarely exceeds 50% and average maximum temperatures vary from 21.5°C in January to 39.5°C in July, but extreme maxima of 50°C are recorded as well. Under such extreme conditions, all needs for water have to be met by underground aquifers that feed to the surface through natural vents, springs and bores. All available evidence indicates, that the climate was not markedly different in Roman times.
Pflanzen und Pflanzenteile sind in unseren Breiten vergänglich. Deshalb wurde während der gesamte... more Pflanzen und Pflanzenteile sind in unseren Breiten vergänglich. Deshalb wurde während der gesamten Menschheitsgeschichte viel Phantasie, Energie, Wissen und Technik in die sichere Aufbewahrung von Lebensund Futtermitteln, Bauund Werkstoffen investiert. Einmal deponiert, laufen sie Gefahr, gefressen oder von Mikroorganismen abgebaut zu werden, die hierfür allerdings Sauerstoff und eine gewisse Menge an Feuchtigkeit benötigen. Fehlt eine dieser Bedingungen, so kann die mikrobielle Tätigkeit zum Stillstand kommen, wie etwa an stetig sehr trockenen Fundplätzen oder dort, wo durch Wasserstau hervorgerufener permanenter Sauerstoffmangel herrscht. Archäologisch erfassbar sind Pflanzen also nur dann, wenn sie durch besondere Umstände konserviert worden sind. Dementsprechend sind in Trockenbodenfundplätzen, wie der hier besprochenen Grube, meist nur verkohlte Pflanzen reste vorhanden. Mineralisierte oder durch Metallsalze konservierte Pflanzenreste kommen zwar vor, sind in der Rege/ aber sel...
During the past millennia, many erosion and accumulation processes have been modified by anthropo... more During the past millennia, many erosion and accumulation processes have been modified by anthropogenic impact. This holds especially true for the environs of ancient settlements and their harbours along the Mediterranean coasts. Our multi-proxy investigations in the Roman harbour and the harbour canal of Ephesus (western Turkey) reveals that humans have significantly triggered soil erosion during the last three millennia. Since the eighth century BC, and especially since the Hellenistic period, a high sed-imentation rate indicates fast alluviation and delta progradation of the Küçük Menderes. Deforestation, agriculture (especially ploughing) and grazing (especially goats) were the main reasons for erosion of the river catchment area. One consequence was significant siltation of the Hellenistic/Roman harbour basin. This sediment trap archives the human impact, which was strongly enhanced from Hellenistic/Roman to Byzantine times (second/first centuries BC to the sixth/seventh centuries AD), evidenced by high sedimentation rates, raised values of heavy metal contaminations [lead (Pb), copper (Cu)], the occurrence of fruit tree pollen and of intestinal parasites. From the middle to the end of the first millennium AD, the influence of Ephesus declined, which resulted in a decrease of human impact. Studies of several ancient settlements around the Mediterranean Sea tell a comparable story. They also confirm that during their most flourishing periods the human impact totally overprinted the climatic one. To detect the latter, geo-bio-archives of relatively pristine areas have to be investigated in detail.
In this paper we investigate local foodways and ritual consumption in Iron Age Sicily through a s... more In this paper we investigate local foodways and ritual consumption in Iron Age Sicily through a study of cooking pots, integrating contextual, archaeozoological, archaeobotanical and chemical data. We focus on material from the central cult site of the settlement of Monte Iato, located in the hinterland of western Sicily, in order to explore the interaction between food, people, bio-/artefacts and environments as a process of formulating and reformulating social relationships and local power dynamics within specific social spaces and settings. We reveal different foodways and consumption practices within the same cult site, characterized on the one hand by long-standing traditions, with more or less constant and unchanging dishes, and on the other by the integration of external stimuli. We discuss the emergence of foreign- (Greek/Phoenician-) style cooking pots and ingredients as markers of an haute cuisine, developed with the aim of social differentiation.
The Dakhleh Oasis is an isolated region in the Western Desert of Egypt. It lies some 800 km south... more The Dakhleh Oasis is an isolated region in the Western Desert of Egypt. It lies some 800 km south-south-west of Cairo, and 300 km west of the Nile, and is centred in Mut, its capital, on 25°30 ́N at 29°07 ́E. In antiquity travelling time to the Nile Valley was about eight days. The oasis is an undulating plain sitting beneath a 300 m limestone escarpment and rises slightly towards the south. It covers an area of about 2,000 sq km. The climate today is hyperarid with a mean annual precipitation of 0.7 mm, which occurs as occasional local downpours. Relative humidity rarely exceeds 50% and average maximum temperatures vary from 21.5°C in January to 39.5°C in July, but extreme maxima of 50°C are recorded as well. Under such extreme conditions, all needs for water have to be met by underground aquifers that feed to the surface through natural vents, springs and bores. All available evidence indicates, that the climate was not markedly different in Roman times.
Pflanzen und Pflanzenteile sind in unseren Breiten vergänglich. Deshalb wurde während der gesamte... more Pflanzen und Pflanzenteile sind in unseren Breiten vergänglich. Deshalb wurde während der gesamten Menschheitsgeschichte viel Phantasie, Energie, Wissen und Technik in die sichere Aufbewahrung von Lebensund Futtermitteln, Bauund Werkstoffen investiert. Einmal deponiert, laufen sie Gefahr, gefressen oder von Mikroorganismen abgebaut zu werden, die hierfür allerdings Sauerstoff und eine gewisse Menge an Feuchtigkeit benötigen. Fehlt eine dieser Bedingungen, so kann die mikrobielle Tätigkeit zum Stillstand kommen, wie etwa an stetig sehr trockenen Fundplätzen oder dort, wo durch Wasserstau hervorgerufener permanenter Sauerstoffmangel herrscht. Archäologisch erfassbar sind Pflanzen also nur dann, wenn sie durch besondere Umstände konserviert worden sind. Dementsprechend sind in Trockenbodenfundplätzen, wie der hier besprochenen Grube, meist nur verkohlte Pflanzen reste vorhanden. Mineralisierte oder durch Metallsalze konservierte Pflanzenreste kommen zwar vor, sind in der Rege/ aber sel...
During the past millennia, many erosion and accumulation processes have been modified by anthropo... more During the past millennia, many erosion and accumulation processes have been modified by anthropogenic impact. This holds especially true for the environs of ancient settlements and their harbours along the Mediterranean coasts. Our multi-proxy investigations in the Roman harbour and the harbour canal of Ephesus (western Turkey) reveals that humans have significantly triggered soil erosion during the last three millennia. Since the eighth century BC, and especially since the Hellenistic period, a high sed-imentation rate indicates fast alluviation and delta progradation of the Küçük Menderes. Deforestation, agriculture (especially ploughing) and grazing (especially goats) were the main reasons for erosion of the river catchment area. One consequence was significant siltation of the Hellenistic/Roman harbour basin. This sediment trap archives the human impact, which was strongly enhanced from Hellenistic/Roman to Byzantine times (second/first centuries BC to the sixth/seventh centuries AD), evidenced by high sedimentation rates, raised values of heavy metal contaminations [lead (Pb), copper (Cu)], the occurrence of fruit tree pollen and of intestinal parasites. From the middle to the end of the first millennium AD, the influence of Ephesus declined, which resulted in a decrease of human impact. Studies of several ancient settlements around the Mediterranean Sea tell a comparable story. They also confirm that during their most flourishing periods the human impact totally overprinted the climatic one. To detect the latter, geo-bio-archives of relatively pristine areas have to be investigated in detail.
Archaeobotanical analysis of the filling of a medieval sewage drain in the 1st district in Vienna... more Archaeobotanical analysis of the filling of a medieval sewage drain in the 1st district in Vienna (excavation “Am Hof 10”) resulted in a large amount of plant remains, predominantly 1,172 grapevine (Vitis vinifera subsp. vinifera) pips and their fragments. Among the cultivated cereals, barley (Hordeum vulgare), emmer (Triticum dicoccum), spelt (Triticum spelta), and broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) were unequivocally identified, others (einkorn, rye, free-threshing wheat, oats) with some uncertainty. In addition to grapevine, also mulberry (cf. Morus sp.) and apple (Malus domestica) were found among the cultivated fruit plants. In general, the variability of preservation (charred, uncharred, mineralised) as well as the wide ecological spectrum of wild plants seem to indicate different origins and depositional processes of the plant material: apart from human faeces, also animal dung, burnt kitchen refuse, and surface water from the surroundings are plausible sources. Several charred fir needles (Abies alba) might be interpreted as deriving from fumigants. Among the numerous ruderal and segetal plants identified in the assemblage, the finds of red horned poppy (Glaucium corniculatum) have to be emphasised, which currently represent the oldest published evidence of this plant in Austria.
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Papers by Ursula Thanheiser