Stella Macheridis

This doctoral thesis investigates the concept of waste management in zooarchaeological research. Through this approach, using zooarchaeological methods and materials, the author explores the cultural aspects of waste management, as opposed to a previous focus on the process as of taphonomic importance, albeit critical for understanding the formation of the zooarchaeological record. The thesis is based on five case studies on the Bronze Age settlement of Asine in the northeastern Peloponnese, Greece. These papers have given insight on different time periods at the site. Together with the thesis’ core text, they constitute a discussion of the site from a zooarchaeological perspective. The results of the papers are discussed in terms of theoretical and methodological issues in the zooarchaeological study of waste management in general, and in relation to Bronze Age Asine. The Asine animal bones are part of an older collection, which has been challenging in terms of differing documentation quality and high fragmentation, due to the long storage period in which the material was moved several times. Since the waste management study, as presented in this thesis, requires a contextual focus, this has helped the understanding and use of this old collection via the careful reading of field journals and plan drawings which in many instances provided good contextual examples. 
This study has provided keyholes to certain phases of the dynamic Bronze Age Asine. This has been made on different contextual levels: the relation between waste management and household organization during the EH III-MH I, the general patterns of waste management and use of animals in graves during the MH I-II, and the socio-economic connotations of the different dwelling areas during MH III-LH I. At the same time, general patterns of waste management has given information of the behavioural patterns during the course of the Bronze Age, such as the prevalence of gnawing dogs, the weathering frequencies, and the use of burning during different periods of time.  Applying a waste management perspective, with a focus on social aspects, has enriched the understanding of Bronze Age Asine.

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Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) has been applied to animal bones from the Late Iron Age (650–1050 CE) at the site of Old Uppsala, Sweden, to explore meat consumption and waste management at the site and to evaluate the inferential value of MCA, as indicated by earlier research using this technique. MCA describes variation within the data, which provides a platform from which to contextualize taphonomic traces at Old Uppsala. The data comprises bones from the many pit houses at Old Uppsala, categorized by taxon, anatomical parts and presence of taphonomic markers from burning, butchery, gnawing, trampling and weathering. The results show a clear variation in the distribution of animal bones between the pit houses. For example, differences in fragmentation degrees and in signs of bone exposure indicate different accumulation rates between the assemblages. The results also suggest that cultural practices affected the distribution of animal bones, especially in terms of spatial and social differences in animal consumption. The frequencies of bones from the axial skeleton, from pig, and possibly also from horse, differed within the settlement. We suggest that the uneven patterns of especially pig and horse bones were shaped by context specific meat consumption, influenced by the  animal symbolism of the Old Norse societies, where these animals had strong, albeit different, symbolic connotations.

This paper is a contribution to the zooarchaeological research on animals or animal parts found in human graves during the Middle Bronze Age in Greece. The animal bones from the early Middle Helladic settlement (MH I-II, c. 2100-1800 BC) and contemporary burials at Asine are presented. The goal is to compare the animal bones from the settlement with those from the burials, in terms of species composition and body part distribution. Through this comparison, this paper aims to discuss any symbolic connotations of bone waste from everyday-life practices. The results show that the most common domesticates from settlement contexts, pig, sheep/goat and cattle, also appear to be the most abundant animals deposited in the early MH graves at Asine. This is consistent with mortuary data from other sites on the Peloponnese, especially Lerna. The pig was most abundant in both settlement and graves at Asine. The similarities between wild and domestic pigs might be important, and are discussed as a possible inspiration for the pig symbolism in MH I-II Asine. I also propose a regional change in the later Bronze Age of how animals were deposited in graves, in which period the presence of wild mammals, dogs, and horses in high status graves increases. throughout, pig, sheep/goats and cattle remained the most important animals for ritually connoted events such as funerary meals or feasts.

From at least the Late Neolithic through the end of the Bronze Age and onwards, people continued to inhabit the settlement of Asine. For this reason, the site makes an interesting starting point for discussing long term change. This short paper presents new data on the animal bones from Bronze Age Asine. The data set is used for a zooarchaeological discussion of the site from a diachronic perspective in terms of centralization and regional change. This has not been attempted previously. Zooarchaeological patterns from urban or central sites in other parts of the world are compiled as a framework for this purpose. The focus is on patterns of relative taxonomic abundances, anatomical distribution, mortality curves and sex distributions of cattle, sheep/goat and pigs. These are examined specifically for the animal bone assemblage from Bronze Age Asine. Differences and/or similarities with the general trends indicative of centralization are discussed for the study site. The results show that the Early Helladic Asine should be seen as a smaller rural site. The even relative abundances of cattle, sheep, goat and pigs indicate that the animal management was not specialized but rather mixed, pointing the site was relatively independent in terms of animal management. The increase in sheep/goat during the Middle Helladic indicates an increasing dependency on animals yielding secondary products, symptomatic of regional and centralized organization. This supports the archaeological evidence of the site, indicating that it was an important village to its immediate valley during this period. This function persisted during the Late Bronze Age. From a zooarchaeological perspective, it is not likely that Asine was a regional center. Some degree of sustainable animal management was probably existent near or at the site. I propose that Asine should be seen as an intermediary key site in the communication system as well as for the exchange of animals.

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The goal of this paper is to investigate whether multiple correspondence analysis (MCA), a multivariate statistical technique, is a useful dimensionality-reduction tool in zooarchaeological and  taphonomic studies. For this purpose, the focus is to detect and discuss traces of waste management. Animal bones from waste-related contexts at the Bronze Age site Asine, Greece, are investigated. The data consist of bone fragments dating to the Middle Helladic from this site. Unidentified fragments were categorised in size classes, where possible. Information on taxa, skeletal parts and the presence or absence of several taphonomic markers is included in the data set. The MCA reveals several correlations of zooarchaeological interest. For example, the association between indeterminate fragments and calcined bone points to issues concerning identification and preservation. Floors are characterised by weathered long-bone fragments from mediumsized mammals. Additionally, the results of MCA indicate that the material might have suffered from density-mediated attrition, based on the abundance of axial fragments, which did not differ between different contexts and taxa. The results show that MCA can be used to detect zooarchaeological and taphonomic patterns. This multivariate technique is useful when investigating large data sets, as is often the case with large zooarchaeological assemblages. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The practice of digging, using, and filling large pits, cut into the ground and sometimes lined with clay, was extensive from the Early Helladic III to the Middle Helladic Period I (c. 2,200–1,900 BC) in large parts of the Aegean area. This particular type of feature is called bothros and has been reported since the early 20th century from many settlements, mainly from the Greek mainland. Although the bothroi are numerous in the archaeological record, few studies of them have been made. During the excavations at Asine, a prehistoric coastal settlement in the Argolid, a number of bothroi were identified. This paper is a contribution to the study of bothroi, and in particular of the faunal remains found within these features. I propose that the bothros was an important part of the domestic organization at Asine. Not only did it reflect spatial boundaries but it was also vital in the construction of " home ". This is based on the zooarchaeological analysis and subsequent statistical processing of the faunal remains recovered from the features. New radiocarbon dates are presented which are used in establishing a chronology of the bothroi at Asine.

During the last twenty years archaeology has experienced a technological revolution that spans scientific achievements and day-to-day practices. The tools and methods from this digital change have also strongly impacted archaeology. Image-based 3D modeling is becoming more common when documenting archaeological features but is still not implemented as standard in field excavation projects. When it comes to integrating zooarchaeological perspectives in the interpreta-tional process in the field, this type of documentation is a powerful tool, especially regarding visualization related to reconstruction and resolution. Also, with the implementation of image-based 3D modeling, the use of digital documentation in the field has been proven to be time- and cost effective (e.g., De Reu et al. 2014; De Reu et al. 2013; Dellepiane et al. 2013; Verhoeven et al. 2012). Few studies have been published on the digital documentation of faunal remains in archaeological contexts. As a case study, the excavation of the infill of a clay bin from building 102 in the Neolithic settlement of Ҫatalhöyük is presented. Alongside traditional documentation, infill was photographed in sequence at each second centimeter of soil removal. The photographs were processed with Agisoft Photoscan. Seven models were made, enabling reconstruction of the excavation of this context. This technique can be a powerful documentation tool, including recording notes of zooarchaeo-logical significance, such as markers of taphonomic processes. An important methodological advantage in this regard is the potential to measure bones in situ in for analysis after excavation.

"In this chapter, the results from the osteological analysis of the faunal remains
from late MBA to EIA contexts at Goutsoura are presented. The bones derive from three types of contexts.2 Most were found in the uppermost cultural layer of the site which is dated to the late LBA or possibly even the early EIA. This layer could be traced in Area 1, Area 2, Area 3 as well as in the large trial trench of 2008 and Trenches F, E1-2, E6-7 and E21-22. It post-dates not only the tumulus, but also the cemetery in Area 3 and seems to derive from the occasional revisiting of the site. Most of the faunal remains from this layer were found above the tumulus which itself was erected at some stage between the late MBA and early LBA. The animal bones can perhaps shed light on the kind of activities that took place at the tumulus after its usage phase." (p. 289)

This is the technical report on the zooarchaeological re-examination of the animal bones found in 28 pit houses from the ancient market place site at Löddeköpinge (Late Vendel to Late Viking Age/Early Medieval, i.e. late 8th-11th cent AD), located on the west coast of Scania, south Sweden. The re-examination of the bones from Löddeköpinge is part of the project ”Sheep O’Hoy: the zooarchaeology of Late Iron Age South Scandinavia” at the Dept. of Archaeology and Ancient History, Lund University. It is financed by Stiftelsen Marcus & Amalia Wallenbergs minnesfond and Berit Wallenberg Foundation. The report is in Swedish.

This is the technical report on the zooarchaeological analysis of animal bones from Late Viking Age/ Early Medieval (c. late 10-11th cent AD) settlement remains at Öllsjö 6:22 (L1990:5301), excavated in 2002. Two complementary 14C-dates are also reported. The analysis is part of the project ”Sheep O’Hoy: the zooarchaeology of Late Iron Age South Scandinavia” at the Dept. of Archaeology and Ancient History, Lund University. It is financed by Stiftelsen Marcus & Amalia Wallenbergs minnesfond.

The report is in Swedish. A short summary: The bones derive from pits, pit houses and hearths. Pit house A1790 was radiocarbon dated to the Vendel period, and A959 to the 10th century AD. Most of the bones were found in pit house A959. Cattle, pig, sheep/goat are most common. Horse, dog, chicken, goose and deer were also recorded. Fish bones were previously studied elsewhere (Cardell 2003), and thus not prioritized here.

This is the technical report on the zooarchaeological analysis of animal bones from Vendel settlement remains at Öllsjö 67:1 (L1987:3648), excavated in 2006. Two complementary 14C-dates are also reported. The analysis is part of the project ”Sheep O’Hoy: the zooarchaeology of Late Iron Age South Scandinavia” at the Dept. of Archaeology and Ancient History, Lund University. It is financed by Stiftelsen Marcus & Amalia Wallenbergs minnesfond.

The report is in Swedish. A short summary: The animal bones derive from five pit houses and one hearth. Of the 134 NISP, cattle, pig, sheep/goat are most common. Bones from horse, dog, goat, common starling, hering and pike were also recorded. The latter three were only present in pit house A266. In a secondary constructed hearth in A459, (burnt) bones from at least two cattle heads and the jaws of pig and dog were found. These bones might together have form a kind of deposition.

This is the report on the zooarchaeological examination of the small animal bone assemblage unearthed during the 2010 excavations of the Late Bronze Age site Hala Sultan Tekke on Cyprus. This appendix is part of the report on the excavations at Hala Sultan Tekke 2010: The New Swedish Cyprus Expedition 2010
Excavations at Dromolaxia Vizatzia/Hala Sultan Tekke (P. Fischer 2011), published in Opuscula 4.

Fulltext of the report can be found here: http://ecsi.bokorder.se/ShowArticle.aspx?id=2125#.Vo94o01Ii70
The faunal report is on pp 93-94

Report on the osteological analysis of animal bones from IA Avaldsnes, Karmoy. In Swedish. © Kulturhistorisk Museum, Universitet i Oslo & Institutionen för arkeologi och antikens historia, Lunds universitet. View fulltext on http://www.lu.se/lup/publication/3865186