Identifiable animal bones from Pano Mantilaris comprised 248 fragments of seven different mammali... more Identifiable animal bones from Pano Mantilaris comprised 248 fragments of seven different mammalian taxa (Table VI. 1). These are the same animal taxa that are represented at Paliotaverna. Sheep and goats are predominant in the assemblage (46%) and, while most of the bones of these two closely related animals could not be separated, 36 of the 114 fragments identified as caprine could be attributed to genus. These suggest that goats (64% of caprines) may have outnumbered sheep (36% of caprines) to a considerable degree. Fallow deer (Persian fallow deer, Dama mesopotamica) were also very prominent (37%) in the assemblage, cattle remains occurred with intermediate frequency (12%), and pig (2%), equid (2%) and dog (1%) occurred uncommonly. The few fragments of equid bone are all sufficiently small that they seem likely to represent donkey. This faunal spectrum reflects a diversified animal economy based primarily on domestic stock, but incorporating a significant element of deer hunting. While the great majority of contexts at Pano Mantilaris yielded too few bones to permit meaningful interpretation, two well-defined contexts yielded sufficient material to be worth mentioning individually here. In Pit 18 caprines accounted for most of the identifiable bone (28 fragments), and deer (four fragments) and pig (two fragments) were also represented. The caprine remains do not include metapodials or phalanges, and elements of the head are rare (two pieces), suggesting the deposition here of bones deriving from meaty parts of the body, and thus the remains of meals. The handful of deer and pig remains from Pit 18 are not at odds with this conclusion. The Square 9B room also yielded mainly caprine bone (22 fragments), accompanied by a few pieces of deer (four fragments) and cattle (one fragment). In contrast to Pit 18, though, the caprine remains included a metapodial fragment, and eight of the other fragments were teeth that could not be associated with one another. Deer remains comprised a distal tibia, two astragali, and a pair of upper teeth. All of this may suggest less meaty fare than is evidenced in Pit 18.
Butchery marks have not been considered very much in Cypriot zooarchaeology. This study aims to c... more Butchery marks have not been considered very much in Cypriot zooarchaeology. This study aims to contribute towards filling this gap through a study of butchery marks on six Pre-Pottery Neolithic sheep and goat (caprine) assemblages in Cyprus. Taking into account the preservation condition of each assemblage, the analyses of the frequency and types of butchery marks, indicated some interesting trends. Most of these corroborate other lines of archaeological evidence indicating diversity in economic and social practices, which appear to vary both chronologically and geographically. Increased occurrence of butchery marks and differentiation in their types are compatible with a scenario of economic intensification in the 7th millennium cal. BC, at least at some sites. Moreover, the detection of butchery marks on caprine carcasses deposited in the vicinity of human remains in well 133 at Mylouthkia supports the interpretation of a deliberate deposition as part of Pre-Pottery Neolithic funerary practices in Cyprus.
Sample scarcity and the need of a methodology well-suited to determination of archaeological spec... more Sample scarcity and the need of a methodology well-suited to determination of archaeological specimens are responsible for the lack of information on the mechanism and on the ecological and anthropological conditions of the spread of the house mouse in Europe. We applied Fourier outline analysis to the lower first molars of mice from assemblages trapped in water wells from Early and Middle PPNB in Cyprus (Kissonerga–Mylouthkia). Results suggest that the house mouse was a part of the Neolithic ecological ...
Abstract: The 1993 season at Tell esh-Shuna completed excavation of Chalcolithic levels in Area D... more Abstract: The 1993 season at Tell esh-Shuna completed excavation of Chalcolithic levels in Area D. These consisted of at least two major occupation phases, possibly early Chalcolithic in date. Early and late EB I levels were excavated in Area A. A significant distinction exists between early and late EB I ceramic assemblages. Important differences may also exist in the nature of craft production, some subsistence practices and possibly in architecture, between early and late EB I at Shuna. Further work on Building 1 has shown that it is a ...
... Danielle Stordeur, the excavator, argues that the enormous size of the central structure dema... more ... Danielle Stordeur, the excavator, argues that the enormous size of the central structure demanded ... ultimate ancestry for the Cypriot Aceramic Neolithic in north Syria and south-east Anatolia. ... picrolite cups with hatched decora-tion and prodigious quantities of obsidian from sur ...
Recent excavations at a small Chalcolithic site in central Cyprus show that it was occupied about... more Recent excavations at a small Chalcolithic site in central Cyprus show that it was occupied about 2880–2670 cal BC. Fallow deer form the major component of the substantial faunal sample: both these and other animals were hunted. The chipped stone, too, fits with a model of intensive meat exploitation. The lack of formal architecture supports the general model of a seasonally or intermittently used hunters' village. Plant remains and a limited array of ground stone tools, however, indicate that domesticated plants were processed and consumed, although probably not harvested at the site, while large quantities of pottery also show a wider range of activities. These data and observations can be explained by several models, which emphasise either broad processes and historical developments or more local patterns of varied site-types and activities in different parts of the island or in different ecological zones, providing an important insight into the diversity and complexity of cultural systems in the early 3rd millennium BC.
Twelve seasons of excavation at the settlement/cemetery site of Souskiou Laona in southwestern Cy... more Twelve seasons of excavation at the settlement/cemetery site of Souskiou Laona in southwestern Cyprus by a team of archaeologists under the direction of the late Professor Edgar Peltenburg paint a very different picture of Chalcolithic life on the island than hitherto attested. While burial practices at other known sites of the period comprise single intramural inhumations in pit graves, only rarely equipped with artefacts, the extramural cemeteries at Souskiou consist of deep rock-cut tombs containing multiple burials and numerous grave goods, chief among which are picrolite pendants and figurines. Excavations at the Laona settlement show that it functioned as a specialised centre for the procurement and manufacture of picrolite during its earlier phases. The decline of picrolite production during the final phase of the settlement, as well as the earliest known occurrences in Cyprus of faience beads and copper ornaments, attest to renewed contact between the island and the surrounding mainland, and to important transformations in personal and social identities during the first centuries of the 3rd millennium B.C
Review(s) of: Marki Alonia: An Early and Middle Bronze Age Town in Cyprus - Excavations 1990-1994... more Review(s) of: Marki Alonia: An Early and Middle Bronze Age Town in Cyprus - Excavations 1990-1994, by David Frankel and Jennifer M. Webb, with Contributions by R. Adams, P. Croft, D. Simmons, M.A. Smith, G. Summerhayes and C. Xenophontos, Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology CXXIILl, Paul Astroms Forlag, Jonsered (1996) ISBN 9170811709 (soft cover) pp.xxxv + 252 plus 93 tables, 144 figures, 36 plates, Price 600 Swedish Crowns ($120.00).
Butchery marks have not been considered very much in Cypriot zooarchaeology. This study aims to c... more Butchery marks have not been considered very much in Cypriot zooarchaeology. This study aims to contribute towards filling this gap through a study of butchery marks on six Pre-Pottery Neolithic sheep and goat (caprine) assemblages in Cyprus. Taking into account the preservation condition of each assemblage, the analyses of the frequency and types of butchery marks, indicated some interesting trends. Most of these corroborate other lines of archaeological evidence indicating diversity in economic and social practices, which appear to vary both chronologically and geographically. Increased occurrence of butchery marks and differentiation in their types are compatible with a scenario of economic intensification in the 7th millennium cal. BC, at least at some sites. Moreover, the detection of butchery marks on caprine carcasses deposited in the vicinity of human remains in well 133 at Mylouthkia supports the interpretation of a deliberate deposition as part of Pre-Pottery Neolithic fun...
Abstract: The 1993 season at Tell esh-Shuna completed excavation of Chalcolithic levels in Area D... more Abstract: The 1993 season at Tell esh-Shuna completed excavation of Chalcolithic levels in Area D. These consisted of at least two major occupation phases, possibly early Chalcolithic in date. Early and late EB I levels were excavated in Area A. A significant distinction exists between early and late EB I ceramic assemblages. Important differences may also exist in the nature of craft production, some subsistence practices and possibly in architecture, between early and late EB I at Shuna. Further work on Building 1 has shown that it is a ...
Identifiable animal bones from Pano Mantilaris comprised 248 fragments of seven different mammali... more Identifiable animal bones from Pano Mantilaris comprised 248 fragments of seven different mammalian taxa (Table VI. 1). These are the same animal taxa that are represented at Paliotaverna. Sheep and goats are predominant in the assemblage (46%) and, while most of the bones of these two closely related animals could not be separated, 36 of the 114 fragments identified as caprine could be attributed to genus. These suggest that goats (64% of caprines) may have outnumbered sheep (36% of caprines) to a considerable degree. Fallow deer (Persian fallow deer, Dama mesopotamica) were also very prominent (37%) in the assemblage, cattle remains occurred with intermediate frequency (12%), and pig (2%), equid (2%) and dog (1%) occurred uncommonly. The few fragments of equid bone are all sufficiently small that they seem likely to represent donkey. This faunal spectrum reflects a diversified animal economy based primarily on domestic stock, but incorporating a significant element of deer hunting. While the great majority of contexts at Pano Mantilaris yielded too few bones to permit meaningful interpretation, two well-defined contexts yielded sufficient material to be worth mentioning individually here. In Pit 18 caprines accounted for most of the identifiable bone (28 fragments), and deer (four fragments) and pig (two fragments) were also represented. The caprine remains do not include metapodials or phalanges, and elements of the head are rare (two pieces), suggesting the deposition here of bones deriving from meaty parts of the body, and thus the remains of meals. The handful of deer and pig remains from Pit 18 are not at odds with this conclusion. The Square 9B room also yielded mainly caprine bone (22 fragments), accompanied by a few pieces of deer (four fragments) and cattle (one fragment). In contrast to Pit 18, though, the caprine remains included a metapodial fragment, and eight of the other fragments were teeth that could not be associated with one another. Deer remains comprised a distal tibia, two astragali, and a pair of upper teeth. All of this may suggest less meaty fare than is evidenced in Pit 18.
Butchery marks have not been considered very much in Cypriot zooarchaeology. This study aims to c... more Butchery marks have not been considered very much in Cypriot zooarchaeology. This study aims to contribute towards filling this gap through a study of butchery marks on six Pre-Pottery Neolithic sheep and goat (caprine) assemblages in Cyprus. Taking into account the preservation condition of each assemblage, the analyses of the frequency and types of butchery marks, indicated some interesting trends. Most of these corroborate other lines of archaeological evidence indicating diversity in economic and social practices, which appear to vary both chronologically and geographically. Increased occurrence of butchery marks and differentiation in their types are compatible with a scenario of economic intensification in the 7th millennium cal. BC, at least at some sites. Moreover, the detection of butchery marks on caprine carcasses deposited in the vicinity of human remains in well 133 at Mylouthkia supports the interpretation of a deliberate deposition as part of Pre-Pottery Neolithic funerary practices in Cyprus.
Sample scarcity and the need of a methodology well-suited to determination of archaeological spec... more Sample scarcity and the need of a methodology well-suited to determination of archaeological specimens are responsible for the lack of information on the mechanism and on the ecological and anthropological conditions of the spread of the house mouse in Europe. We applied Fourier outline analysis to the lower first molars of mice from assemblages trapped in water wells from Early and Middle PPNB in Cyprus (Kissonerga–Mylouthkia). Results suggest that the house mouse was a part of the Neolithic ecological ...
Abstract: The 1993 season at Tell esh-Shuna completed excavation of Chalcolithic levels in Area D... more Abstract: The 1993 season at Tell esh-Shuna completed excavation of Chalcolithic levels in Area D. These consisted of at least two major occupation phases, possibly early Chalcolithic in date. Early and late EB I levels were excavated in Area A. A significant distinction exists between early and late EB I ceramic assemblages. Important differences may also exist in the nature of craft production, some subsistence practices and possibly in architecture, between early and late EB I at Shuna. Further work on Building 1 has shown that it is a ...
... Danielle Stordeur, the excavator, argues that the enormous size of the central structure dema... more ... Danielle Stordeur, the excavator, argues that the enormous size of the central structure demanded ... ultimate ancestry for the Cypriot Aceramic Neolithic in north Syria and south-east Anatolia. ... picrolite cups with hatched decora-tion and prodigious quantities of obsidian from sur ...
Recent excavations at a small Chalcolithic site in central Cyprus show that it was occupied about... more Recent excavations at a small Chalcolithic site in central Cyprus show that it was occupied about 2880–2670 cal BC. Fallow deer form the major component of the substantial faunal sample: both these and other animals were hunted. The chipped stone, too, fits with a model of intensive meat exploitation. The lack of formal architecture supports the general model of a seasonally or intermittently used hunters' village. Plant remains and a limited array of ground stone tools, however, indicate that domesticated plants were processed and consumed, although probably not harvested at the site, while large quantities of pottery also show a wider range of activities. These data and observations can be explained by several models, which emphasise either broad processes and historical developments or more local patterns of varied site-types and activities in different parts of the island or in different ecological zones, providing an important insight into the diversity and complexity of cultural systems in the early 3rd millennium BC.
Twelve seasons of excavation at the settlement/cemetery site of Souskiou Laona in southwestern Cy... more Twelve seasons of excavation at the settlement/cemetery site of Souskiou Laona in southwestern Cyprus by a team of archaeologists under the direction of the late Professor Edgar Peltenburg paint a very different picture of Chalcolithic life on the island than hitherto attested. While burial practices at other known sites of the period comprise single intramural inhumations in pit graves, only rarely equipped with artefacts, the extramural cemeteries at Souskiou consist of deep rock-cut tombs containing multiple burials and numerous grave goods, chief among which are picrolite pendants and figurines. Excavations at the Laona settlement show that it functioned as a specialised centre for the procurement and manufacture of picrolite during its earlier phases. The decline of picrolite production during the final phase of the settlement, as well as the earliest known occurrences in Cyprus of faience beads and copper ornaments, attest to renewed contact between the island and the surrounding mainland, and to important transformations in personal and social identities during the first centuries of the 3rd millennium B.C
Review(s) of: Marki Alonia: An Early and Middle Bronze Age Town in Cyprus - Excavations 1990-1994... more Review(s) of: Marki Alonia: An Early and Middle Bronze Age Town in Cyprus - Excavations 1990-1994, by David Frankel and Jennifer M. Webb, with Contributions by R. Adams, P. Croft, D. Simmons, M.A. Smith, G. Summerhayes and C. Xenophontos, Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology CXXIILl, Paul Astroms Forlag, Jonsered (1996) ISBN 9170811709 (soft cover) pp.xxxv + 252 plus 93 tables, 144 figures, 36 plates, Price 600 Swedish Crowns ($120.00).
Butchery marks have not been considered very much in Cypriot zooarchaeology. This study aims to c... more Butchery marks have not been considered very much in Cypriot zooarchaeology. This study aims to contribute towards filling this gap through a study of butchery marks on six Pre-Pottery Neolithic sheep and goat (caprine) assemblages in Cyprus. Taking into account the preservation condition of each assemblage, the analyses of the frequency and types of butchery marks, indicated some interesting trends. Most of these corroborate other lines of archaeological evidence indicating diversity in economic and social practices, which appear to vary both chronologically and geographically. Increased occurrence of butchery marks and differentiation in their types are compatible with a scenario of economic intensification in the 7th millennium cal. BC, at least at some sites. Moreover, the detection of butchery marks on caprine carcasses deposited in the vicinity of human remains in well 133 at Mylouthkia supports the interpretation of a deliberate deposition as part of Pre-Pottery Neolithic fun...
Abstract: The 1993 season at Tell esh-Shuna completed excavation of Chalcolithic levels in Area D... more Abstract: The 1993 season at Tell esh-Shuna completed excavation of Chalcolithic levels in Area D. These consisted of at least two major occupation phases, possibly early Chalcolithic in date. Early and late EB I levels were excavated in Area A. A significant distinction exists between early and late EB I ceramic assemblages. Important differences may also exist in the nature of craft production, some subsistence practices and possibly in architecture, between early and late EB I at Shuna. Further work on Building 1 has shown that it is a ...
The origins of copper-based metallurgy on the island of Cyprus, which became the main supplier of... more The origins of copper-based metallurgy on the island of Cyprus, which became the main supplier of the metal in the Late Bronze Age in the Mediterranean and whose name became associated with the metal, is relatively obscure. While metal extraction and metal artefacts became increasingly important in the broader Near East, early metallurgy on Cyprus remains poorly known, and it is often postulated that metals were of limited importance on the island prior to the Philia phase. Here we present a unique context from the Late Chalcolithic (ca. 2800-2400 BC) from the excavations at Chlorakas-Palloures that has considerable ramifications for this debate.
Unexpectedly early evidence for the precocious spread of farming has recently emerged in Cyprus. ... more Unexpectedly early evidence for the precocious spread of farming has recently emerged in Cyprus. It is argued that the transmission occurred as a result of migration related to ecosystem stress in the Levant. So strong are the connections of the colonists with the mainland that ...
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