Where did the herds go? Combining zooarchaeological and isotopic data to examine animal management in ancient Thessaly (Greece)

Historians and archaeologists have been debating the scale of animal husbandry in ancient Greece for decades. This study contributes to the debate by examining Classical and Hellenistic faunal assemblages from Magoula Plataniotki, New Halos, and Pherae through non-destructive zooarchaeological methods and a multi-isotopic (87Sr/86Sr, δ13C, and δ18O) approach. Zooarchaeological data suggest that small-scale sedentary animal husbandry focused on caprine production in Magoula Plataniotiki and New Halos, and small-scale and semi-specialised animal husbandry was practised in Pherae. Isotopic data show both sedentary and mobile management of livestock in all sites, indicating different levels of production intensity and variety of goals. Based on our results, we propose an economic model whereby semi-specialised and small-scale animal husbandry co-existed, confirming mixed husbandry models for ancient Greece.

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Publication Details

Journal
PLoS ONE
Published
2024-10-22
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0299788
Citations
3
Primary Topic
Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
4.76

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article

Where did the herds go? Combining zooarchaeological and isotopic data to examine animal management in ancient Thessaly (Greece)

Sandra Timsic, Samantha Presslee, Dimitris Filioglou, Leopoldo David Pena et al.
3 citations
PLoS ONE
Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
4.76
article

Where did the herds go? Combining zooarchaeological and isotopic data to examine animal management in ancient Thessaly (Greece)

Sandra Timsic, Samantha Presslee, Dimitris Filioglou, Leopoldo David Pena, Canan Çakırlar, Antonio Delgado‐Huertas, Sílvia Valenzuela, W. Prummel, William P. Patterson
article en
3 citations

Abstract

Historians and archaeologists have been debating the scale of animal husbandry in ancient Greece for decades. This study contributes to the debate by examining Classical and Hellenistic faunal assemblages from Magoula Plataniotki, New Halos, and Pherae through non-destructive zooarchaeological methods and a multi-isotopic (87Sr/86Sr, δ13C, and δ18O) approach. Zooarchaeological data suggest that small-scale sedentary animal husbandry focused on caprine production in Magoula Plataniotiki and New Halos, and small-scale and semi-specialised animal husbandry was practised in Pherae. Isotopic data show both sedentary and mobile management of livestock in all sites, indicating different levels of production intensity and variety of goals. Based on our results, we propose an economic model whereby semi-specialised and small-scale animal husbandry co-existed, confirming mixed husbandry models for ancient Greece.

PLoS ONEVol. 19(10)
University of Groningen (NL), University of Saskatchewan (CA), Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra (ES), Departament de Salut (ES), Institución Milá y Fontanals de Investigación en Humanidades (ES), Department of Archaeology (LK), University of York (GB)
Yorkshire Forward, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, University of Thessaly, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, National Institute on Aging
Zero hunger
Openalex Percentile: Top 6%
Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
4.76
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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