Aspects of ancient Greek trade re-evaluated with amphora DNA evidence

Ancient DNA trapped in the matrices of ceramic transport jars from Mediterranean shipwrecks can reveal the goods traded in the earliest markets. Scholars generally assume that the amphora cargoes of 5th-3rd century B.C. Greek shipwrecks contained wine, or to a much lesser extent olive oil. Remnant DNA inside empty amphoras allows us to test that assumption. We show that short ∼100 nucleotides of ancient DNA can be isolated and analyzed from inside the empty jars from either small amounts of physical scrapings or material captured with non-destructive swabs. Our study material is previously inaccessible Classical/Hellenistic Greek shipwreck amphoras archived at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities in Athens, Greece. Collected DNA samples reveal various combinations of olive, grape, Lamiaceae herbs (mint, rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage), juniper, and terebinth/mastic (genus Pistacia). General DNA targeting analyses also reveal the presence of pine (Pinus), and DNA from Fabaceae (Legume family); Zingiberaceae (Ginger family); and Juglandaceae (Walnut family). Our results demonstrate that amphoras were much more than wine containers. DNA shows that these transport jars contained a wide range of goods, bringing into question long-standing assumptions about amphora use in ancient Greece. Ancient DNA investigations open new research avenues, and will allow accurate reconstruction of ancient diet, medicinal compounds, value-added products, goods brought to market, and food preservation methods.     

Ancient Greek Mercenaries: Facts,Theories and New Perspectives

This article presents an overview of the historiography of Greek mercenaries and the proliferation of the phenomenon during the fourth century BC. It evaluates theoretical approaches to the political, economic and military roles that mercenaries played in Classical Greece during that century. In doing so, it considers the ways that interstate relations between the poleis shaped the development and recruitment of this form of soldier. The article disentangles the mercenary from a rich body of scholarship in economic history, demonstrating that analysis of the roles and functions of this figure can shed light on other dimensions of the Classical period, including international relations. Finally, it signals paths that the study of Greek mercenaries might take in the coming years.     

Stable isotopic evidence of diet in a Greek colonial population from the Black Sea

Archaeological and literary sources indicate that the ancient Greeks relied heavily on terrestrial resources and that their access to certain types of foods varied by sex and status. Human and faunal remains from the Greek colonial site of Apollonia (5th to 2nd century BC) on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria were analyzed for stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes in order to reconstruct the diet of this population, investigate the relative importance of marine vs. terrestrial resources, and explore variations in diet with respect to age, sex, and burial type. The results of this study indicate that the colonists of Apollonia relied on a mixed diet of terrestrial and marine foods, and that there was little or no variation in diet by age, sex, or burial type. The relationship between δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N data for these samples suggests that while marine foods were an important source of nitrogen, much of the carbon used to construct amino acids came from terrestrial foods.     

New evidence for the antiquity of leprosy in early Britain

Examination of skeletons excavated in Dorset has probably produced the earliest example of leprosy known in northern Europe. The site, Poundbury Camp, Dorchester, was excavated under the direction of C. J. S. Green for the Dorchester Excavation Committee from 1966 to 1973. It is a Romano-British cemetery, apparently Christian, and the leprous bones are dated by their archaeological context to the middle of the fourth century AD.The specimen consists of the distal portions of right and left tibiae and fibulae, and the right and left feet. The right intermediate cuneiform is missing, but this may be a post-mortem loss. All parts of the skeleton above the mid-shaft of the tibiae and fibulae have been lost due to modern disturbance. It is therefore impossible to estimate the sex of the individual or its age, but the bones are certainly those of a mature adult.The following pathological changes were noted.     

Oxygen isotopic evidence of residence and migration in a Greek colonial population on the Black Sea

Oxygen isotope analysis was performed on the enamel of the first and third permanent molars of 60 individuals excavated from the Kalfata-Budjaka necropolis associated with the ancient Greek colony of Apollonia Pontica (5th–3rd centuries BC) on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria. The objective of this study was to examine the geographic origins and residential histories of these individuals and to compare the isotopic data with archaeological evidence derived from the burials in an attempt to distinguish ‘locals’ from ‘non-locals’. The analysis revealed that 55 of the 60 individuals sampled were either locally born or came from areas outside of Apollonia with isotopically similar δ¹⁸O values. Five individuals were identified as ‘non-local’, and their isotope values suggest that they originated from areas with higher δ¹⁸O_w of precipitation, most likely the Aegean region. Unfortunately, the archaeological evidence associated with these five skeletons provides no clues as to their place of origin.     

A terracotta phallus from Pisa Ship E: more evidence for the Priapus deity as protector of Greek and Roman navigators

Although the ithyphallic deity Priapus was most generally viewed by the Greeks and Romans as a garden fertility god, there is archaeological and textual evidence that those engaged in maritime activity, especially sea-borne trade, also conceived him as a protective deity. The recent discovery of a terracotta phallus in the remains of Pisa Ship E suggests that apotropaic Priapic icons were carried aboard ancient vessels. This finding, along with two related precedents, allows for a new interpretation with regard to the presence of phallic iconography in the assemblages of Greek and Roman wrecks.     

New evidence for Upper Palaeolithic small domestic dogs in South-Western Europe

Osteoarchaeology and genetics agree that the earliest dog domestications took place during the Upper Palaeolithic. However, they partially disagree about the process of domestication. The former indicated multiple origins, when some of the results of the latter suggested that dogs mainly came from a Chinese centre of domestication. In this study, we describe and discuss new evidence for Late Glacial small dogs in the South-West (Pont d’Ambon and Montespan) and North of France (Le Closeau). Special attention was paid to the possibility of miss-identification between small early dogs and dholes (Cuon alpinus), a middle-sized Canidae, the size of which can be similar to early small dogs. Detailed analyses of the archaeological contexts alongside that of taphonomy, morphoscopy, morphometry and pathology, identified 49 small canid remains from the three sites. They allowed us to exclude the presence of dholes and to conclude that they were all small Upper Paleolithic dogs. These, together with other more sparse discoveries, confirmed the presence of Western European Upper Paleolithic Small (WEUPS) dogs from, at least, the Middle Magdalenian to the end of the Epipaleolithic (i.e. 15,000–11,500 cal BP). As they are contemporaneous with the much larger Russian Upper Paleolithic dogs, they plea for several Euro-Asian origins for Late Palaeolithic dogs.     

New archaeozoological evidence for the introduction of the guinea pig to Europe

The remains are described of a guinea pig dated to the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th c. AD. The animal was discovered at a site in Mons, Belgium, and is the first European archaeozoological find dated with certainty on the basis of both the archaeological context and a radiocarbon dating of its bone. This find confirms that the guinea pig was introduced to Europe soon after the conquest of South America. The morphological and metrical analyses performed on the skeletal remains are in agreement with the iconographic and literary sources indicating the domestic status of the animals imported to Europe. While a previous discovery in England suggested that the guinea pig was a prestigious animal, the present study argues that it was accessible to several classes of the population which may be related to the rapid spread of this prolific animal after its introduction in Europe.     

New evidence for a Silurian (Ludlow) age for the earliest Baragwanathia flora

In the Silurian-Devonian marine clastic strata of the Yea District, central Victoria, two distinct flora and faunal assemblages containing elements of the Baragwanathia flora occur separated stratigraphically by 1700m of siltstone. The upper assemblage is Early Devonian (Praguian) in age, whilst the lower assemblage is considered to be Late Silurian (Ludlow).