TY - JOUR
T1 - Re-investigating fish consumption in Greek antiquity
T2 - Results from δ13C and δ15N analysis from fish bone collagen
AU - Vika, Efrossini
AU - Theodoropoulou, Tatiana
PY - 2012/5
Y1 - 2012/5
N2 - One of the frequently encountered issues in ancient Greek dietary reconstructions through isotope analyses has been the apparent unimportance of fish protein in human diets. The significance of this observation is amplified by the abundant ichthyofaunal remains, iconographic evidence and literary information on fish and fishing, pertaining to almost all sites and time periods of Greek antiquity. In this project, we measured for the first time isotopes from a large number of fish bones from Greek sites dating from the Mesolithic to the Classical times, aiming to investigate whether this absence is an artefact of the methodology or whether it reflects a reality of restricted fish consumption. Results show that regional trends are stronger that temporal ones in fish isotope values. The range of values overlaps with terrestrial resources, making it difficult or impossible to reject fish consumption based on isotope data alone. This variability proposes a reconsideration of the amount of fish in ancient Greek diets specifically for each site and amplifies the importance of interdisciplinary studies, especially for regions with variable ecological resources.
AB - One of the frequently encountered issues in ancient Greek dietary reconstructions through isotope analyses has been the apparent unimportance of fish protein in human diets. The significance of this observation is amplified by the abundant ichthyofaunal remains, iconographic evidence and literary information on fish and fishing, pertaining to almost all sites and time periods of Greek antiquity. In this project, we measured for the first time isotopes from a large number of fish bones from Greek sites dating from the Mesolithic to the Classical times, aiming to investigate whether this absence is an artefact of the methodology or whether it reflects a reality of restricted fish consumption. Results show that regional trends are stronger that temporal ones in fish isotope values. The range of values overlaps with terrestrial resources, making it difficult or impossible to reject fish consumption based on isotope data alone. This variability proposes a reconsideration of the amount of fish in ancient Greek diets specifically for each site and amplifies the importance of interdisciplinary studies, especially for regions with variable ecological resources.
KW - Aegean
KW - Ancient Greece
KW - Collagen
KW - Diet
KW - Fish
KW - Stable isotopes
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84857116397&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jas.2012.01.016
DO - 10.1016/j.jas.2012.01.016
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84857116397
SN - 0305-4403
VL - 39
SP - 1618
EP - 1627
JO - Journal of archaeological science
JF - Journal of archaeological science
IS - 5
ER -