The zooarchaeology of the Late Neolithic Strymon (Struma) river valley : the case of the Greek sector of Promachon-Topolnica
Excavations on the border between Greece (sector Promachon) and Bulgaria (sector Topolnica) in the basin of the river Strymonas, Central Macedonia, have revealed a âflat-extendedâ settlement dating to the Late Neolithic. In addition to the rich array of material culture evidence, the excavation yielded a substantial quantity of animal bones, thus offering an unparalleled opportunity to study the human-animal relationships. The current thesis focuses on the study of the faunal assemblage from the Greek sector of Promachon, and examines the role and the contribution of domestic and wild animals to the economy of the site. Within Promachon, the study of the animal remains indicates an economy particularly tuned to the production of meat; however, a small-scale exploitation of milk could also be inferred. This information is valuable, considering the scarcity of faunal data from contemporary settlements across the basin of Strymonas. Of particular interest is the presence of a large âpublicâ structure, rich in material culture evidence and animal bones, which creates an interesting contrast to the rest of the household deposits. In addition, the faunal evidence is consistent with the suggestion of the
Kazantzis, George
The zooarchaeology of the Late Neolithic Strymon (Struma) river valley : the case of the Greek sector of Promachon-Topolnica. Excavations on the border between Greece (sector Promachon) and Bulgaria (sector Topolnica) in the basin of the river Strymonas, Central Macedonia, have revealed a âflat-extendedâ settlement dating to the Late Neolithic. In addition to the rich array of material culture evidence, the excavation yielded a substantial quantity of animal bones, thus offering an unparalleled opportunity to study the human-animal relationships. The current thesis focuses on the study of the faunal assemblage from the Greek sector of Promachon, and examines the role and the contribution of domestic and wild animals to the economy of the site. Within Promachon, the study of the animal remains indicates an economy particularly tuned to the production of meat; however, a small-scale exploitation of milk could also be inferred. This information is valuable, considering the scarcity of faunal data from contemporary settlements across the basin of Strymonas. Of particular interest is the presence of a large âpublicâ structure, rich in material culture evidence and animal bones, which creates an interesting contrast to the rest of the household deposits. In addition, the faunal evidence is consistent with the suggestion of the
zooarchaeology late_neolithic river_valley case greek sector excavations border greece sector bulgaria sector basin river central macedonia reveal flat extended settlement date late_neolithic addition rich array material_culture evidence excavation yield substantial quantity animal_bone thus_offer unparalleled opportunity_study human_animal_relationship current focus study faunal_assemblage greek sector examine_role domestic wild_animal economy site within study animal_remain indicates economy particularly production meat however small_scale exploitation milk could also infer information valuable consider scarcity faunal_data contemporary settlement_across basin particular_interest presence_large public structure rich material_culture evidence animal_bone create interest contrast rest household deposit addition faunal evidence consistent suggestion