Grinding and Abrading Activities in the Earlier Neolithic of Northern Greece

Despite their widespread presence and potential to shed light on various aspects of prehistoric life, for a long time Neolithic macrolithics attracted little scholarly attention. The situation, however, is rapidly changing as more and more assemblages are being studied and published systematically. The study of the grinding and abrading tools from the earlier Neolithic site of Pontokomi-Souloukia in northern Greece is part of this recent trend, as it integrates macroscopic examination, use wear, microbotanical and macrobotanical analysis, an experimental program, ethnographic data, as well as contextual analysis. In this article, we present the results of our study and make comparisons with other assemblages, placing the Pontokomi-Souloukia material in its wider Aegean Neolithic context

A bottom-up view of food surplus: using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis to investigate agricultural strategies and diet at Bronze Age Archontiko and Thessaloniki Toumba, northern Greece

We use stable isotope analysis of crop, faunal and human remains to investigate agricultural strategies and diet at EBA-LBA Archontiko and MBA-LBA Thessaloniki Toumba. Crop production strategies varied between settlements, phases and species; flexibility is also apparent within the crop stores of individual houses. Escalating manuring intensity at LBA Thessaloniki Toumba coincides with large co-residential ‘blocks’ geared towards hoarding of agricultural surpluses, spectacularly preserved by fire at nearby LBA Assiros Toumba. Faunal isotope values reflect a range of feeding strategies, including probable herding of cattle on C4-rich coastal salt marshes, evident at Archontiko through to the LBA alongside bulk cockle harvesting. Palaeodietary analysis of LBA humans at Thessaloniki Toumba indicates that C3 crops represent the only plausible staples. Millet was a minor food but may have played a particular role in the sub-adult diet. Meat probably featured in supra-household food sharing and hospitality, associated with Mycenaean-style tableware in the LBA

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) domestication and viticulture history in Greece from Neolithic to the Archaic period: insights from geometric morphometric analyses of archaeological grape seeds

International audienc

Local domestication or diffusion? Insights into viticulture in Greece from Neolithic to Archaic times, using geometric morphometric analyses of archaeological grape seeds

International audienceGrapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) is one of the emblematic crops of Greece. Despite evidence of early wine making in the Aegean since the Late Neolithic (ca 4500-4000 BC), the hypothesis of a local domestication of the grapevine in this area hasn't be thoroughly investigated. In order to date the first appearance of the domesticated grapevine and to explore the past cultivated diversity in the Aegean, morphometric analyses were performed on a large data set of 2223 archaeological grape pips from 11 sites located in various areas of Greece and dated to the Late Neolithic, Bronze Age and Archaic period (6th millennium BC-7th century BC). All the grape pips from the Late Neolithic are morphologically wild. The shift from wild to domesticated shape occurred during the Middle Bronze Age (1900-1700 BC). From the Late Bronze Age (1500-1100 BC) onwards, domesticated types dominate almost all the assemblages. Possible indication of a local domestication process is provided by pips dated to the Early Bronze Age. Also still in the range of modern wild specimens, their shape is an intermediate between the Neolithic pips and those dated to later periods. A high morphological diversity characterizes the Late Bronze Age and Archaic assemblages. These grape pips are mostly allocated to modern varieties from the Balkans, Caucasus and SouthWest Asia. The geographical origin of the identified varieties may reflect introduction of cultivars from the eastern Mediterranean, but may also testify to an early stage of local domestication and grapevine diversification