Pigs and polities in Iron Age and Roman Anatolia:An interregional zooarchaeological analysis

Anatolia witnessed an increase in mobility and interaction during the Iron Age. Peoples from Southeastern Europe and Southwest Asia migrated into and across Anatolia. At the same time, under the influence of expanding and competing polities, trade and military mobility reinforced supra-regional networks across land and sea. Little is known about how animal husbandry practices in Iron Age Anatolia changed in the face of these large-scale movements of people and goods. Especially little understood remains how past mobility and connectivity influenced pig husbandry, as pigs are generally considered rather immobile animals, and Iron Age animal mobility studies tend to focus on pastoralist practices (e.g. Hammer and Arbuckle, 2017). Yet, pig husbandry practices are highly plastic, and may have changed dynamically along with evolving economic and socio-cultural circumstances during the first millennium BC. In addition, palaeogenetic studies provide evidence that durign the Iron Age pigs with European lineages appeared and subsequently spread over Anatolia (Ottoni et al., 2013) suggesting pigs may have been actively incorporated in trade and mobility. Building on these two observations, this paper explores pig husbandry practices over the course of the Anatolian Iron Age (1200–600 BCE) by (1) discussing diachronic change in relative abundance of pigs and mortality patterns over different sites in first millennium BC Anatolia; (2) investigating whether the introduction of European pigs in Anatolia coincided with noticeable phenotypic changes in pig populations by looking at pig biometry using the R package zoolog. Primary data from various key sites are presented (Troy, Klazomenai, Gordion, Kerkenes, Kinet Höyük) alongside a meta-analysis of published zooarchaeological data

Pigs in Sight:Late Bronze Age Pig Husbandries in the Aegean and Anatolia

This paper explores pig husbandry across the Aegean and Anatolia based on zooarchaeological data and ancient texts. The western Anatolian citadel of Kaymakçı is the departure point for discussion, as it sits in the Mycenaean-Hittite interaction zone and provides a uniquely large assemblage of pig bones. NISP, mortality, and biometric data from 38 additional sites across Greece and Anatolia allows observation of intra- and interregional variation in the role of pigs in subsistence economies, pig management, and pig size characteristics. Results show that, first, pig abundance at Kaymakçı matches Mycenaean and northern Aegean sites more closely than central, southern, and southeastern Anatolian sites; second, pig mortality data and biometry suggest multiple husbandry strategies and pig populations at Kaymakçı, but other explanations cannot yet be excluded; and, third, for the Aegean and Anatolia during the Late Bronze Age more generally, pig data suggests pluriformity, which challenges the use of “pig principles” in this region

Effect of novel sequential soaking treatments on Maillard reaction products in potato and alternative vegetable crisps

Frying leads to the formation of numerous food contaminants through the Maillard reaction (MR). In this paper, commercially available vegetable crisps were analysed for and established to have high levels of acrylamide. Consequentially, the capability of two novel sequential pre-frying treatments were applied to potato, beetroot and parsnip snacks to inhibit the formation of acrylamide, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), glyoxal (GO) and methylglyoxal (MGO) was investigated. Data revealed that immersion in cold tap water for 2 min followed by blanching at 70 ± 2 °C for 2 min (Cold soak, hot soak, (CSHS)) as well as soaking in a 0.01M CaCl2 solution for 2 min followed by blanching at 70 ± 2 ⁰C in 0.1M citric acid for 2 min were both effective pre-treatments for potato crisps, simultaneously decreasing acrylamide concentration under the benchmark level of 750 μg/ kg and lowering GO content by 55.19 and 54.67% and MGO concentration by 39.17% and 81.62% , respectively. CSHS was the only efficient treatment for concurrent mitigation of acrylamide (-41.64%) and HMF (-88.43%) with little GO and MGO development in beetroot. Sequential cold soak in 0.01M calcium chloride and hot soak in a 0.1M citric acid solution has been effective in decreasing acrylamide in alternative crisps. However, this led to an increase in HMF, 30 and 20-fold respectively from the initial concentration. Data reveal that the tested mitigation strategies are vegetable specific

Effect of ultrasound and additives treatment as mitigation strategies to reduce acrylamide formation in potato crisps on industrial scale

The aim of this work was to examine the applicability on large scale of additives and ultrasound treatments during soaking of potatoes before frying to mitigate the formation of acrylamide in potato crisps. Calcium chloride and citric acid were applied at laboratory scale in various concentrations and orders during washing before frying, to establish optimum conditions which were scaled up to pilot plant. Up to 91.0% reduction in acrylamide was obtained at laboratory scale. Both concentration and order of additives influenced the extent of the mitigation observed, with a higher concentration of additive in the second wash being beneficial. When upscaled to factory pilot plant, the reduction observed was not consistent across the three trials, with a 33.4% reduction in the first trial but no significant reduction in following studies. A 2-min ultrasound treatment was applied in two trials to test various powers and amplitudes, and washing combinations respectively. Up to 67.1% of acrylamide reduction was recorded after 2 min of ultrasound treatment in the cold wash followed by hot wash; however, ultrasound treatment was not effective in reducing acrylamide or its precursors when solely applied or when followed by cold wash under the tested conditions of duration and power

Agropastoral economies and land use in Bronze Age Western Anatolia

Published versio

Honderd jaar archeozoölogie in Groningen

One hundred years of zooarchaeology in Groningen. In 1920, Albert Egges van Giffen founded the Biologisch-Archaeologisch Instituut. Even back in 1920, zooarchaeology was a main component of the institute’s research focus and van Giffen started a zooarchaeological reference collection. The zooarchaeology collection gradually expanded, and zooarchaeological research continued to be undertaken under the direction of, first, Prof. Dr. Anneke Clason, then Dr. Wietske Prummel, and now Dr. Canan Çakırlar. In recent years, the field of zooarchaeology has seen a rise in the application of biomolecular approaches. This has happened at the GIA as well. In this paper, we highlight some of the zooarchaeological work and exciting new projects currently being undertaken at the GIA, as well as the implications zooarchaeological research can have for our understanding of the past and our perspective on the environment