SACHROFICS · Sacrificial food in Classical, Hellenistic and Roman Cyprus: an interdisciplinary diachronic approach in an island laboratory.
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2021-11-01 → 2024-10-31
- EU contribution
- €236,912
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Sacrificial food in Classical, Hellenistic and Roman Cyprus: an interdisciplinary diachronic approach in an island laboratory.
The archaeology of food is a major research field and remains of food preparation and consumption give valuable glimpses into past societies, but major knowledge gaps exist even for well-known societies such as ancient Greece and Rome. Project SACHROFICS investigates the role of food and more specifically sacrificial meat, in the societies developed in Cyprus during the Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods (450 BCE-400 CE). Spearheaded by zooarchaeology (the study of ancient animal remains) and complemented by the study of microwear on animal teeth and archaeobotanical data (ancient plant remains), SACHROFICS generates high-resolution insights on cultural, political, social and economic dynamics as reflected in sacrificial practices. For the first time, analysis of eastern Mediterranean faunal assemblages elucidates the production, distribution and deposition of sacrificial meat remains. Food, beyond sustenance and health, offers an arena for individuals, social groups and entire societies to negotiate social, economic and political relations. The democratic ideals and civic values bequeathed to us by the Greco-Roman world were mediated through sacrifice, which is thus a vital part of our European heritage. With its study, SACHROFICS enriches our understanding of the origins of contemporary society. Thysia (‘Olympian’ sacrifice) in particular (the burning of femur/tail bones in fat), was the main public institution for distributing meat in Classical cities and their Hellenistic and Roman successors. Meat was politically and socially important, sparking debates on frequency, scale, contexts of its consumption and role in levelling or re-affirming status. These debates have been dominated by literary sources, but SACHROFICS provides scrutiny of those sources with data based on the study of animal remains in sanctuaries. In addressing these gaps, SACHROFICS focuses on the production, distribution and consumption of sacrificial meat in Cyprus (450 BCE-400 CE). Its broad chronological span is balanced by its geographical focus, zooarchaeological core and interdisciplinary approach. The large volume of zooarchaeological data collected document clear differences between secular and ritual contexts in human-animal interactions, as well as important differences in the practices between different sanctuaries. This is also supported by dental microwear analysis (i.e. the diet of animals before sacrifice), as well as data from neighbouring geographical areas. Integration with archaeobotany, human osteology, literary evidence, and studies of sacrificial food in the eastern Mediterranean contributes a fuller, more balanced picture and integrates Cyprus in her wider region.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Animal sacrifice was a major institution for meat distribution in Classical, Hellenistic and Roman societies. Early research suggested that meat consumption was infrequent in the Greco-Roman world but recent zooarchaeological and isotopic data indicate larger quantities from a diverse suite of animals consumed in temple precincts. Sacrificial meat was also consumed in secular contexts but the details are unknown. Despite recent advances, important aspects are in urgent need of investigation through primary data. These include the husbandry systems that produced the animals, the selection process for sacrificed and non-sacrificed animals, the logistics of consumption and differences between religious and secular contexts. Plants also played roles in sacrificial practices and fluctuations in their use is another proxy for cultural and economic change. In addition to these themes, our knowledge of sacrificial food suffers from geographical gaps and a dearth of diachronic studies. Project SACHROFICS addresses these gaps through an interdisciplinary study of sacrificial food in Classical, Hellenistic and Roman Cyprus. This choice covers an important geographic gap, provides an ideal ‘laboratory’ to assess external influences and a cultural melting pot to study the fusion of eastern and Greco-Roman cultures. The project aspires to achieve high-resolution insights into animal treatment before, during and after sacrificial events through a methodological suite spearheaded by zooarchaeology and complemented by stable isotope, dental microwear and archaeobotanical analyses. These insights form a solid basis to fulfil its objective of understanding the entire chain of operations involved in sacrificial food (production, consumption, deposition), and contribute to debates on the role of food in Greco-Roman societies diachronically. The integration of the project’s findings in the eastern Mediterranean amplifies the knowledge produced and increases its relevance to other areas.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- THE CYPRUS INSTITUTE · NicosiaCoordinatorCyprus
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union