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Pig Husbandry at Kastro Kallithea: An Isotopic Study of Pig Husbandry in Hellenistic Thessaly
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- Author / Creator
- Aiken, Margaret
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The goal of this study was to determine the pig husbandry practice(s) employed at the Hellenistic city of Kastro Kallithea. Kastro Kallithea was occupied from the 4th to 2nd centuries BCE. One of the primary goals of the Kastro Kallithea archaeological project was to examine the domestic economy of the site. This study adds to previous and ongoing research via a bioarchaeological approach. Excavations at the site were completed prior to the outset of this research. Bone samples were gathered from 30 pigs and 6 sheep and goats. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes from bone collagen were used to reconstruct the dietary composition of the animals. The results show a primarily C3 diet for the pigs, with δ15N values elevated over the sheep/goat remains sampled. Based on dietary distinctions in different pig husbandry techniques, a management style was inferred based on the isotopic study. This suggests that the animals were free ranging in an extensive management system focused on larger herds of swine.
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- Subjects / Keywords
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- Graduation date
- Fall 2019
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- Type of Item
- Thesis
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- Degree
- Master of Arts
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- License
- Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission.