Residential Mobility in the Rural Greek Past: A Strontium Isotope Investigation

• Author / Creator

  Leslie, Brian G

• Excavations conducted at the ancient city of Stymphalos and the monastery of Zaraka in the valley of Stymphalos, Greece, yielded a number of human graves. Neither group of burials was contemporaneous with the structures in which they were interred and they are believed to represent small farming populations dating to the Late Roman/Early Byzantine (4-6th c. AD) and Late Medieval periods (14-15th c. AD). A dietary reconstruction conducted by Pennycock (2008) found that most individuals had similar δ¹³C and δ¹5N values, but a few had values that indicate dietary differences. Pennycook suggested that perhaps these differences were the result of residential mobility.
  
  For this thesis, tooth enamel was analyzed for strontium isotopes to investigate mobility. The 87Sr/86Sr values show substantial movement by some human inhabitants of the valley, and may also be indicative of animal transport. These results suggest that rural peasants may have been more mobile than previously expected.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Strontium
  • Isotope
  • Greece

• Graduation date

  Fall 2012

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Arts

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R30H7P

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.