The skeletal material from Lerna was for a long time the best studied
assemblage from the prehistoric Aegean. Angel's publication of the material
(1971) was at the time a pioneering analysis - and it still remains fundamental
in physical anthropology. However, even in the case of Lerna a thorough re-examination
of the material is deemed necessary as new analytical techniques have been
developed in the field of biological anthropology. The re-examination of the
Lerna material by Sevi Triantaphyllou is currently under way.
This re-examination is also extended to other MH sites. Sevi Triantaphyllou has already studied the skeletons from Argos, Aspis for the publication of the site which is being prepared by Gilles Touchais and Anna Philippa-Touchais. She has also studied the extant skeletal material from the Prehistoric Cemetery at Mycenae (British excavations) and Grave Circle B at Mycenae. She has examined and prepared for publication all the extant skeletons from the “tumuli” cemeteries at Argos (excavations by the late E. Deilaki). Unfortunately, the skeletons from Prosymna have not been located.
The situation in Asine is rather complex: while the skeletons from the relatively recent excavations in Asine have been studied by Angel, the material from the old excavations is now, at least partly, lost (but some information is provided by the old study of the material undertaken in the 1930s). However, a recent study of the child burials from Asine by Anne
Ingvarsson-Sundström has indicated that a re-examination of the (extant) material can produce very interesting results and and provide new insights into MH society. Therefore, our project includes a re-examination of all extant adult burials from Asine by Anne Ingvarsson-Sundström.
Anne Ingvarsson-Sundström has also examined the skeletons from Midea (Swedish sector); in the summer of 2007 she also studied the MH skeletons from the Greek sector of the excavation.
Despite the problems of preservation and uneven research, the MH material presents several advantages: First, the material is relatively well preserved, as single rather than multiple burial was the norm during the MH period. Second, statistical or comparative analysis is possible, as a large number of burials have been excavated. Third, most of the sites included in the study are well documented, and therefore contextual information is available. Finally, the skeletons from some of these sites have been studied, and are relatively well published. Therefore, the MH skeletal assemblage offers a unique opportunity for a comparative, contextual statistical analysis.
 A MH skeleton from Lerna laid out for examination |
The method
The re-examination of the skeletal material gives special emphasis on the biological quality of life of the MH population, and in particular on the effect of biological parameters to certain population subgroups defined by age and/or sex. Thus the analysis explores the dynamics of ancient demography by investigating mortality rates and sex ratios, and also examines aspects of health and oral status, dietary patterns as well as broad categories of physical activities that the MH population was engaging with during life.
As regards health status, the study focuses on two broad categories of pathologies:
- bone lesions associated with mechanical load and occupational activities repeatedly exercised on the skeleto-muscular system - e.g. degenerative joint disease, trauma, vertebral defects, indicators of muscle attachments and enthesopathies;
- pathological conditions associated with systemic physiological stress and/or acute episodes of stress which affected the individual during his/her lifetime - e.g. metabolic diseases such as anemia, enamel hypoplasia and non-specific infections.
The central aim of the re-examination of the material is not merely to identify these features in individual cases but to recognize patterns of pathological conditions and stress markers at the level of the entire population. A further aim is to detect variation between age and sex groups, as well as between social and kin groups (Larsen 1997).
 Sevi Triantaphyllou at work in the Lerna apotheke |
Dietary patterns in general reflect the availability of natural resources, but inform us also about the management and distribution of resources by means of social practices (such as eating etiquette, dietary taboos, differential participation in communal eating and feasting, etc.), and therefore about differentiation along age, sex and status lines. Certain types of dental disease can be associated with specific food categories- for instance, dental decay can be attributed to a high consumption of carbohydrates. In order to reconstruct the diet of the MH prehistoric community, the following methods are being used:
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The systematic recording of dental disease at a macroscopic level (undertaken by Sevi Triantaphyllou).
First upper molars of a 21-year old man and a 10-year old child.
(From Angel, Lerna II: the People) - A dental microwear analysis of tooth enamel in order to explore the texture of the food categories consumed shortly before death (Teaford 1991). This analysis is carried out by Sevi Triantaphyllou as part of a separate project financed by the Institute of Aegean Prehistory, New York.
- The analysis of stable isotopes of nitrogen and carbon (carried out by Michael Richards) allows us to recognize certain isotopically distinctive nutrients in the diet (Katzenberg 1992). For instance, it allows us to establish the contribution of marine versus terrestrial resources, or the consumption of plant versus animal proteins, or of C3 versus C4 plants, etc.
The integration of the results obtained by stable isotope and dental microwear analysis enables us to reconstruct the life histories of the men, women and children living in the Argolid during the MH period.
An indirect aim of the project is to promote the study and publication of skeletal remains found in scientific excavations. Recent studies (e.g. Papathanasiou 2001; Triantaphyllou 2001; Ingvarsson-Sundström 2002; Grammenos & Triantaphyllou 2004) are showing clearly that such studies can make a very significant contribution to the interpretation of social relations in the past.
