Voutsaki et al In press Social status in Asine Tumulus

8/8/2019 Voutsaki et al In press Social status in Asine Tumulus

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Fig. 3. The East Cemetery and the tumulus (from Dietz 1980, fig. 3)

2. The East Cemetery: description and chronology Fig . 3 depicts the tumulus cemetery as excavated.11 The tumulus consisted of

two covers of which the lower one was in very poor condition. The better preserved upper cover consisted of larger rounded stones placed neatly in a kind of polygonal pattern. The centre was found empty without any traces of a structure.The tumulus was almost totally excavated, and it was suggested that it wasoriginally circular with a diameter of 8m. In addition, some stones placed in rowsin the northern and southern part of the excavation were interpreted as parts of a

perivolos (a circular enclosure, in this case not fully concentric with the tumulus)with a diameter of 15m, which originally may have indicated the border of thecemetery. The burial ground was overlaid by an artificial pebble-filled layer whichrespected the reconstructed perivolos , and probably, protected the burial ground.12

The history of the tumulus cemetery was reconstructed as follows: 13 Thetumulus was probably erected in the early MH II period, to which the lower stone

11 Dietz 1980, p. 70.12

Stratum 12 in Dietz 1982, p. 69-70, 83, Plan VIII (sections).13 Dietz 1980, p. 71-88.

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cover and the reconstructed perivolos were dated. The upper stone cover wasthought to have been added later, probably during late MH II; some of the cistgraves opened onto it were dated to this period. Cist graves found at the edges of the cemetery were considered late MH II - MH III, because they were

stratigraphically later than the reconstructed perivolos . Some other graves outsidethe tumulus contained datable offerings and could be dated to MH III LH I.Finally, two LH II vases were found in the northern periphery of the tumulus, andwere interpreted as representing a last visit to the burial ground.

Our re-examination of the East Cemetery included a radiocarbon analysis of human samples from graves inside and outside the tumulus.14 The analysis has ledus to reconsider the dates of individual graves and, to a certain extent, the overallhistory of the tumulus. The tumulus must have been built at some point in MH I II, probably in MH II. This means that it constitutes, together with tumulus A andthe early tomb groupings in the so-called tumuli B and in Argos,15 the firstextramural cemeteries to come into use in the Argolid, and among the earliest inthe whole of the southern mainland. Interestingly, graves datable to this period (adouble burial in a pithos , or large storage jar outside the tumulus; a cist inside thetumulus) are found both inside and outside the tumulus. The double burial isaccompanied by four vases which is certainly uncommon in this early periodwhen most graves are unfurnished. No other offerings were found in these earlier graves.

The number of graves increased sharply in MH III LH I,16 though in essencemortuary practices did not change considerably. Graves are still placed both insideand outside the tumulus. Most graves are cist graves containing single, contractedinhumations and the majority contained few, or no offerings. However, some

notable exceptions (listed intable 4) exist. Interestingly, all these graves belong tothe later phases of the East Cemetery.

Grave No Date Pottery Non-ceramic offerings1970-1217 MH III No Golden diadem

Iron nail (!), found in the gravefill

1970-7 MH III No 2 bronze rings1971-10 MH III Kantharos Bronze knife

Gold ring1971-3 LH I 16 vases Bronze dagger and a limestone

pommelTable 4. Graves with non-ceramic offerings in the East Cemetery

14 Voutsaki et al ., in press a.15 See Sarri and Voutsaki, this volume.16 This corresponds to a general pattern across the southern mainland: the switch inMH III LH I to extramural, formal cemeteries placed at a distance from thesettlement. See Voutsaki 1998 for an explanation of the phenomenon.17

1970-12 was originally dated to MH II by Dietz (Dietz 1980, p. 83-84, 88), butthe results of the radiocarbon analysis make a date in MH III more likely.

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1971-3, the richest tomb, is among the latest graves in the sequence. It should be pointed out that this is a large cist grave (the largest grave in the cemetery, indeedin Asine as a whole), and that the deceased was placed in extended position. Itshould be added that small, unfurnished cist graves are also opened in this period.

The radiocarbon analysis suggests that the East Cemetery was more intensivelyused in LH II than hitherto thought. The two LH II stray vases found on the periphery of the tumulus were interpreted as representing a last visit to the tomb,18 but the C14 analysis indicates that another two burials, one cist grave outside thetumulus and a child burial deposited above an earlier grave, belong to the LH II period.19 This tallies well with the evidence from other extramural cemeteries(Argos,20 Prosymna,21 Prehistoric Cemetery at Mycenae22) where the groupings of cists and pits are gradually, in the course of LH I LH II, abandoned in favour of family tombs, such as chamber tombs and tholos tombs. The cemetery wasafterwards abandoned, and was finally destroyed at the very end of the Mycenaean period.

3. Mortuary practices and social differentiation in MH early LH Asine 23

Asine gives us a unique opportunity to study differentiation between the three burial grounds used by the inhabitants of the same settlement: the graves amonghouses in Kastraki and Barbouna, and the formal East Cemetery to the east of thesettlement. Previous studies considered both the East Cemetery and the Barbounagraves as extramural, and compared them with the intramural graves of all periodsfound at Kastraki.24 Here a different approach is adopted, because the schematicdistinction between intramural and extramural graves does not do full justice to thecomplexity of the situation in the MH period.25 So-called intramural graves are inmost cases opened in between houses, or cut into abandoned houses.26 While a fewgraves in Kastraki may have been opened under houses in use at the time, it is veryclear that in Barbouna (and in many cases in Kastraki as well) the graves are duginto the ruins of abandoned houses. In addition some graves are opened in thegeneral settlement area, but in parts not used for habitation, e.g. in the Acropolis(the top of the promontory) at Kastraki.27 Therefore, the comparison here will besimply between the three burial areas, rather than between extramural andintramural graves.

The comparison will be undertaken in three stages: We will first compare the(few) MH II graves of the East Cemetery with the MH I II graves found inKastraki. Then we will compare the MH III LH I East Cemetery graves with the

18 Ibid., p. 87-88.19 In fact, the child burialmay even belong to the LH IIIA period.20 Protonotariou-Deilaki 1980; Voutsakiet al., in press c; Sarri and Voutsaki, thisvolume.21 Blegen 1937, p. xx-xx; Voutsakiet al ., in press b.22 Alden 2000; Voutsakiet al., in press b.23 The discussion is based on the analysis carried out by E. Milka (Milka 2006;Milka n.d.) though we sometimes reach different conclusions.24 Nordquist 1987, p. 101; 2002, p. 24-25.25 This point has been emphasized by Milka, in press.26

As already noted by Nordquist 1987, p. 95.27 Nordquist 1987, p. 9; Milka n.d.

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MH III graves in Kastraki and the MH III - LH I graves in Barbouna. Finally, a fewremarks will be made about the last (LH II) graves of the East Cemetery. Of course,the comparison encounters many problems: Many graves in Kastraki areunfurnished and cannot be dated closely.28 Or, at times we are dealing with small

numbers of graves, and as a result only tentative observations can be made. Nevertheless, some very interesting contrasts between the three burial areas areemerging.

The following aspects of the mortuary evidence will be taken into account: thegrave types used in each cemetery, the offerings accompanying the dead and themode of disposal of the deceased.

(i) MH I MH II periodOnly two East Cemetery graves can be dated with certainty (i.e. based on

stylistic observations on the ceramic offerings, and/or on radiocarbon results) to theearlier phase of its use, probably the MH II period. The pithos burial 1971-7 mayalso belong to this period because of its similarities with and proximity to 1971-15.Finally, a fourth grave (71B) may be the earliest grave of the cemetery because itwas found at great depth. The graves are listed intable 5.

Tombnumber

Type of grave

Burial treatment Burial 29 Offerings

1971-15 Pithos burial

Scanty remains of two skeletons, position unknown

Young adult, sexunknownYoung adultwoman

Bowl ascover.2 cups, jar.

1971-12 Stone-builtcist

Single, contracted Child, 9-10 years -

1971-7 Pithos burial

Double burial, position unknown.

JuvenileAdult, woman?

-

71B (?) Mudbrick cist

Secondary burials,number unknown

Not known -

Table 5. MH I MH II graves in the East Cemetery

Grave types: Jar burials are attested among the early graves in Kastraki,although they are not common: 2-3 out of 34 graves datable to the early MH phases

are jar burials.30

It should be noted that the jars varied between 0.36 and 0.75m inheight.31 In contrast, 1971-15 and 1971-12 are pithos burials, i.e. were placed inlarge storage containers whose height reached 1.20m.32 Jar burials in Kastraki are

28 Only the graves that can be dated will be included in the discussion here.29 The age and sex identifications are based on the recent re-examination carried out by Anne Ingvarsson-Sundstrm (see below), and therefore deviate sometimes fromAngels (1982) identifications. See Ingvarsson-Sundstrm in Voutsakiet al . 2006;Ingvarsson-Sundstrm in Voutsakiet al. 2007.30 Milka n.d.31

Ibid.32 1971-15 was 1.20m long; 1971-7 was only partly preserved.

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used exclusively for single sub-adult burials, while both pithos burials in the EastCemetery are double adult (or juvenile and adult) burials.

While stone-built cists are common in Kastraki (and as we will see below, theyare the norm also during the later phases of the East Cemetery), mudbrick cists are

found rarely (only one undated and one MH III mudbrick cist have been found inKastraki).33 It is interesting, finally, that the majority of contemporary graves in Kastraki are

simple pits, while pits are totally missing from the East Cemetery in this period.34Treatment of the body: We have already pointed out that both pithoi in the East

Cemetery contain double adult burials - something fairly exceptional in this early period. If 71B indeed dates to this early period, the practice of secondary treatmentconstitutes another exceptional practice attested in the East Cemetery. However, thesingle, contracted child burial in the cist could easily have been found in Kastraki.

Offerings : Few offerings, namely the few vases from the 1971-15, are depositedin this period. However, if we compare them with the offerings deposited in theKastraki graves in the MH I II, we can observe that a much smaller proportion of graves receive any offerings at all: only 4 out of 34 graves contained one singlevase.35

(ii) MH III LH I period

East Cemetery Kastraki BarbounaPits 1 11 5Cists 10 8 10Jar burials 0 2 0Pithosburials

0 0 0

Table 6. Types of graves used in MH III LH I Asine

Type of tomb : Only cists (and one pit) are found in the East Cemetery in this period. As we can see intable 6, the percentage of cists found in the East Cemeteryis higher than that found in Barbouna or in Kastraki. However, as we pointed outabove, pit graves are mainly used during this period for sub-adults, who are usually buried in graves among houses.36 The only pit in the tumulus, cut into the earthenmound, belonged to an adult man and contained a bronze knife and a golden ear-ring.

If we examine the size of cists, those found in the East Cemetery (0.85m -1.40mlong) and in Barbouna (0.85m -1.50m long) are larger than those in Kastraki (1.00m-1.15m long for adults and 0.47m-0.74m long for sub-adults).37 We have already pointed out that the largest (and also the richest) grave of all three burial areas wascist grave 1971-3 (2.00m x 1.00m x 0.50m).

33 Milka n.d.34 As we will see below (section 4), pits in Kastraki are often used for neonateswhich are under-represented in the East Cemetery.35 Ibid.36

Ibid. See n. 34, and section 4 below.37 Ibid.

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No burial pithoi are found in the East Cemetery in this period. In contrast, jar burials are still found among the Kastraki graves, while the practice of burying(neonates, infants, children) in jars is abandoned in other settlements.38

Mode of disposal: Single burials represent the norm in all three burial grounds.

However, some double burials are attested, the majority of which are found in theEast Cemetery. The double burial of an adult woman with a neonate (1972-5) isdated to MH III LH I on the basis of its radiocarbon result, while another double burial of an adult man (1972-7) and an infant cannot be closely dated. One possibledouble burial (child-adult) and three MH III double neonate burials have beenfound in Barbouna. In Kastraki, a double (adult man with adult woman) burial iscertainly dated to MH III, while a couple of adult-neonate burials cannot be closelydated. Double burials are therefore more common in the East Cemetery and inBarbouna than in Kastraki.

On the other hand, the new practice which is introduced in this period, the re-use of graves and the secondary treatment of earlier burials, is only attested in onegrave in Barbouna. No certain cases of secondary treatment have been found in theEast Cemetery.39Grave offerings: In all three burial grounds a general increase in the proportion of graves containing offerings can be observed. This is a general phenomenon that can be observed across the southern mainland in this period.40As we can see ontable 7,the percentage of graves with offerings was higher in the East Cemetery and inBarbouna than in Kastraki. In terms of quantity and diversity, however, the EastCemetery presents a more complex assemblage than Barbouna (table 7, table 8),even if this is largely due to the large, rich cist 1971-3. Kastraki has even fewer offerings, and a much narrower repertoire. Finally, only the East Cemeterycontains golden objects (golden diadem in 1970-12, golden earring in 1971-10).However, once more we need to keep in mind that unfurnished graves are still to befound in the East Cemetery in this period.

Number of MH III LH Igraves

Graveswithofferings

Numberof vases

Number of non-ceramic offerings

Kastraki 2141 9 12 7 (5 bronze)Barbouna 16 8 18 8 (3 bronze)EastCemetery

10 or 11 5 22 5 (4 bronze, 2 gold)

Table 7. Numbers of ceramic and non-ceramic offerings in the three areas in MH III LH I

BurialContext

Grave No GraveType

Finds Age / sex

Kastraki MH4 Cist 1 vessel Adult, ?38 E.g. in Lerna; Blackburn 1970.39 However, some caution is necessary: many skeletons were found below theground water level, and therefore the excavators could not always ascertain the position of skeletons.40

Cavanagh and Mee 1998, p. 41-60; Voutsaki 1997.41 Here only the graves certainly dated are included.

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2 bronze beadsMH18 Cist 4 vessels

1 shellFish bones

Sub-adult

MH52-53 Cist 1 vesselBronze tweezersBronze pin (frg)

MA, male/ PA,female

MH107 Pit 2 vesselsBronze razor Obsidianarrowhead

Adult, ?

Barbouna B12 Pit 3 vessels1 shell

Infant

B15 Cist 2 vessels2 bronze rings1 necklace: bronze,carnelian, bone beads2 strings of shells

Child

B30 Cist 5 vessels Adult manB32 Cist/Pit 4 vessels Young adult,

female?A89.324 Cist 3 vessels Adult man

EastCemetery 1970-12 Cist Gold diademIron nail (!),found in thegrave fill

Adult, ?

1970-7 Cist 2 bronze rings Infant1971-2 Cist 2 vessels Juvenile/adult,

female?1971-10 Pit 1 vessel

Bronze knifeGolden ring

Young adult,male?

1971-3 Cist 16 vesselsBronze dagger

Adult, male?

Table 8. MH III LH I graves from the three burial areas containing more than oneoffering

(iii) LH II graves

Grave No Date Grave type Offerings Age / sex1970-11 LH I - II Cist outside the

tumulusno Young adult,

male?1972-7b LH II Deposited on top of

earlier cistno Infant

Table 9. LH II graves in the East Cemetery

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As pointed out above, during the course of LH I - LH II, the traditional MHcemeteries of cists and pits are gradually abandoned, and new family tombs, thechamber tomb and tholos tomb, used for multiple burials over a longer period, are

introduced. The East Cemetery met the same fate. The few burials deposited in this period are undistinguished (table 9). Cist 1970-11 is a rather conservative burial: aheavily contracted, unfurnished burial of a young man. Finally, an infant was placed on the capstone of an earlier cist containing the unfurnished burial of anadult man. While the earlier cist cannot be dated, the radiocarbon result of the infant placed it in the LH II period. The absence of offerings in these late burials is notsurprising; cists and pits still in use in this period are as a rule poor. In contrast, thefirst chamber tomb in Asine (tomb I:7),42 which is built in the West Necropolisfurther away from the settlement in LH II, is a fairly rich tomb, and the richestofferings are deposited in LH II early LH IIIA.43 In the meantime, Barbouna wasnot anymore used for burials since the end of LH I, and only few (possibly) LH burials have been found in Kastraki. By LH II the Asine inhabitants have fullyendorsed the Mycenaean way of life and death.

(iv) ConclusionsThe foundation of the East Cemetery marks an important departure from

traditional MH mortuary practices: The cemetery is opened further away from thesettlement, in a hitherto uninhabited area. The use of a formal disposal area, whichis demarcated with the perivolos 44 and made conspicuous by the use of the stonecovers, pebble fill, and possibly an earthen mound above it, already separates thegroup of people buried in the East Cemetery from the rest of the community. Thereare, however, more differences from the Kastraki graves in the early phases of useof the cemetery. In the East Cemetery cists rather than pits, and pithoi rather than jar burials are used; double burials and even secondary burials (?) are found; four vases are found in one tomb, while only single vases are deposited in a few tombsin Kastraki.45 The situation in MH III LH I becomes more complex: Thedifferences between Kastraki and the East Cemetery become deeper, because of the(almost exclusive) use of cists, the more diverse and rich funerary assemblage andthe presence of golden objects in the latter. The differences with the Barbounagraves are less pronounced: in Barbouna cists predominate, but there are also some pits; there are a few small bronze and precious stone ornaments, but no golden ones.On the other hand, re-use and secondary treatment are certainly attested in

Barbouna, but not (as far as it could be established)46

in the East Cemetery. There is,therefore, evidence for differentiation between the group buried in the EastCemetery and those buried in Kastraki, while the differences with the group buriedin Barbouna are less pronounced.

42 Frdin and Persson 1938.43 Voutsaki 1993. The tomb remains in use into the end of the Mycenaean period.44 Even if this perivolos was not really respected during the period of use of thecemetery.45 See also Nordquist 1990, 39. Here our conclusions differ somewhat from thosereached by Milka, in Voutsakiet al. 2007, p. 76-80, largely because our analysis is

based on the revised dating of the tombs.46 See n. 35 above.

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The question is: What is the nature of this differentiation? Theoretical debatesin mortuary studies have cast doubt on the idea that energy expenditure or wealthdeposited in graves can be directly equated with social status held in life.47 Therefore we should not automatically attribute the differences between the Asine

burial areas to social differences, and certainly not conceive these as rigid divisionsin a static social system. On the other hand, studies of the transformation of mortuary practices in the unstable MH III LH I period have conclusivelydemonstrated that conspicuous consumption at death had become a major socialstrategy for thecreation of power and prestige.48 We may therefore conclude thatthe social group using the East Cemetery expressed not so much their social status, but rather their claims on status by burying their relatives, or other members of thegroup, in a distinct and conspicuous cemetery, and by placing rich finds in (someof) the graves. However, mortuary practices across the social body undergo atransformation in this period, and therefore the contrasts between the East Cemeteryand the other burial grounds, especially with Barbouna, are less pronounced in this period.

A comparison with other extramural cemeteries may help us to place the EastCemetery group in the fluid social conditions of the period, and to understand better the process of emulation and transformation of the mortuary practices. In MH II wesee in Argos developments similar to those in Asine: the foundation of extramuralcemeteries, in one case associated with a tumulus, pithos burials, and rich ceramicofferings.49 In MH III LH I, as we have repeatedly pointed out, extramuralcemeteries appear in many settlements, and there is a general increase in theelaboration of mortuary forms (larger, more complex tombs) and practices (re-use,secondary treatment, etc.) as well as in the deposition of both pottery and valuablesin the tombs. Within this wider frame, the cist grave 1971-3 becomes lessexceptional. The comparison is not so much with the Grave Circles of Mycenae50 -it is obvious that the East Cemetery pales in comparison with the enormous array of exotic, valuable, elaborate, unique offerings deposited in the Mycenae GraveCircles. But even if we compare the East Cemetery with other extramuralcemeteries, e.g. with those in Myloi-Lerna, 51 Prosymna, 52 Argos,53 or thePrehistoric Cemetery at Mycenae54- it becomes indeed obvious that despite the presence of the some richer finds, the East Cemetery burials are not exceptional. Adetailed discussion is beyond the scope of this article, but some generalobservations can be made. If we examine only the diversity and quality of funeraryofferings, some differences between sites exist - there are, for instance, some graves

comparable with, and even richer than the East cemetery in Argos and in the47 I.a. Hodder 1982. For a general discussion on the development of mortuarystudies in archaeology see Parker Pearson 1999.48 Voutsaki 1997; 1999.49 Protonotariou-Deilaki 1980; Voutsakiet al., in press c; Sarri and Voutsaki, thisvolume.50 Karo 1930-1933; Mylonas 1973.51 Dietz and Divari-Valakou 1990.52 Blegen 1937; Voutsakiet al. , in print b.53 Protonotariou-Deilaki 1980. The presence of tumuli is very uncertain, as argued

by Sarri and Voutsaki, this volume; Milka in Voutsakiet al., in print c.54 Alden 2000; Voutsakiet al. in print b.

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Prehistoric Cemetery at Mycenae. However, if we examine funerary wealth also incombination with tomb elaboration and the complexity of mortuary rites a muchmore complex picture emerges, characterized by subtle differences and changesthrough time, and an absence of unambiguous correlations and clear gradation. The

social group buried in the East Cemetery is not the only one who oscillates betweenthe traditional MH practices and the novel practices of re-use, secondary treatment,and ostentatious disposal of valuables. All communities in the Argolid (and in fact,in the entire southern mainland) are caught in this process of transformation,competition and emulation which inaugurates new political formations: the small principalities of the early Mycenaean period.

We can therefore conclude that innovation in mortuary practices, of which theadoption of the tumulus form is only one aspect, is not simply the expression of social status, but part and parcel of the social strategies that bring about socialchange and cause the transformation of the mainland societies.

Having examined the mortuary practices, it is time to explore differentiation inAsine from another angle: the osteological evidence.

4. The bioarchaeology of the East CemeterySome of the human remains recovered in the old excavations were first

published by Frst, 55 and later by Angel. 56 A number of the sub-adult individualsfrom Kastraki, 57 and more recently the skeletons recovered in the East Cemeteryas well as those found in the Barbouna graves have been re-examined with up-to-date methods in bioarchaeology. 58 The aim of the osteological re-analysis is toexamine whether the group of people buried in the East Cemetery differed from

those buried at Kastraki and Barbouna in terms of their demographic compositionas well as their pathological and dietary characteristics.

(i) Preservation and demographyThe bioarchaeological analysis of the 24 skeletons from the East Cemetery is

severely hampered by poor preservation of the skeletons and occasionalcommingling of bones from different burials: In 9 graves the presence of additional bones or bones with different morphology show an admixture of bones between burials. If this happened before or after excavation is seldom possible to discern,although post-excavation mishaps seem to have occurred in a number of cases.

If we now turn to demographic composition, fig . 4 shows that there is a fairly

equal representation of females and males in the skeletal sample, although 4individuals could not be determined as to sex because of the poor preservation of sex-characteristics. Furthermore, 5 of the 17 adults could not be assigned to an agegroup because of the poor preservation of age characteristics.

55 Frst 1930.56 Angel 1982. Unfortunately many of the skeletons from the old excavations inKastraki are now lost.57 Ingvarsson-Sundstrm 2008; Nordquist and Ingvarsson-Sundstrm 2005.58

Ingvarsson-Sundstrm in Voutsakiet al. 2007, 70-76; in print; Ingvarsson-Sundstrmet al., in print.

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Age and sex distribution in the East Cemetery at Asine

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

N e o n

a t e ( 0

- 1 y )

I n f a n

t ( 1 - 6

y )

C h i l d

( 6 - 1 2

y )

J u v e n i l

e ( 1 2

- 1 8 y )

o u n g a

d u l t (

1 8 - 3 0

y )

r i m e a d

u l t ( 3 0 - 4

0 y )

a t u r e a

d u l t (

4 0 - 5 0

y )

O l d a d

u l t ( + 5 0

y )

A d u l t

( + 1 8

y )

N

Total (n=24)

Female (n=6)

Male (n=7)

Fig. 4. Age and sex distribution in the East Cemetery at Asine

While the age distribution in the graves located at Kastraki and Barbounashows a high neonatal mortality, neonates are strikingly under-represented in theEast Cemetery graves ( fig . 5). It is possible that individuals dying close to birthwere excluded from burial within this formal cemetery as a result of generalchanges in burial customs towards the end of the MH period/ beginning of LH59 or as a result of normative funerary rites of certain social/kin groupings within theAsine society.

Proportion of neonates, children and adults at Asine

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Neonates Children Adults

%

Kastraki (n=109)

Barbouna (n=17)

East Cemetery (n=24)

Fig. 5. Proportional representation of neonates, children and adults at Asine

(iii) Palaeopathology and diet

59 Cavanagh and Mee, 41-60; Voutsaki 2004.

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There are no statistically significant differences in the prevalence of pathological conditions between the East Cemetery and the Barbouna individuals( fig . 6). In fact, the East Cemetery population seems to have generally slightlyhigher prevalence of pathological conditions compared to Barbouna, but this could

depend on the fact that there are more observable skeletons at the East Cemetery.The living conditions and environmental challenges would have been basically thesame for the people buried in East Cemetery as for those buried in Barbouna. For example, a high prevalence of enamel hypoplasia indicates that individuals in bothsamples suffered from physiological stress periods during childhood when teeth aredeveloping.

Pathologies in the East Cemetery & Barbouna

0

10

20

30

40

L E H M S M A M T L

C a r i e s

O s t e o a

r t h r i t i s

S c h m o r

l ' s n o d e

s

M e t a b o

l i c T r a u

m a

V e r t e b r

a l j o i n t c

h a n g e s

I n f e c t i o

n

S t a n

d a r d

i s e

d r a

t e East Cemeter

Barbouna

LEH = Linear enamel hypoplasiaMSM = Musculoskeletal markersAMTL = Ante mortem tooth los s

Fig. 6. The distribution of pathologies in the East Cemetery and in Barbouna

It is nevertheless interesting to note that while the Barbouna individuals seemto have had more vertebral pathologies (i.e. Schmorls nodes and vertebral jointchanges), the East Cemetery individuals have higher rates of, for example, cariesand ante mortem tooth loss possibly pointing towards dietary differences - perhapsthe consumption of, for example, sweet and sticky food such as honey and figs.The diet of the two cemetery samples were also examined by means of a stableisotope analysis.60 Unfortunately, the comparison between the two samples washampered by the insufficient bone collagen content of several individuals; only 1

adult from Barbouna and 9 adults from East Cemetery gave results in the analysis.As can be seen in fig . 7, the East Cemetery individuals seem to have reliedmainly on C3 terrestrial resources such as cereals, fruits, nuts and vegetablestogether with quite a lot of animal protein from meat and/or dairy products. Thereare no indications that C4 plants such as barley or marine protein were eaten at aregular basis. These stable isotopes values are generally comparable to other Greek Bronze Age populations, especially those showing heavier reliance on animal protein such as the groups buried in Aspis, Argos61 and Grave Circle B atMycenae.62 60Ingvarsson-Sundstrmet al., in print.61

Triantaphyllouet al. 2008.62 Richards and Hedges 2008.

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Stable isotope values from Asine (n=19)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

-21 -20.5 -20 -19.5 -19 -18.5 -18

13 C

1 5 N

Barbouna-neonates

East-children

East-juveniles

East-adults

Barbouna-adult

1971-7

1971-3

1970-12

Fig. 7. Stable isotope values from the East Cemetery and Barbouna

Interestingly, the individuals in the (probably early) pithos grave (1971-7), awoman and a juvenile, have slightly higher nitrogen values, thus indicating a dietwith more animal protein than the rest of the individuals from East Cemetery ( fig .7). Also the individuals in the two rich graves (1971-3 and 1970-12) seemed tohave consumed quite a lot of animal protein.

5. Final conclusionsThe analysis of the mortuary practices has allowed us to conclude that there is

differentiation between the East Cemetery and the other graves in Asine, particularly those at Kastraki. The group of people using the East Cemetery chosesome, but not all of the mortuary forms and practices that were being introducedduring this period: in the early period the extramural location, the tumulus, andsome less common mortuary forms, and in the later period the deposition of a fewvaluables, but neither shaft graves nor secondary treatment.

The bioarchaeological data, despite the poor preservation, confirm this general

picture. In terms of demographic composition, the population in the East Cemeterydiffers from the populations buried in Kastraki mainly in the under-representationof neonates. The small sample size and heterogeneous preservation of the skeletonsdo not allow any firm conclusions regarding possible differences in health status or diet, but it seems likely that the living conditions would have been similar for mostindividuals at Asine. However, the group buried in East Cemetery seems to havehad a diet with quite substantial amounts of animal protein in addition to foods that predisposed the individuals to caries and other oral health problems. While we donot have sufficient comparative data from Barbouna, it is of interest that theindividuals buried in somewhat richer graves seem to have consumed more animal protein than other members of the same cemetery.

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Despite the problems of interpretation, both archaeological and bioarchaeological data point to the same conclusion: that there was differentiation between the group buried in the East Cemetery and the rest of the community,especially the groups buried in Kastraki but this differentiation was neither deep

nor pervasive.

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List of captions

Fig. 1. Map of the Argolid with main MH sitesFig. 2. The site of Asine (from Nordquist, fig. 8)

Fig. 3. The East Cemetery and the tumulus (from Dietz 1980, fig. 3)Fig. 4. Age and sex distribution in the East Cemetery at AsineFig. 5. Proportional representation of neonates, children and adults at AsineFig. 6. The distribution of pathologies in the East Cemetery and in BarbounaFig. 7. Stable isotope values from the East Cemetery and Barbouna

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