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This study investigates possible evidence of seasonal movement of animals – transhumance – in the Greek archaeological record. By engaging with the so-called Agropastoral Debate in Thessaly this analysis argues that regionalism and rising urbanization forced a marked reliance on wool-based economy. The increased demand for wool created herd sizes larger than what local subsistence agriculture could support. Shepherds were required to move with their herds and utilize either short- or long-distance transhumance within Thessaly. This multidisciplinary approach examines transhumant domestication through ethnographic, ethnohistoric and literary sources integrated with palaeobotanical, material, cultural, and zooarchaeological evidence at Classical-Hellenistic sites in the regions of Thessalian Phthiotis (Pharsalos) and Achaia Phthiotis (New Halos, and Kastro Kallithea) in southeast Thessaly. Preliminary data supports mobile pastoralism in antiquity and argues for transhumant domestication in Thessaly by at least the Hellenistic period. This study is part of a larger research project interested in animal management practices and domesticated sheep and goat herd movements in ancient Thessaly.

This investigation challenges the assumption that reduced health is attributed to lower class individuals only. Skeletal indicators of illness and disease found on the osteological remains at ancient Pompeii are associated with an elite diet. The chronic conditions include dental caries, brucellosis, dental abrasion, dental abscesses, fluorosis, Forestier’s Disease (DISH), Hyperostosis Frontalis Interna (HFI), spina bifida occulta, and tuberculosis. The volcanic eruption in 79 CE provided exceptional preservation of the remains of flora, fauna, artwork, and architecture, which are used to recreate the diet and lifestyle of members of Pompeian society. Past analyses of the osteological remains include the disarticulated skeletal elements in the bath complexes and the burial of a large family within a dwelling at Pompeii. These remains are representative of a sample of the living population and contain paleopathological markers that are attributed to the consumption of food items specific to an elite diet. This case study demonstrates another avenue of research within the ecological-political model in archaeological context and illustrates many health risks associated with the lifestyle of members of higher socioeconomic status.

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