Ethnoarchaeology as a Means of Improving Integration: An Ethnozooarchaeological Study from Cyprus and Its Contribution to the Integration of Zooarchaeology with Archaeobotany and Other Lines of Archaeological Evidence

Herd management and subsistence practices as inferred from isotopic analysis of animals and plants at Bronze Age Politiko-Troullia, Cyprus

“…Amongst the Bronze Age mainstay domesticates (goats, sheep, and cattle), goats exhibit the largest range in δ 13 C values, followed by sheep. This pattern accords with the known dietary flexibility of goats and the well-attested practice of allowing domesticated goats and (to a lesser extent) sheep, to roam freely across pasturelands (e.g., [55]). In contrast, the more constrained δ 13 C range of cattle may indicate that these animals were penned and therefore accessed more limited vegetation sources and/or were provisioned with hay, an argument supported by the δ 15 N data (discussed below).…”

The River as an Economic Asset: Settlement and Society in the Xeros Valley in Cyprus

“…While the international maritime connectivity of Cyprus diachronically has been emphasised on various occasions, we still lack a solid methodology for approaching coastscapes (encompassing the shoreline, the coastal lowlands and the communication routes with the hinterland) and small-scale, regional interaction; the work of another project west of our area, in the nearby Maroni and Vasilikos valleys, shed further light on these south-central coastscapes [13,14] (with references). We also hope to be able to integrate geophysics and other disciplines into our study area in the future: The integration of zooarchaeology, archaeobotany and ethnoarchaeology in Cyprus, for example, has recently shown that not only the adaptation of sheep and goat management to differences in vegetation and landscape locally, but also that other elements in the landscape, such as wells, springs, rivers, pools of fresh water and safe access points to the sea, are integral parts of herd management [15].…”

“…that not only the adaptation of sheep and goat management to differences in vegetation and landscape locally, but also that other elements in the landscape, such as wells, springs, rivers, pools of fresh water and safe access points to the sea, are integral parts of herd management [15].…”

“…While our ongoing extensive surface survey on the cliffs surrounding the Xeros valley has not identified an ancient sanctuary so far, tradition (since the Middle Ages) implies that the Stavrovouni Mountain, the highest mountain in the area, may have once hosted a sanctuary [71] (p. 441), [72] (p. 428), [73], [74] (pp. [13][14][15][16][17]. There is limited evidence for a possible sanctuary (or more) in the broader Stavrovouni region, but the orientation of these sites (although orientation alone is not a safe criterion to allocate a sanctuary to a territory [4]) towards Pyrga [58], along with the aforementioned geographical description, may relate these sites primarily with Idalion or Kition.…”

Against the Grain: Long-Term Patterns in Agricultural Production in Prehistoric Cyprus

“…It is in distinction to culturally integrated agricultural systems that Smith (2001) defines 'low-level food production',in which a majority of calories come from wild rather than cultivated sources (which supply 30-50%); however, accurate reconstructions of past contributions to overall diet are hard to determine (Miller 2011) without regionally specific ethnographic research (Hadjikoumis 2018). Also, what constitutes deliberately collected wild food resources is difficult to establish (for discussion see Wallace 2019).…”