Phoenician Community Research Articles

Mechanical stress in the urbanized Roman Phoenician coast

ObjectiveSkeletal populations from Byblos, Beirut, and Tyre were studied to assess mechanical stress along the Roman Phoenician coast. MaterialsThe sample included 153 adult skeletons. MethodsSkeletal remains were macroscopically assessed for osteoarthritis, intervertebral disc disease (IDD), and Schmorl’s nodes. ResultsThe Byblos population experienced higher levels of mechanical stress than the Beirut and Tyre ones. Sex-based differences were also found in all skeletal assemblages with males likely engaging in physically more demanding tasks. ConclusionsThe variation in mechanical stress, and associated physically demanding tasks, between these populations can be attributed to their differing political and economic status during the Roman period; textual sources highlight the economic and political dominance of Beirut and Tyre, emanating from their status as coloniae. SignificanceThis study represents one of the first attempts to investigate mechanical stress in coastal Phoenicia during the Roman period. It provides valuable insights into the biocultural structure of understudied communities at the periphery of the Roman world, and can serve as a basis for further future research into the occupational patterns of Phoenician communities. LimitationsThe contextual information for these skeletal populations is very limited and does not allow secure conclusions regarding their representativeness. The sample sizes are also rather small, especially when divided per sex and age. Suggestions for Further ResearchFurther investigation employing complementary methods such as cross-sectional geometric properties and entheseal changes is needed to reconstruct the occupational patterns of these communities, taking into account cultural, environmental, and temporal factors.

Exploring prenatal and neonatal life history through dental histology in infants from the Phoenician necropolis of Motya (7th–6th century BCE)

The biological life history of infants from archaeological contexts can provide a unique insight into past human populations. Dental mineralized tissues contain a permanent record of their growth that can provide access to the prenatal and early infant life, and mortality, of human skeletons. This study focuses on the histomorphometric analysis of deciduous teeth from the ‘Archaic Necropolis’ of Motya (7th–6th century BCE, Sicily–Italy). The histomorphometric analysis is conducted on prenatal and postnatal enamel of eight anterior deciduous teeth from seven individuals from this Phoenician population to estimate their chronological age-at-death, health, and enamel growth parameters. Proteomic analysis has been used to determine the sex of the infants.The presence of the Neonatal Line in all specimens indicates that the seven individuals survived birth. The occurrence of at least one Accentuated Line in prenatal enamel in four out of seven individuals suggests the foetuses and/or their mothers experienced a stress-related event during pregnancy. As expected, there was limited variation in Daily Secretion Rates near the Enamel Dentine Junction. These rates increase toward the outer enamel surface and decrease toward the cervix.Our findings illustrate the importance of dental histology for reconstructing perinatal and early infancy mortality and morbidity patterns at Motya, which sheds light on the socio-cultural perception of new-borns and infants in an ancient Phoenician community.

Investigating Plant Micro-Remains Embedded in Dental Calculus of the Phoenician Inhabitants of Motya (Sicily, Italy).

Plant records reveal remarkable evidence about past environments and human cultures. Exploiting dental calculus analysis and using a combined approach of microscopy and gas chromatography mass spectrometry, our research outlines dietary ecology and phytomedicinal practices of the ancient community of Motya (Sicily, eight to sixth century BC), one of the most important Phoenician settlements in the Mediterranean basin. Micro-remains suggest use or consumption of Triticeae cereals, and animal-derived sources (e.g., milk and aquatic birds). Markers of grape (or wine), herbs, and rhizomes, endemic of Mediterranean latitudes and the East, provide insight into the subsistence of this colony, in terms of foodstuffs and phytotherapeutic products. The application of resins and wood of Gymnosperms for social and cultural purposes is hypothesized through the identification of Pinaceae secondary metabolites and pollen grains. The information hidden in dental calculus discloses the strong human-plant interaction in Motya’s Phoenician community, in terms of cultural traditions and land use.

Ancient mitogenomes of Phoenicians from Sardinia and Lebanon: A story of settlement, integration, and female mobility.

The Phoenicians emerged in the Northern Levant around 1800 BCE and by the 9th century BCE had spread their culture across the Mediterranean Basin, establishing trading posts, and settlements in various European Mediterranean and North African locations. Despite their widespread influence, what is known of the Phoenicians comes from what was written about them by the Greeks and Egyptians. In this study, we investigate the extent of Phoenician integration with the Sardinian communities they settled. We present 14 new ancient mitogenome sequences from pre-Phoenician (~1800 BCE) and Phoenician (~700–400 BCE) samples from Lebanon (n = 4) and Sardinia (n = 10) and compare these with 87 new complete mitogenomes from modern Lebanese and 21 recently published pre-Phoenician ancient mitogenomes from Sardinia to investigate the population dynamics of the Phoenician (Punic) site of Monte Sirai, in southern Sardinia. Our results indicate evidence of continuity of some lineages from pre-Phoenician populations suggesting integration of indigenous Sardinians in the Monte Sirai Phoenician community. We also find evidence of the arrival of new, unique mitochondrial lineages, indicating the movement of women from sites in the Near East or North Africa to Sardinia, but also possibly from non-Mediterranean populations and the likely movement of women from Europe to Phoenician sites in Lebanon. Combined, this evidence suggests female mobility and genetic diversity in Phoenician communities, reflecting the inclusive and multicultural nature of Phoenician society.

The beginnings of fruit tree cultivation in the Iberian Peninsula: plant remains from the city of Huelva (southern Spain)

The combination of an archaeobotanical analysis from two different sites in the city of Huelva (Spain) and the identification of vine fields in the same area suggests that different fruit tree species (grapevine, olive, almond and pomegranate) and vegetables such as melon were introduced into the Iberian peninsula in the transition from the 9th to the 8th century cal bc. These dates represent the earliest chronology for arboriculture within the Iberian Peninsula. The material has been preserved by waterlogging allowing the preservation of a wide variety of species which indicate the development of fruit tree cultivation. The archaeological context provides information on the connections between this innovation and the Phoenician communities that established in the region in search of metal resources. Fruit tree cultivation, and particularly wine production, had a great impact on the local agriculture which was traditionally based on the production of annual crops. The new crops soon became an essential agricultural element of the communities that lived in the south and east of the Iberian Peninsula. From the 8th century cal bc onwards, agricultural production would be mostly market oriented.

Nergal y la deidad doble del friso del Banquete infernal de Pozo Moro

An enthroned figure with human body and two identical and superposed animal heads rules the scene called Underworld Feast from Pozo Moro’s Orientalizing monument. Identification of this figure with a deity assimilated with Nergal and his twin, Erra, or their corresponding Lugal-irra and Meslamta-ea, Lords of the Underworld, is proposed. Though their cult spread through Syria and the Phoenician environment, especially in Samaria, it is in the Upper Euphrates where there seems to be a concentration of a surprising amount of clues that would allow us to specify that it was there that the idea or the image that we finally see shown in Pozo Moro was conceived: the implantation of Nergal’s cult in the zone; the special proximity of the iconographic elements of Neohittite origin that can be seen at the Pozo Moro friezes; the frequency of the representation of Hybrid beings devouring humans that find their reflection in the Underworld Feast; the permanence in the zone of Phoenician communities still in the 7th century B.C., etc. It is possible that the transference process took place through a Phoenician deity related to the Underworld, but we do not have enough clues to specify which one it could be.

LEAD ISOTOPE CHARACTERIZATION OF COPPER INGOTS FROM SARDINIA (ITALY): INFERENCES ON THEIR ORIGINS

The provenance of the materials making up the metal artifacts represents a fundamental question for archaeological research. The complex processes necessary to extract the metals from the minerals cause considerable changes in their chemical composition. By contrast, the ratio of the different lead isotopes in artifacts is not influenced by metallurgie processes. Therefore, the raw mineral material and the extracted metal exhibit the same isotope "footprint". Over the course of history, Sardinia has played a major role in maritime routes. Its considerably rich mineral resources, with copper, lead and iron mineralizations, moreover complemented its strategic importance. During the 10th and 9th centuries BC Sardinia, because of its strategic location, was to become directly involved in the "precolonial" Phoenician expansion. Two repositories of copper ingots recovered at different levels within a nuragic village in northwest Sardinia, can be placed within this historical context of intense traffic and exchange of goods between native Sardinian and Phoenician communities. The ingots were made in different shapes: plane-convex, biconvex, truncated cone and irregular. The analyzed ingots exhibit a considerable lead isotopie variability, although no systematic differences in isotope composition were revealed between the ingots from the two different repositories. Moreover, no systematic isotopie variations were observed between the different shapes in which the material was found. Overall, the ingots exhibit a linear distribution in the lead/lead diagrams. The group of ingots with the lowest isotope ratios project onto the area defined by the northwestern Sardinian mineralizations. The ingot located on the other extreme end of the straight line in the Pb diagrams overlaps the area defined by the southern Sardinian deposits. The isotope footprints of the intermediate samples seem to indicate that they stem from the mixing of two components from two different mining areas of Sardinia, one in the north, the other in the south. Therefore, widespread exchange of metal must have taken place throughout the island, and such an exchange does not seem to have been hindered by the advent of the Phoenicians in Sardinia. The results of the present investigation indicate that the majority of the examined ingots was produced with metal from the northwest of the island, and that these mines were therefore known and exploited in nuragic times. Such findings shed new light on the complex issues involved in proto-historic Sardinian metallurgy