Animals and Human Diet in the Prehistoric Aegean

The list of animal species forms an essential source of information on the life of ancient societies, though it is not sufficient to explain in detail the particular ways in which man obtained his food. These ways are determined by the ecological background, the economic and social conditions, and the ideology and religious beliefs of the given society, and reflect regional, temporal and cultural differences.

How and to what extent did these factors affect the lives of the prehistoric farmers in the Aegean? Which species were exploited and why? How was each species managed? In other words, what was the role of animal husbandry in the prehistoric Aegean?

INTRODUCTION

From information available from the catalogues and detailed reports on the fauna of 45 prehistoric sites in continental and insular Greece we are able to form quite a full picture of the contribution of husbandry in the economic history of these settlements.

Chronologically, they span the millennia corresponding to the appearance of permanent installations, and their development up until the years preceding the emergence of the polis, since this institution ushers in an entirely new period in Greek history (Austin and Vidal-Naquet 1972, 45-62).

This osteological material (for which statistical data is often lacking) also constitutes the main body of archaeo-zoological research in Greece to date.

THE RELIABILITY OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SOURCES

Before consideration of the data, which do not include molluscs, we briefly bring to mind the possibilities and limitations which examination of osteological material presents.

A basic problem for archaeo-zoologists is how true a picture of historic reality is given by the collected samples (Marinval-Vigne and Vigne 1985; Payne 1985). All are conscious in their inquiry of the extent to which the sample of the fauna of a given site is sufficiently representative to allow statistical applications for each species of animal and for each section of its skeleton. This many-sided issue subsumes also the method of collection of the sample. For example, at the previous Congress the analysis of a sample of 7155 bones from the excavations at Akrotiri was presented. This included 35 fish bones, a proportion of 1.18% (Gamble 1978; 1980). In our recent examination of a further sample of 10,607 bones, from the West House, we counted 246 fish bones in the destruction level and 1441 in the debris level. The overwhelming majority of these bones were found when earth from some sectors was sent for water-sieving (Trantalidou, in press).

We must also bear in mind the extent to which extraneous factors (animals, soil composition) which cause the alteration and disappearance of organic matter, and especially bones of small (e.g. birds) and young animals, may be regarded as insignificant.

Furthermore, with regard to the issue in hand, diet, we are aware that not all animals present in the settlement were consumed. The subject of diet should not be confused with the existing biotope and ecological value of each species. More specifically: from the extremely well-studied settlements of Macedonia, Kastanas and Sitagroi, we have information on 22 species of mammals and 28 species of birds, discounting the molluscs and fish (Becker 1986; Bökönyi 1986). These species, some of which no longer exist, must have been a very small sample of the existing fauna. We mention indicatively that today some 180 species of birds live in the wetlands biotope of Prespa in western Macedonia (Florina 1982).

Literary sources and/or iconography may frequently provide salient though limited information on this subject. In the Kitsos cave in Attica 33 species of birds have been identified as living in Neolithic and Classical times (Maurer-Chauvire 1981), yet only 5 of these have been recognized in Attic vase-painting of Classical and later times (Lamberton and Rostoff 1985).

In some cases the bones derive from animals which were neither consumed on the spot nor formed part of the fauna around the settlement, at least during the period of its prosperity. The excavation data furnish information on the discovery of a polished ulna from a brown bear in the settlement of Emporion in Chios, fragments of the femur of a Pliocene elephant in the settlement of Nichoria in Messenia, hippopotamus tusks and antelope horn in the Heraion of Samos, an ostrich egg shell in the Mycenaean shrine at Phylakopi on Milos (Clutton-Brock 1982, 628; Wolberg 1972; Sloan and Duncan 1978, 70; Boessneck and von den Driesch 1981, 1983; Gamble 1985, 480).

In these instances we are dealing with the collection of a fossil or, more usually, raw material brought in the context of commercial exchanges, independent of their subsequent use. One should view the presence of deer in the settlement of Akrotiri in the same manner. To date, red deer antlers, phalanges and metatarsus have been identified there. If other sections of the skeleton are not found, then it is quite possible that lower limbs and antlers were brought to the island from the neighboring littoral to be worked. More will be said on this below.

In general, regardless of how man obtained and used the animal (as a religious votive offering or symbol, for economic or martial purposes, for personal entertainment or embellishment of his residential apartments) his primordial concern has been food. And in this matter choice was not fortuitous. The species, age and sex of the animal were selected. Time and again this choice was dictated by local conditions or religious rites: pigs were sacrificed in the sanctuary of Demeter even in Geometric times (Jarman 1973, 176-177).

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

Man's basic source of animal protein was from stock raising. Domesticated animals could be classified according to the products or services they provide. Thus there are animals reared mainly for their meat and others which contribute to auxiliary tasks or as raw material in manufacturing. Swine belong to the first category and it is with them that we begin, bearing in mind that for all species classification has been made by era and geographical unit.

       Suidae:     In excavation data the distinction is rarely made between bones of domesticated and wild swine. This is due to the fact that the wild population, though present throughout the Greek mainland, has left very few traces. We recall references to the chase of the wild boar in the Iliad (XI) or Odysseus hunting on Parnassus where a 'μέγα σύν' is spoken of (Odyssey XIX 427-441).

Indicatively we note that in the Aceramic phase of the settlement at Argissa the proportion of wild boar is 0.2% of the total recovered bone fragments (Boessneck 1960) and in the Late Neolithic at Ayia Sophia in Thessaly, 0.7% (von den Driesch and Enderle 1976, 33). From the settlement of Sitagroi, for the successive periods from Early Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age, we have the following proportions: 2.17%, 0.57%, 1.90% and 2.31% (Bökönyi 1968, 68-69).

In Messenia (Nichoria) wild boar disappears after 1500 BC. Proportions here average 0.9% and 3.7% for the Middle and Late Helladic period respectively (Sloan and Duncan 1978, 62-63).

So the question of the contribution of pork to the human diet may be answered mainly through examination of bone fragments of domesticated pig, the keeping of which 'άγέλη' (Iliad XI 678) leads us to suppose the abandonment of the nomadic life.

In Neolithic times the presence of swine is around 15% in Macedonia, 17% in Thessaly (in the Late Neolithic an increase is observed), 10% in the Cyclades, 19% in Crete on average, while in the Peloponnese figures vary from 10-28%. There are, of course, deviant cases, such as Servia and Sitagroi, where proportions of 40% and 20.3% are recorded respectively for the Middle Neolithic, or at Early Neolithic Sesklo and Late Neolithic Ayia Sophia where the proportions are 21.6% and 41.8% respectively (Watson 1979, 228-229; Bökönyi 1986, 68-69; Schwartz 1981, 134; von den Driesch and Enderle 1976, 33). We presume that these quantitative differences are due to environmental conditions. The existence of wooden areas favors the maintenance of herds which graze freely.

In the Early Bronze Age a general increase in proportions is observed in Macedonia and the Peloponnese. In the Cyclades pigs represent 10.8% in Phylakopi and 8.2% in Myrtos (Gamble 1979, 123; 1982, 103; Jarman 1972, 318).

In the ensuing periods, despite a decline in the species, proportions continue to reach the general level of 25%. This is due to population increase and consequent systematization of production. We should not forget that the herds were tended by specialist swineherds 'συβώτης, συφορβός', as attested in the Homeric texts (Odyssey XV 39, IV 640, XVI 36, 464, 260, XXI 139) and in the Linear B tablets at Pylos (Promponas 1983, 76). Here too there are deviations, for whereas 11.3% are recorded in the Middle Bronze Age at Phylakopi on Milos, the proportion is as high as 31% at Pyrgos in Crete (Gamble 1979, 123).

In the Iron Age a further reduction in the proportion of swine is observed in comparison with the Bronze Age. In Messenia, for example, they drop from 32.9% in the Middle Helladic era to 21.7% in to so-called Dark Ages (Sloan and Duncan 1978).

Pig-rearing in the Cyclades is more restricted than in other regions during all periods.

How were the herds managed? We learn from Homer that the person responsible for the swineherds on an island such as Ithaca, described as 'αίγίβοτος, άγαθή καί σύβοτος' (Odyssey XX, 246) had thousands of animals in his charge 'ύες μάλα μυρίαι' (Odyssey XV, 556). Evidence both from excavations and from the tablets falls far short of this number, even though there is no specific reference to herds. At Ayia Triada there are two Linear A references to pigs (Calabrese de Feo 1977, 45), 540 animals have been counted at Pylos and at least 383 at Knossos (Chadwick et al. 1971).

Swine, together with sheep, goats and cows, frequently form part of wider stock-raising exploitation (Ventris and Chadwick 1973, 132, 205).

The sows were accorded special treatment, especially those which had just produced litters. They remained inside the 'αύλήν' of the stock-raising installation while the boars were left outside (Odyssey XV 553-555). In all these instances we should imagine the animals being reared fairly freely, particularly those being fattened 'σίαλοι' or grazing outside the built area of the settlement.

On the basis of the data from the Cyclades, Gamble (1978, 752) proposed a third solution, that of the household pig - i.e. each house kept its own. Analysis of the bones from the West House at Akrotiri gave a minimum number of 4 individuals in the destruction level and 6 in the debris level, which had been consumed. We cannot, however, make any definite statement as to where they were stabled - perhaps in the ground floors or outside the town - nor, more importantly, who was responsible for tending them.

If we accept that some of the Knossos tablets (series Co) reflect the composition of the herds, then we observe that in one stock-raising enterprise swine account for 9.3% on average. When the tablets mention boars and sows, these are in the ratio 1:3:5. In the whole number of reported bones from Pylos the ratio is approximately 1:4 (Chadwick et al. 1971, 43-50).

Boars were slaughtered rather quickly or castrated. Penelope's suitors were served at table daily with the choicest boar 'ζατρεφέων σιάλων τόν άριστον άπάντων' (Odyssey XV, 19). We note here that castration in order to encourage fattening is both known and confirmed by archaeo-zoologists and ancient sources 'κάπρον καί βούν έρίμυκον ταμνέμεν, ούρήας δέ... ταλαεργούς' (Hesiod, Works and Days, 790-791).

Archaeo-zoological and literary sources indicate that the age of slaughter is the same in all regions. The animal was preferably killed between 1 and 2 years old 'σύν ίερεύσαντες ένιαύσιον' (Odyssey XVI 454), that is when fully grown. Over 3/4 of animals were slaughtered before the age of 2.5 years. Just a few animals over 2 years old were kept for breeding and almost none lived longer than 3.5 years.

It is difficult to estimate the weight of the pigs served at the prehistoric table. In the language of proportions, and in the absence of population information and complete dietary knowledge, we ascertain that pork supplied about 30% of animal protein, with a range of 9-36%. Some of the lowest proportions are recorded for Cycladic settlements. For the noble commensals of the Homeric heroes - at whose table only 'σίτος' bread and meat were served - pork was of secondary or tertiary importance (Odyssey V 333-334, Odyssey I 140-143). At the funerary banquet in honour of Patroclus, Achilles offers his companions beef, lamb and goat in abundance and many well-fed swine, 'βόες άργοί, ... οίες καί μηκάδες αίγες, ... έργιόδοντες ύες, θαλέθοντες άλοιφή' (Iliad XXIII 30-34).

The classification of animals according to their age of 'σιτήγονος χοίρος' or according to their contribution to the human diet 'σίαλος, κάπρος, σύς' (Massouridis 1976, 38-39), names known both from Homer and the Linear B tablets, will be augmented in historical times. 'κάπρον έξάμηνον', or 'ύαμινόν', or 'ένιαύσιον καί έγμηνον' are mentioned in inscriptions from the Aegean islands (Georgoudi 1988).

Thus it seems that the control of swine was highly advanced, as much for strictly husbandry reasons as for the protection of crops. For this is the root of the sacrifice of pigs to Demeter.

       Ovicapridae:     The osseous remains of both species display common morphological features, which is why they are treated as a uniform assemblage.

Rearing of sheep and goats is not as difficult as that of swine. Their meat yield is also different. Pigs are both heavier and reproduce more easily. Thus we must assume that wool production compensates for economic loss. Thus ovines and caprines, animals best suited to the environmental conditions of the Mediterranean, became the backbone of the economy throughout the Aegean world.

Domesticated species of these mammals first appeared in Greece during the so-called Aceramic phase and in high proportion: 83.5% at Argissa, 65.7% at Sesklo, 74.7% at Knossos (Jarman and Jarman 1968, 243-246).

Counting together the proportions from all sites for each period separately, we observe a gradual reduction of sheep and goats, approaching the order of 30% in the interval between the Aceramic and the Iron Age. Some fluctuations in certain Macedonian sites, for the duration of the Neolithic, do not alter this trend. If we then examine each settlement separately, we shall observe that the reduction in sheep and goats is inversely related to the rise in swine. At Achilleion, in the Early Neolithic, ovines and caprines represent 82.6% and swine 6.5%. In the Middle Neolithic, when sheep and goats fall to 73.3%, pig increase to 10.7% (Gimbutas 1974, 286).

The figures for the Cyclades, in comparison with other regions in the corresponding periods, are much higher. In the Bronze Age at Akrotiri and Phylakopi the proportions of sheep and goats are the same as those for the Neolithic period in other settlements (Gamble 1979).

At the same time, wherever morphological details permit distinction, we observe that ovines are more numerous than caprines, in the ratio 4 or 5:1 to 10:1. Goats do not exceed 20% at Knossos or 25% at Sitagroi, proportions generally high. The fauna at Akrotiri falls within this trend. At only a few sites are ovines and caprines equally represented (such as in the Early Neolithic at Otzaki) and even more rarely do goats outnumber sheep. At Nichoria there are twice as many caprines as ovines.

Reading of the lists in Linear B, particularly those mentioning both species, confirms the numerical difference. Of 11,982 sheep and goat recorded at Pylos, 1825 are goats, a proportion of 15.2%. An estimate of the proportion of goats in the Knossos tablets (Ce, Ch, Co, C) is 11.5%. In other words out of 25,755 ovines and caprines, 2966 are goats.

The most complete sample of mixed flocks is on the inside of series Co(Palmer 1963, 184). In precisely this series goats constitute 26.1% of the total of the three basic domesticated animals and 30.4% of the total of sheep and goats.

Before proceeding further with the issue of tending the flocks and criteria of choice of species in the diet, we disgress a little to stress the existence of two varieties belonging to the caprine family. In some excavations bones have been found which are larger than others with caprine features. Some authors attribute these to the Alpine wild goat (ibex) and others to Capra aegagrus, which originates from the Middle East (Couturier 1962, 607-620; Payne 1968). The former is noted in the settlement of Ayios Petros (Sporades), at Nichoria (Messenia) and in the Korykeion Antron (Parnassus). The latter is mentioned at Nea Nikomedeia (Macedonia), Pevkakia (Thessaly), Kefala (Cyclades), Emporion (Chios), Tylissos and Phaistos (Crete) (Schwartz 1985, 152; Higgs 1962, 273; Evans and Renfrew 1968, 78; Clutton-Brock 1982, 692; Hatzidakis 1912, 231-233; Coy 1977, 131; Pernier 1935, 86-88; Poplin 1984, 386-387).

We shall not become embroiled in details. It would appear that it is not easy to define the distribution zone for each species, particularly since the identification of the variety, on the basis of the few bones found, is extremely difficult. It is true that the ibex lived in mainland Greece during the Pleistocene (Petralona, Franchthi, Kephalari Argolid), (Kourtessi-Philippakis 1986, 43, 129, 136, 207), but as investigations at Franchthi have shown, neither the Late Palaeolithic nor the Mesolithic deposits contain caprine or ovine bones. Sheep and goats appear, already domesticated, in Neolithic times and, more precisely, in the Aceramic phase, as has been pointed out above (Payne 1973, 59; Bökönyi 1977, 65).

The existence of Capra aegagrus in Crete is confirmed by ideograms on the Knossos tablets (Chadwick 1976, 130). Those who have studied them underline the use of the ideogram 'she-goat' as the female counterpart to the 'agrimi'. This is an interesting interpretation for, from the zoological point of view, a cross between Capra aegagrus and a domesticated goat produces an animal very similar to the wild goat (Ondrias 1967, 69). This raises the question as to how closely Capra aegagrus of Crete is related to the wild goat and to the domesticated goat. Homer and Aristotle speak of the hunt of the wild goat 'αίγας έπ'άγροτέρας' (Odyssey XVII 290-295) 'αίγας τάς άγρίας' (Hist. animal. IX, 7, 1). The latter in fact locates it in Crete.

At the end of the last century individuals of this variety, or closely related, still lived on the islands of Antimilos in the Cyclades, Gioura in the Sporades and Samothrace in the north Aegean (Heldreich 1876, 19-21). It has been suggested, with regard to the presence of Capra aegagrus in the Neolithic of mainland Greece, that it was introduced via trading transactions (Amberger 1979). I think this is by no means a closed issue. Whatever the palaeontological aspects, these animals constituted part, albeit limited, of the diet of prehistoric man.

Let us return to the organization of flocks. Animals were separated into age groups. The oldest 'τά παλαιά' and fattest were driven to graze 'ένόμευε νομόν κατά πίονα μήλα'. The youngest 'τά νέα' were kept in folds or cave mouths 'σταθμός, σηκός'. Young sheep and goats were segregated according to age. In one area the first-born 'πρόγονοι' or 'πρωτόγονοι', elsewhere the second-born 'μέτασσαι', further afield the newborn 'έρσαι'. Or according to another terminology 'περυσινά, σαφέτεια' or 'σήτες' or 'έτελα (έταλα)', that is yearlings and 'γιλλά' newborn (Iliad XXIII 864; Odyssey IX 216-249; Chadwick 1973, 131-137; Promponas 1983, 93).

Indeed it was thought that a region could be divided into two sectors, those which would feed young animals and those with more extensive or better grazing which were suitable for the more mature. This example is based on an interpretation of the Pylos tablets concerning the region of Kyparissia and presupposes the existence of centralized authority (Godart 1977).

If the difference between the 'τέλεια' and the 'γαλαθηνά' is significant, we should not forget also the different treatment meted to male 'άρσενα, άρνείους τε τράγους τε' or 'κάρνους' and female 'οίς καί αίγας' (Iliad XI 245; Odyssey IX 239-244), particularly as the latter would be the source of milk products, the 'αίγειον τυρόν' being particularly preferred (Iliad XI 639).

On the proportional relationship between male and female animals in the flock, in addition to the meagre excavation data the Co series of tablets from Knossos furnish two indicative numbers: 16.8% for rams and 21.4% for male goats. We should also reckon the castrated animals in this figure 'έρίφους τάμνειν καί πώεα μήλων' (Hesiod, Works and Days 757-758), known to archaeo-zoologists, and to scholars familiar with the tablets.

With regard to the age of slaughter, this varies between 6 months and 5 years, the main concentration being 1-2 'άρνών πρωτογόνων κλειτήν έκατόμβην' (Iliad XXIII 864) and 2-3 years. When the economy is orientated towards wool production the animals are kept a little longer and the age pyramids converge at 3 years. This is also the characteristic trait of the Bronze Age vis-à-vis the Neolithic, to which the introduction of other varieties of sheep 'οίς λάσιος μέγας' (Iliad V 125) contributes.

At Akrotiri we encounter an age difference between the so-called debris level and the destruction level. Because the sample is small and only comes from the West House, we are reluctant to draw any general conclusions.

With such an advanced animal husbandry the existence of a goatherd 'αίγιπάστας, αίπόλοι άνδρες, αίγεσήκης' (Iliad II 474; Odyssey XVII 247) and shepherd 'άρνοεργείς' or herder of sheep and goats 'έμμηλαιγεργείς' is hardly surprising. The existence of cheese-makers is also known. At Pylos there were also 'έργάτιδες άμέλγματος' and workers with wool. In the Pylos tablets the names of shepherds are recorded, related etymologically to the names of sheep and goats and products of stock raising 'Μήλων, Μηλεηγός' < 'μήλον' = sheep, 'Αρνηηγός' < 'άρνειός' = three-year old ram. 'Αίγειρος' < 'αίξ' = goat, 'Ποινάνωρ, Ποιμνίων, Ποίμαρχος, Ποιμαγός' etc. < 'Ποιμήν' = shepherd (Massouridis 1976, 30-36; Promponas 1983, 75-76).

       Bovidae:     We read in Homer of 'έκατόμβας ταύρων ήδ' αίγών' (Iliad I 316) or 'ταύρων ήδ' άρνειών' (Odyssey I 25) from which we surmise that the meat which was preferred above all was beef. What do the proportions from excavations reveal, however?

Firstly, we note the limited presence of the wild species Bos primigenius, up until Mycenaean times in mainland Greece. At some excavated sites the proportion reaches 1.5%.

On the other hand, the proportions of domesticated bovines varies considerably, depending on the tracts of pasturage at the settlements disposal. Thus, during the same chronological period, the Early Neolithic for the sake of argument, 1.8% bovines are recorded at Ayios Petros, 4.7% at Argissa, while at Prodromos there are 23% (Halstead and Jones 1980) and at Sitagroi 27.2%. In the Early Bronze Age at Myrtos, bovines constitute 1.5% of domesticated animals, while at Pentapolis (Koufos 1981) and Kastanas they account for 37% and 34.7% respectively. In the Bronze Age in the Cyclades the proportion does not exceed 17%.

Scribes recorded 395 head of cattle on the Knossos tablets, as opposed to sheep which are estimated at around 100,000. On the surviving tablets of series Co bovines do not exceed 1% of the total of domesticated animals. At Pylos 8 bovines are recorded out of a total of 12,530 domesticated animals. Of course, some scholars estimate, on the basis of the annual tribute of 234 oxhides to the palace at Pylos, that during the period immediately preceding the destruction of the settlement, some 12,000 animals were reared. Linear A tablets from Ayia Triada, referring to transactions involving animals, mention bovines just once. From this information it is difficult to form an opinion on the contribution of beef to the diet. Perhaps a more satisfactory approach would be to calculate from the minimum number of individuals found in excavations. On the basis of these data the mean for beef consumption is 48% per settlement, with extremes of 18% to 66%. In contrast, sheep and goat consumption varies from 7% to 44.5%, or 28% on average.

In other words, beef consumption frequently approaches half the total - in animal protein - of the diet of a settlement, not counting milk products. It is this, in conjunction with the provision of energy for ploughing, which makes the bovine an invaluable beast.

'... βούν τ' άροτήρα...

... βουσίν άρούν...

βόε δ' ένναετήρω

άρσενε κεκτήσθαι τών γάρ σθένος ούκ άλαπαδνόν

ήβης μέτρον έχοντε τώ έργάζεσθαι άρίστω'

(Hesiod, Works and Days, 405-436)

The Knossos tablets mention not only calves, heifers and bulls, but also cattle fit for work 'έργάτας'. Stock raising was not simply organized by the 'βουβότας', for in the Knossos tablets the animals are recorded by name (Aiolos, Kelainos) - they are personalized (Ventris and Chadwick 1973, 213; Promponas 1983, 85-90; Lejeune 1971, 379-386).

The age of slaughter derived from excavation data coincides with information in Homer on animals destined for sacrifice: one-year old 'βούν ήνιν άδμήτην' (Odyssey III 382), 'δυοκαίδεκα βούν ήνις' (Iliad VI 308-309), 5-year old 'βούν άρσενα πενταέτηρον' (Iliad VII 315; Odyssey IX 420). There is also 'βούν στείραν' (Odyssey XX 186). Bovine bones recovered from the West House come from three 5-year-old beasts and one 11-year-old.

       Canidae:     The total of osseous canine remains rarely exceeds 3%. Thus the contribution of the dogs is economically limited.

From the Linear B archives we learn of hounds used for tracking wild goats, from Homer of dogs as hunters' companions, guardians of homes and flocks (Iliad XII 303; Odyssey VI 3-10; Odyssey XVII 62). Odysseus' dog, Argos, took part in the chase of the wild goat, hind and hare (Odyssey XVII 295).

Furthermore, archaeological evidence, deriving mainly from Bronze Age sites such as Sitagroi, Kastanas, Knossos, Mallia (Papapostolou et al. 1976), Lerna or Nichoria, though not omitting Neolithic ones, indicates that canines formed part of the human diet. Dog, small or medium sized, is sometimes mentioned with wolf or lynx bones, which animals were quite possibly consumed (Julien 1981, 574). These wild beasts were hunted mainly for their pelts. At Akrotiri, to date, one burnt canine vertebra has been found. I do not consider this sufficient evidence to make any definite statement.

What, then, is the picture? It seems that dogs, allowed to roam with little restriction, had two possible fates: some were consumed during the early months of their life and others held a somewhat privileged position. They are of 'καλός μέν δέμας' breed (Odyssey XVII 306). From the Iron Age onwards their role in the diet, at least in southern Greece, diminishes.

The discovery of canine remains (cranium) in a Minoan tomb at Krasi Pediados (S. Marinatos 1929, 123-125) brings us back to Homer. On Patroclus' funeral pyre, Achilles also cremates 'ίοια μήλα..., έλικας βούς..., πίσυρας ίππους...' and of his 'έννέα τραπεζήες κύνες, δύο δειροτομήσας' are added to the corpse (Iliad XXIII 166-188). In these instances, however, a customary offering is involved, not animals which were consumed.

       Equidae:     The tamed horse - in wild form it is attested at the beginning of the Pleistocene - arrived sporadically during the Early Bronze Age (Servia, Pentapolis, Kastanas). Its presence is more widespread during the Middle Bronze Age. The animal is of small stature and from the osteological point of view is frequently confused with the ass. Both species coexist. The names 'ίππος, όνος, πώλος, ήμίονος' are familiar in Mycenaean and Homeric texts.

Literature links the horse with the art of war. In the Knossos tablets it is invariably accompanied by charriots 'άθλοφόροι ίπποι αύτοίσιν όχεφσιν' (Iliad XI 699). It was later interred with its master, as confirmed from tombs at Salamis in Cyprus (Ducos 1970) and at Marathon in Attica (S. Marinatos 1974).

Its presence in excavations of settlements is limited (approximately 1%). At Akrotiri, a single tibia of a small equid has been found (Gamble 1978). It is difficult to determine exactly its contribution to the individual household. There are also many doubts as to its role in the diet, though at Lerna there are indications to the contrary (Gejvall 1969). Was horse perhaps eaten occasionally?

GAME

This is directly linked with environmental circumstances and the existence of forests. The highest figures come from the Peloponnese, Macedonia and Thessaly. In the Early Neolithic, the percentage of game animals varies from 0.92% at Argissa Magoula to 15.7% at Lerna. In my opinion the prehistoric settlements at the Korykeion Antron on Parnassus, where half the animals derive from hunting, is an exception. Hunting moves within these bounds in all subsequent periods, with fluctuations by settlement. In the Late Bronze Age at Nichoria and Kastanas game accounts for 17% and 25%. In the Cyclades the proportion of game animals is always less than 1%.

Of those animals hunted, most of the meat consumed was from the cervidae family: red deer, fallow deer, roe deer. These are followed by hare and chamois.

       Cervidae:     The most important of the above mammals is the red deer. Although there was diminution of its size, this was also the case with the ox, and decrease in proportion, a reduction of 60% is noted at Franchthi between the Late Palaeolithic and the Neolithic. Red deer was the basic source of food derived from game.

It is quite possible that its hunting was controlled in the Late Bronze Age. In Messenia, where the largest proportion of osseous remains is recorded, the Pylos tablet mention 16 individuals. According to one interpretation of Linear B, deer fell into four categories: those destined for sacrifice, those destined for games, wild 'άγροτέρας έλάφους' (Odyssey III 133) and tamed (Massouridis 1976, 37-38). It is characteristic that, according to epic narrative, the fauns 'νεβρόν... τέκος έλάφοιο ταχείης' (Iliad VIII 248; Odyssey VI 230), 'νεβρούς νεογενέας γαλαθηνούς' (Odyssey IV 336) were threatened by other wild creatures (eagle, lion) but not by man. The prehistoric hunter never exploited nature arbitrarily. Here too there are specific ages at which animals were slaughtered. The epic confirms this simply and indirectly.

In the Cyclades red deer predominates, fallow deer being of secondary importance. Its presence in extremely rare, being restricted, as a rule, to its antlers. Indeed, many scholars have suggested the possibility of commercial exchange. However, the presence of other parts of the body at Akrotiri cannot exclude Gamble's view regarding the rearing of game for food. A shattered metatarsus implies that the marrow was removed. It would be necessary, however, before accepting it, to test the possibility that roughland did exist. An analogous hypothesis on the import of deer has been proposed for Crete (Gamble 1978; 1980). In later times the Romans were to introduce deer to isles in the Mediterranean (Poplin 1979, 139).

For the record, we know that cervidae - fallow deer - lived at least until Imperial times in Crete (personal research into the osteological material at Eleftherna, Rethymnon) and until a century or so ago in the Peloponnese and Attica.

Unlike the other artidactylae, the chamois is rare.

       Other wild animals:    Hare, 'λαγωός', is present at almost all sites, including Akrotiri. Whether some of the mammals found in settlements in continental Greece were hunted for meat or their pelts is still a moot point. These include fox, brown bear, badger, marten, wild cat, beaver and squirrel. Those who have studied them tend to think the aim was twofold. To this list of creatures the hedgehog should be added, though it may not have been purposely brought into the settlement by man.

       Reptilia:     Of the reptiles, tortoise, terrapin and turtle were eaten, six species in all.

       Aves:     Birds made a definite contribution, albeit small - both in proportion, less than 1%, and in quantity of meat - to the human diet. Apart from goose, which seems to have been domesticated (Odyssey XV 174), choice game - we select of necessity those for which we have the most remains - includes great bustard (Otis tarda), mallard (Anas platyrrhynchos), rock partridge (Alectoris graeca) and quails (Coturnix). The majority of birds mentioned in excavation reports are edible, or were at least considered so by the standards of the time. It is quite possible that after the games held in the honour of Patroclus, the dove 'τρήρωνα τέλειαν', here shot by an arrow, ended up on the heroes' table (Iliad XXIII 853).

It is impossible to analyze all forms of exploitation of the mammal and insect fauna, but we note in passim the collecting of animal blood and the 'χλωρόν μέλι' (Iliad XI 331).

FISHING

Minoan art is rich in representations of marine fauna. Some of the fish depicted have already been identified in the osteological material. These include mackerel (Akrotiri, Ayios Petros, Saliagos), porgy (Akrotiri, Lerna, Kastanas), tunny (Franchthi, Lerna, Saliagos). The last appears on numerous sealstones. Nevertheless, many fish, though well-known in the Aegean, have not yet been identified in excavations (Gill 1985).

The presence of osseous remains is remarkably low. At Ayios Petros in the Sporades the proportion varies from 0.8%-2%. Elsewhere the proportion is lower, Franchthi being an exception, as is Saliagos where fish bones represent 45.6% of the fragments and 88% of animal protein. The main source of sea food at Saliagos was the seasonal fishing of tunny, probably by the method depicted on a vase from Phaistos (Guest-Papamanoli 1983, 104-105).

The fishermen 'άλιήες' evidently knew of the routes of migratory fish (Odyssey III 177) and used various methods of fishing, 'άγκίστροισι', 'δικτύω' (Odyssey IV 369, XXII 384). The subject has been discussed in ethnographic studies in which comparisons are made between Minoan fishermen and our contemporaries (Guest-Papamanoli 1983; Bintliff 1977, 116-122).

Nevertheless the data continue to be meagre for both salt water and fresh water fish (in the second case Dimitra, Serres is an exception (9.7%)). In our opinion this is not just a matter of sieving. The bones at Akrotiri are from small fish. What are we to surmise? That fishing was nothing like as important as it was to become in Imperial times, attested by piscinae and a succession of treatises (Dumont 1988)? That fishing and hunting were resorted to only out of dire necessity? Odysseus' companions turn to fishing only when their hunger is unbearable. Is this an explanation?

To summarize, the characteristic trait of the period reviewed, and in particular of the Bronze Age, is the rational exploitation of animal husbandry and, more precisely, at least in southern Greece and at Akrotiri, the controlled exploitation. Perhaps this is one of the causal factors of the cultural advances in these settlements.

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