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Mycenaean feasting on Tsoungiza at Ancient Nemea
Hesperia, Spring, 2004 by Mary K. Dabney, Paul Halstead, Patrick Thomas
Segregated discard of particular body parts may also occur for symbolic rather than practical reasons, as is widely illustrated by bone deposits from early historical sanctuary sites in various parts of the Mediterranean. (7) In such sanctuary contexts, the highly symbolic nature of bone deposition is often highlighted by the selection of a particular taxon, age group, body part, or side of body, or by selective treatment (e.g., burning, rapid burial, lack of fragmentation). In the present case, the frequency of gnawing indicates that the assemblage as a whole was not accorded immediate burial, and the incidence of gnawing, burning, and old breaks is broadly similar for cattle, pig, and sheep/goat. On the other hand, because experimental data show that most attrition of faunal remains by gnawing takes place within a few hours of discard, burial may have taken place shortly after exposure. (8)
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There is no evidence, therefore, other than the selective deposition of heads and feet, that bones of cattle were treated in a distinctive fashion. The age of the cattle represented is varied, including at least one infant, one juvenile, and two adults. Moreover, despite the preponderance of heads and feet, other body parts of cattle are generally underrepresented rather than absent altogether. Although individual body parts display a bias toward left- or right-sided specimens, no consistent pattern of selection was observed. In spite of the association with a possible ceremonial activity (see below), therefore, no faunal evidence suggests that the selective deposition of cattle heads and feet was an act of great symbolic significance. It might be argued that this deposit represents those parts of the carcass not selected for ceremonial treatment, but again the range of body parts missing or underrepresented is too large to offer active support for such an interpretation.
The scale of carcass-processing represented here is difficult to estimate. Surviving and recovered remains of cattle include parts of at least six individuals, but this figure is probably an underestimate of the actual number discarded. The excavators estimated that less than half of the dump was excavated. Widespread gnawing is likely to have resulted in some losses, and, even within the head and foot categories, the body parts listed in Table 1 account for only a minority of those expected for six cattle. The duration and number of episodes of deposition are also uncertain, although the condition of the associated ceramics suggests, at most, just a few episodes. Even if only one or two cattle were deposited in each episode, however, a significant quantity of meat would have been involved, which, taken in conjunction with the ceramic evidence, suggests consumption on a large scale. In modern Greece, prior to the introduction of electric refrigerators, cattle were rarely consumed in villages and were normally sold for slaughter in the towns. (9) The scale of meat consumption represented by this deposit is thus certainly consistent with a major feast or series of feasts.
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