Late Bronze – Early Iron Age Agro-systems in Northern Greece: New Insights Through Stable Isotope Analysis from Methone, Pieria

Throughout the Aegean, the Late Bronze Age (LBA) to the Early Iron Age (EIA) has been characterised as a period of societal change. After the collapse of palatial economies in the south (c.1200 BC), Greece entered a phase referred to in the past as the ‘Dark Ages’. Research into the nature of EIA ag...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Diffey, Charlotte, Styring, A., Orengo, Hector A., Athanassiadou, A., Bessios, M., Morris, S., Noulas, K., Papadopoulos, J., Livarda, Alexandra
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repositorio:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:recercat____::e09604a90a3b66fedef5aea315c05323
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2072/489490
https://doi.org/10.1080/14614103.2025.2535768
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Restes de plantes (Arqueologia) -- Grècia
Edat del ferro -- Grècia
90
Descripción
Sumario:Throughout the Aegean, the Late Bronze Age (LBA) to the Early Iron Age (EIA) has been characterised as a period of societal change. After the collapse of palatial economies in the south (c.1200 BC), Greece entered a phase referred to in the past as the ‘Dark Ages’. Research into the nature of EIA agriculture has been relatively limited and although this situation has improved within the last decade there are still significant knowledge gaps. This paper will shed new light on LBA-EIA arable agriculture by presenting crop stable isotope analysis from the site of Methone in northern Greece. These data are used to examine site-specific agricultural strategies as well as allowing for an evidence-based understanding of economic variability in this region. The results reported show that at Methone and likely throughout Greece in the Early Iron Age, inhabitants continued to pursue relatively ‘low-input’ agricultural systems that were adapted to specific local settings and environmental conditions, even in the face of a period of potential aridity. Ultimately, this research provides a fresh approach to Iron Age (IA) Aegean agriculture whilst also highlighting the need to proceed with further research from other IA Aegean sites.