Where Typhoeus lived: 87Sr/86Sr analysis of human remains in the first Greek site in the Western Mediterranean, Pithekoussai, Italy
Melania Gigante,
Carmen Esposito,
Federico Lugli,
Alessandra Sperduti,
Teresa Elena Cinquantaquattro,
Bruno d’Agostino,
Alessia Nava,
Wolfgang Müller,
Luca Bondioli
Affiliations
Melania Gigante
Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Padua, 35139 Padua, Italy; Corresponding author
Carmen Esposito
Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, 48121 Ravenna, Italy; Corresponding author
Federico Lugli
Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41121 Modena, Italy; Institute of Geosciences, Goethe Universität Frankfurt, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Frankfurt Isotope Element Research Center (FIERCE), Goethe Universität Frankfurt, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Alessandra Sperduti
Museum of Civilizations, 00144 Rome, Italy; Department of Asian African Mediterranean Studies, University of Naples L’Orientale, 80134 Naples, Italy
Teresa Elena Cinquantaquattro
Segretariato Regionale per la Campania', Ministry of Culture (Italy), 80132 Naples, Italy
Bruno d’Agostino
Department of Asian African Mediterranean Studies, University of Naples L’Orientale, 80134 Naples, Italy
Alessia Nava
Department of Odontostomatological and Maxillofacial Sciences, La Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy; Corresponding author
Wolfgang Müller
Institute of Geosciences, Goethe Universität Frankfurt, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Frankfurt Isotope Element Research Center (FIERCE), Goethe Universität Frankfurt, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Luca Bondioli
Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Padua, 35139 Padua, Italy
Summary: The archaeological heritage of Pithekoussai offers a unique insight into the dynamics of human mobility and biocultural interactions at the dawn of the Magna Graecia during the Iron Age Mediterranean. Pithekoussai was founded by Greeks on the volcanic island of Ischia in southern Italy in the mid-eighth century BC, marking the earliest Greek settlement in the western Mediterranean. The archaeological evidence suggests that Pithekoussai was an emporium where local communities, Greeks, Phoenicians, and people from the mainland lived together and interacted. Despite the challenges posed by the active volcanic burial environment, which affected the preservation of human remains, this study successfully applied strontium isotope analysis (87Sr/86Sr) to n = 71 inhumed and cremated individuals. Integrating biogeochemistry and (bio)archaeology, this research enriches the narrative of human mobility by providing a nuanced reconstruction of the life histories of the individuals who participated in a crucial moment in Mediterranean history that shaped societies at the emergence of Magna Graecia.
