Papers by Tina L Greenfield
Humans, 2024
Girsu, the modern site of Tello (southern Iraq), represents one of the earliest known urban centr... more Girsu, the modern site of Tello (southern Iraq), represents one of the earliest known urban centres of the ancient world, along with Uruk, Eridu, and Ur. During the 3rd millennium BCE (3000–2000 BCE), Girsu was revered as the sanctuary of the Sumerian heroic deity Ningirsu, who fought with supernatural beasts and made possible the introduction of irrigation and agriculture in Sumer. While much is known about the gods, their roles, and rituals inside the temples, there is little textual or archaeological evidence concerning the rituals that took place in the large open-air plazas adjacent to the temples. These areas within the sacred precinct were where the general population would gather to participate in festivals and ceremonies to honour the gods. To better understand the ancient cultic realm in southern Mesopotamia, an in-depth investigation of a favissa (ritual pit) discovered within the sacred precinct at Girsu was undertaken. The excavations recovered a large quantity of ceramics and animal remains that had been used for ritual purposes. Through the study of archaeological remains of cultic spaces at Girsu, information on ritual behaviour such as sacrificial animal slaughtering and consumption for the purpose of feasting, the types of libations provided to quench the thirst of the gods, and the distance travelled to take part in the annual festivals to pay homage to the patron god of their sacred city were explored. Analysis of the associated ceramics, cuneiform texts, and zooarchaeological remains (including stable isotope data), allowed a multifaceted and integrative approach to better understand ceremonial behaviour and ritual feasting in this sacred city. New insights into communal and performative participation in ceremonies, especially by non-elite individuals, are generated. These data increase our knowledge not only of how Girsu’s citizens organised their sacred spaces and religious festivals, but also of how they behaved in order to satisfy the ever-demanding needs of their gods.
Archaeopress Publishing Ltd eBooks, Oct 6, 2022
In this paper, we explore the issue of household archaeology during the Early Bronze III of the s... more In this paper, we explore the issue of household archaeology during the Early Bronze III of the southern Levant based on our recently completed systematic excavations at Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath. Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath is a very large (ca. 24 ha) and significant regional urban center entirely surrounded by a thick fortification system composed of stone foundation and mud-brick superstructure. A part of an Early Bronze Age III neighborhood has been excavated at the eastern end of the site (Area E). Our analysis explores the implications for household behaviour in this lower stratum residential neighborhood. Some of the occupants were probably merchants, but in general seem to pursue a middle-class lifestyle.
No Place Like Home: Ancient Near Eastern Houses and Households
PLOS ONE, 2022
During the third millennium BC, Mesopotamia (the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, in... more During the third millennium BC, Mesopotamia (the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, in modern Iraq-Syria), was dominated by the world's earliest cities and states, which were ruled by powerful elites. Ur, in present-day southern Iraq, was one of the largest and most important of these cities, and irrigation-based agriculture and large herds of domesticated animals were the twin mainstays of the economy and diet. Texts suggest that the societies of the Mesopotamian city-states were extremely hierarchical and underpinned by institutionalised and heavily-managed farming systems. Prevailing narratives suggest that the animal management strategies within these farming systems in the third millennium BC were homogenous. There have been few systematic science-based studies of human and animal diets, mobility, or other forms of human-animal interaction in Mesopotamia, but such approaches can inform understanding of past economies, including animal management, social hierarchies, diet and migration. Oxygen, carbon and strontium isotopic analysis of animal tooth enamel from both royal and private/non-royal burial contexts at Early Dynastic Ur (2900-2350 BC) indicate that a variety of herd management strategies and habitats were exploited. These data also suggest that there is no correlation between animal-management practices and the cattle found in royal or private/non-royal burial contexts. The results demonstrate considerable divergence between agro-pastoral models promoted by the state and the realities of day-today management practices. The data from Ur suggest that the animals exploited different plant and water sources, and that animals reared in similar ways ended up in different depositional contexts.
Sumer LXVI, 2021
This article summarizes the general observations based on a faunal sample from the third millenni... more This article summarizes the general observations based on a faunal sample from the third millennium site of Abu Salabikh located in southern Iraq. This article represents the observations of animal remains excavated during the years 1985 to 1989 from within a domestic neighbourhood; specifically, with a focus on the SE quarter of square 6H, including a house (inclusive of pits and graves), street, lane, and courtyard. A general picture of the economic behaviour of the inhabitants of the 6H house is presented, in addition to an integrated analysis of the animal remains within each feature, and room within house, and outdoor spaces. Observations on these data helped to address issues of food consumption and discard from domestic spaces in mature state societies during the Early Dynastic III period in southern Iraq.
The Wide Lens in Archaeology
Tel Burna is located in the region of the Judean Shephelah of Israel. e settlement was continuous... more Tel Burna is located in the region of the Judean Shephelah of Israel. e settlement was continuously occupied from the Early Bronze Age until the end of the Iron Age (Uziel and Shai 2010). e tell site, moderate in size, ranges from three hectares in the EB III to eight hectares in Iron II. The Iron II casemate fortications are the most notable feature of the site, as they clearly demarcate the perimeter of the tell summit (Shai et al. 2012). Below these fortifications to the west is a flat, rectangular-shaped terraced area of ca. three hectares. Intensive surface survey, shovel test pit survey, and ground-penetrating radar surveys have revealed that this area of the site was inhabited only during the Late Bronze Age (Shai et al. 2013; Shai and Uziel 2014; Uziel and Shai 2010).
Animals
Most studies of ritual and symbolism in early complex societies of the Near East have focused on ... more Most studies of ritual and symbolism in early complex societies of the Near East have focused on elite and/or public behavioural domains. However, the vast bulk of the population would not have been able to fully participate in such public displays. This paper explores the zooarchaeological and associated archaeological evidence for household rituals in lower-stratum residences in the Early Bronze Age (EB) of the southern Levant. Data from the EB III (c. 2850–2550 BCE) deposits excavated at the site of Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath, Israel, are illustrative of the difficulty in identifying the nature of household rituals. An integrated analytical approach to the architecture, figurines, foundation deposits, and domestic donkey burials found in lower-stratum domestic residences provides insights into the nature of household rituals. This integrated contextual perspective allows the sacred and symbolic role(s) of each to be understood and their importance for EB urban society to be evaluated.
PLOS ONE, 2022
During the third millennium BC, Mesopotamia (the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, in... more During the third millennium BC, Mesopotamia (the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, in modern Iraq-Syria), was dominated by the world’s earliest cities and states, which were ruled by powerful elites. Ur, in present-day southern Iraq, was one of the largest and most important of these cities, and irrigation-based agriculture and large herds of domesticated animals were the twin mainstays of the economy and diet. Texts suggest that the societies of the Mesopotamian city-states were extremely hierarchical and underpinned by institutionalised and heavily-managed farming systems. Prevailing narratives suggest that the animal management strategies within these farming systems in the third millennium BC were homogenous. There have been few systematic science-based studies of human and animal diets, mobility, or other forms of human-animal interaction in Mesopotamia, but such approaches can inform understanding of past economies, including animal management, social hierarchies, .
Palestine Exploration Quarterly
Open Quaternary, 2018
It is often assumed that domestic animals in early urban Near Eastern centres either are a reflec... more It is often assumed that domestic animals in early urban Near Eastern centres either are a reflection of the local pastoral economy, or were raised at a distance by pastoral specialists. In this paper, we test these assumptions through detailed isotopic analyses (carbon, oxygen and strontium) of caprines (sheep and goat) from Tell es-Safi/Gath, an Early Bronze Age urban centre in central Israel. The isotopic analyses demonstrate that the bulk of the caprines were raised within the general vicinity of the site, suggesting that the majority of food resources were largely produced at the local level, within the territory of the city-state, and not at a distance by specialised pastoralists. It is the rare specimen that comes from a great distance and would have entered the local system through long distance trade networks.
Near Eastern Archaeology, 2018
A few years ago, a domestic donkey (Equus asinus), or ass, was discovered at Tell eṣ-Ṣafi/Gath in... more A few years ago, a domestic donkey (Equus asinus), or ass, was discovered at Tell eṣ-Ṣafi/Gath in modern Israel and determined to have been sacrificed and buried as a foundation deposit beneath the floor of an Early Bronze III house. Since then, three additional complete domestic donkey burials have been revealed beneath the floors of another house in the same Early Bronze neighborhood. These animals were buried within a nonelite domestic neighborhood at the edge of the city. The authors suggest that this urban space may have been the location of the homes and work spaces of merchants who relied upon donkeys as “beasts of burden” to transport their goods regionally and interregionally.
Near Eastern Archaeology, 2017
There are various strands of evidence to demonstrate that the occupants of Area E participated in... more There are various strands of evidence to demonstrate that the occupants of Area E participated in an interregional exchange system. Several hippopotamus ivory objects, including an ivory cylinder seal, are likely of exotic origin. Some were shaped and drilled (fig. 1). They are found in almost all of the buildings in Area E, suggesting that they were not limited to elite individuals only. It is not yet clear whether they were made from hippopotamus ivory from the Nile or from local southern Levantine rivers, since hippopotami existed in the coastal plain of Israel until the early Iron Age (Horwitz and Tchernov 1990). To date, sixty-six basalt artifacts have been recovered at Tell es -S âfi/Gath (fig. 2; see Beller, this issue). The absence of suitable basalt sources within the Shephelah suggests that residents of Tell es -S âfi/Gath acquired these basalt commodities from distant sources through exchange. A provenance analysis was performed in order to determine the regions with which residents of Tell es -S âfi/Gath conducted exchange. This analysis involved the generation and comparison of the geochemical profiles of nineteen basalt artifacts, all of which were grinding stones, with those of previously published basalt sources from the southern Levant, Sinai, and Egypt. The results of the provenance analysis demonstrated that fifteen of the nineteen basalt artifacts were chemically consistent, specifically in terms of their total alkali-silica content, with a source or, at minimum, a specific region within the southern Levant. In this manner, four were most consistent with sources around the Sea of Galilee region, one with the Golan, two with the Galilee, three with the Jezreel Valley, and five with the eastern Dead Sea in modern Jordan. Basalt artifacts were transported over distances of 60 km from the eastern Dead Sea region and 100 km from within the Jezreel Valley and around the Sea of Galilee region. It should be noted that no artifacts were linked to more distant sources, such as those in Sinai and Egypt (Beller, Greenfield, Fayek et al. 2016; Beller, Greenfield, Shai et al. 2016). Unfortunately, no basalt ground stone quarry or workshop dating to the EB has been discovered (Milevski 2009: 121). This absence has prohibited insight into the nature of raw material procurement and stymied estimations of the scale of the basalt industry. However, urban centers proximate to basalt sources (e.g., Bet Yerah, Megiddo, Batrawy, Interregional Trade and Exchange at Early Bronze Age Tell es. -S. âfi / Gath
Near Eastern Archaeology, 2017
PloS one, 2018
Analysis of a sacrificed and interred domestic donkey from an Early Bronze Age (EB) IIIB (c. 2800... more Analysis of a sacrificed and interred domestic donkey from an Early Bronze Age (EB) IIIB (c. 2800-2600 BCE) domestic residential neighborhood at Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath, Israel, indicate the presence of bit wear on the Lower Premolar 2 (LPM2). This is the earliest evidence for the use of a bit among early domestic equids, and in particular donkeys, in the Near East. The mesial enamel surfaces on both the right and left LPM2 of the particular donkey in question are slightly worn in a fashion that suggests that a dental bit (metal, bone, wood, etc.) was used to control the animal. Given the secure chronological context of the burial (beneath the floor of an EB IIIB house), it is suggested that this animal provides the earliest evidence for the use of a bit on an early domestic equid from the Near East.
Laerke Recht & Christina Tsouparopoulou Animal agency and human-animal interactions Animals in ri... more Laerke Recht & Christina Tsouparopoulou Animal agency and human-animal interactions Animals in ritual and cult Blurred lines: humans as animal, animals as humans Managing animals Animals in society and as a resource Symbols of power: birds Companions and working animals: equids and dogs Avenues for future research Part I Animal agency and human-animal interactions Chapter 2 Animal agents in Sumerian literature 15 Lorenzo Verderame The Fox in Enki and Ninhursaĝa Dumuzi and the Fly Lugalbanda and Anzu Ninurta and the Anzu's chick Inanna, Šukaletuda, and the Raven Conclusions: magical helpers and the metamorphosis human-animal Chapter 3 Canines from inside and outside the city: of dogs, foxes and wolves in conceptual spaces in Sumero-Akkadian texts 23 Andréa Vilela Canines from the 'inside': dogs Canines from the 'in-between': stray dogs Canines from the outside: wolves and foxes Conclusion Chapter 4 A human-animal studies approach to cats and dogs in ancient Egypt: evidence from mummies, iconography and epigraphy 31 Marina Fadum & Carina Gruber Human-cat relationships in ancient Egypt: the cat as an animal mummy Human-canine relationships in ancient Egypt: the dog as companion animal Conclusion Part II Animals in ritual and cult Chapter 5 Encountered animals and embedded meaning: the ritual and roadside fauna of second millennium Anatolia 39 Neil Erskine Deleuze, Guattari, and reconstructing ancient understanding Landscape, religion, and putting meaning in place Creatures, cult, and creating meaning Folding animals in ritual Bulls, boars, birds Folding animals on the road Human-animal interactions Conclusion
Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies, 2015
Until recently, efforts to understand the social dynamics of early Near Eastern empires tradition... more Until recently, efforts to understand the social dynamics of early Near Eastern empires traditionally focused on cuneiform texts, which disproportionately represent the elite. This article presents newly collected zooar-chaeological data from the Neo-Assyrian provincial capital of Tušḫan (Ziyaret Tepe) to demonstrate how social dynamics and status differences can be identified within urban settlements, and it highlights differences in the availability and access to animal resources between two socially distinct areas. The integration of this data with the study of ancient empires allows for a more complete understanding of the relationship between social dynamics and provisioning strategies in early Near Eastern empires.
Social Dimensions of Food in the Prehistoric Balkans, 2018
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Papers by Tina L Greenfield