Antonina Kilian
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Laura Motta
Co-Presenter: Wunderlich, Ansley
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Kelsey Museum of Archaeology / LSA
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Film
Session: Session 1 – 10am – 10:50am
Room: Vandenberg
Authors: Antonina Kilian, Ansley Wunderlich, Laura Motta
Presenter: 3
Abstract
This research focuses on what the examination of botanical remains can tell us about human behavior in antiquity, particularly the subsistence patterns and development of the agricultural economy at Gabii, one of the first urban centers in central Italy during the first millennium BCE. Our hypothesis is that the agricultural practices and foodways are already reflected in the analyzed archaeobotanical record. In the laboratory, we use stereomicroscopes to analyze the subset of plant material extracted from the site, sort it, taxonomically identify it, and label it, so it can later be put into a database for further analysis. Changes to crop remains as well as patterns in the occurrence of cereals and weeds can be seen through a subset of archaeobotanical samples retrieved through systematic sampling from excavations conducted in area D. This research is a part of a long-term initiative that gathers and sorts the relevant archaeobotanical records so they can be later analyzed in the context of time and space, comparing the samples from different periods and excavation contexts, ultimately providing us with more information into how transformations seen in crop remains patterns reflected demographic growth, intensification of production, and reorganization of farming practices. The results will contribute to the broader research questions of the Gabii Project (https://gabiiproject.org/). It is an international initiative that investigates the development and structure of Archaic urban planning in Central Italy through the excavation of the ancient Latin city of Gabii, a city-state that was both the neighbor of, and a rival to, Rome in the first millennium BCE.
Natural/Life Sciences, Social Sciences
