Anika Vishwanath
Pronouns:
Research Mentor(s): Kara Larson
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Anthropology; Museum of Anthropological Archaeology / LSA
Program: UROP
Session: Session 4 (1:40pm – 2:30pm)
Authors: Anika Vishwanath, Kara Larson, Lily Heald
Abstract
The Early Bronze Age (3000-2200 BCE) of the southern Levant (modern day Israel-Palestine) is characterized by the development and rise of urban living. The urban phenomenon in this region is still poorly understood, yet had massive impacts on pastoral practices, particularly through herd management and food provisioning. Tell el-Hesi, an Early Bronze Age site located in southern Israel-Palestine, serves as a prime case study in investigating changes in pastoral practices, particularly through the medium of faunal remains, to understand the rise of urban living in this region and period. Faunal remains act as a unique proxy to investigate pastoral practices, and archaeological science approaches can provide insights into herd management and provisioning at an early urban locale. The research presented here embarked on stable isotopic analyses through two approaches from faunal remains recovered at Tell el-Hesi: bioapatite from animal molars and bone collagen. The bioapatite approach involves sequential bulk sampling and isotopic analyses on hundreds of mandibular molars of livestock (sheep, goat, and cattle) stable carbon and oxygen isotopes. The collagen approach involves demineralizing mandibular bone faunal samples for carbon and nitrogen isotopes. Here, we detail the methodologies used for extracting bioapatite and collagen samples to answer questions regarding pastoral practices at an early urban center in the southern Levant. The results from such isotopic analyses will provide insight into the diet and mobility of the livestock, which will indicate the herd management methods. Stable isotopic data from bioapatite and collagen will aid in understanding herd management and provisioning practices at Tell el-Hesi, particularly if pastoral practices were specialized or practiced more independently. Understanding pastoral practices will aid in a broader understanding of subsistence practices used during the rise of urban living in the southern Levant, contributing necessary knowledge regarding the changing social landscape during the Early Bronze Age.
