Work

Kinship as social strategy: A contextual biodistance analysis of the Early Mycenaean Ayios Vasileios North Cemetery, southern Greece

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: The early Mycenaean era in mainland southern Greece is characterized by radical social transformations. The changes observed in the mortuary sphere include the introduction of new practices that stressed group identity alongside traditional modes of burial. Our hypothesis is that these mortuary choices should be seen as a social strategy for redefining kinship relations. Here, we examine the extent to which the adoption of specific mortuary practices was based on biological or social affiliation by using the Ayios Vasileios North Cemetery, southern Greece (ca. 1700-1500 BCE) as a case study. We collected cranial and dental phenotypic data (measurements and non-metric traits) recorded for 69 individuals. Interindividual Gower distance coefficients were used to combine data types and estimate biological relationships. The results show a biologically related burial group that shared relatively homogeneous mortuary practices. Therefore, biological kinship was not a determining factor in the adoption of different mortuary practices; instead, social kin ties were constructed by being buried together, and by sharing practices, experiences and choices. Finally, the burial of such a group in the same ground over a long period of time implies social strategies of exclusion and inclusion based on age and kinship divisions.

Source: Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

DOI: 10.1016/j.jaa.2024.101633

Authors: Paraskevi Tritsaroli, Efthymia Nikita, Ioanna Moutafi, Sofia Voutsaki

Institutions: University of Groningen, Cyprus Institute, American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, American School of Classical Studies at Athens

Language: English

Topic: Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies

Subfield: Archeology

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,270

Funders: American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek