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Maria Hansson. Foto.

Maria Hansson

Universitetslektor

Maria Hansson. Foto.

Aspects of ancient Greek trade re-evaluated with amphora DNA evidence

Författare

  • Brendan Foley
  • Maria Hansson
  • Dimitris P. Kourkoumelis
  • Theotokis A. Theodoulou

Summary, in English

Ancient DNA trapped in the matrices of ceramic transport jars from Mediterranean shipwrecks can reveal the goods traded in the earliest markets. Scholars generally assume that the amphora cargoes of 5th-3rd century B.C. Greek shipwrecks contained wine, or to a much lesser extent olive oil. Remnant DNA inside empty amphoras allows us to test that assumption. We show that short 100 nucleotides of ancient DNA can be isolated and analyzed from inside the empty jars from either small amounts of physical scrapings or material captured with non-destructive swabs. Our study material is previously inaccessible Classical/ Hellenistic Greek shipwreck amphoras archived at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities in Athens, Greece. Collected DNA samples reveal various combinations of olive, grape, Lamiaceae herbs (mint, rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage), juniper, and terebinth/mastic (genus Pistacia). General DNA targeting analyses also reveal the presence of pine (Pinus), and DNA from Fabaceae (Legume family); Zingiberaceae (Ginger family); and Juglandaceae (Walnut family). Our results demonstrate that amphoras were much more than wine containers. DNA shows that these transport jars contained a wide range of goods, bringing into question long-standing assumptions about amphora use in ancient Greece. Ancient DNA investigations open new research avenues, and will allow accurate reconstruction of ancient diet, medicinal compounds, value-added products, goods brought to market, and food preservation methods. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Avdelning/ar

  • Biodiversitet
  • Centrum för miljö- och klimatvetenskap (CEC)

Publiceringsår

2012

Språk

Engelska

Sidor

389-398

Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie

Journal of Archaeological Science

Volym

39

Issue

2

Dokumenttyp

Artikel i tidskrift

Förlag

Academic Press

Ämne

  • Ecology
  • History and Archaeology

Nyckelord

  • Greece
  • Amphora
  • Ancient DNA
  • Shipwreck
  • Olive
  • Wine
  • Trade

Status

Published

Projekt

  • Ancient DNA inside archaeological ceramics from Greek shipwrecks

ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt

  • ISSN: 1095-9238