BIOLOGICAL REGIONALISM ON NEOLITHIC CYPRUS
Prehistoric Cyprus offers a unique area of study to observe social and biological changes through time. Archaeological fieldwork carried out on the island for decades has described Cyprus as a culturally isolated island from initial colonisation during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic (8000 BC) until the Early Bronze Age (2300 BC). This research project seeks to determine if this cultural isolation is reflected in the human remains from the same time periods.
Human skeletal remains of approximately sixty individuals were studied and standard anthropological data was collected from the human remains including minimum number of individuals, age at death, sex of individuals, stature and dental non-metric traits. The data from the dental non-metric traits was used to determine the biological affinities of the ancient Cypriots. The human remains came from the Neolithic sites of Kissonerga-Mylouthkia located at the Paphos Museum, Kalavasos-Tenta at the Larnaca District Museum, Sotira-Teppes at the Limassol District Museum, Agios Savvas tis Karonis Monasteri and the Chalcolithic site of Choletria Ortos, both at the Kouklia Archaeological Museum in the Paphos District. These sites range in time from the Neolithic (c.7300 BC) to the Chalcolithic (c.3000 BC) and are located in the west, south and east parts of the island. Most of the remains come from burials, but the bones from Kissonerga-Mylouthkia come from refuse inside one the oldest wells found on Cyprus.
Non-metric traits are genetically determined and can be used to assess biological affinities (or biological composition) between groups. For this research, teeth were examined. They are particularly useful to study because they are made of enamel and dentine, which are more durable than bone, and have a greater chance of surviving in the archaeological record. Most dental non-metric traits occur as a pit, groove or even extra cusps or roots. Recording these traits does not require any special tools but does require training in identification. An example of some of the dental non-metric traits identified from the site of Agios Savvas is shown above. The photograph shows the maxilla with a number of teeth. The first molar has a Carabelli cusp trait and the second incisor shows the shovelling trait.
Early results indicate a total of 24 different dental non-metric traits. The number of traits per site ranged from 9 to 16. This suggests the biological affinities of the Neolithic Cypriots were local in character. In other words, since the most traits present at one site is only 16 this suggests the inhabitants were selecting mates closer to where they live. In addition, some traits are present only in certain parts of the island, suggesting local regionalism during the Neolithic. Even though Cyprus is a relatively small island it is unclear whether geographical or cultural barriers caused this regionalism. Although the samples this data are based on are small, it still shows a healthy gene pool for the Cypriot Neolithic.
Cranial deformation was a common cultural practice from the mainland and has been documented on Cyprus during the Neolithic. A skull from Kissonerga-Mylouthkia (shown above) with extra cranial sutures shows evidence for the presence for artificial cranial deformation. Even though cranial deformation is a cultural practice and is not a biological trait, it is still useful in identifying the different social customs on the island and how this affects the distribution of dental non-metric traits.
An important idea this research raises is that the total number of traits on Cyprus may be an indication of immigrants from more than one area of the mainland and possibly at different times. If the Neolithic Cypriots are from different parts of the mainland this may explain the basis for the regionalism identified on the island that was then carried through to the Chalcolithic.
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to the Prehistoric Society for supporting this research through the Research Fund award. I also wish to thank Dr. John Robb, University of Cambridge, for his letter on my behalf. Special thanks goes to the director of the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus, Pavlos Florentzos, for his permission to allow access to the various skeletal collections last summer.
Dr Zissis Parras,
Anthropology Department, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada.
Email:
[email protected]
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