Research Training ProgramSmithsonian
Institution
|
|
| Shannon A. Stackhouse Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts Melinda Zeder, Ph. D. "Fossils, rocks, flora and fauna exotic and familiar: the NMNH is a treasure chest for the curious and intelligent mind." |
  |
|
|
The Effect of Socio-Economic Status on Dietary Patterns in the Emergent Urban Society of Tell Leilan
ABSTRACT
This project was conducted by a small research team headed by Melinda Zeder of the Zooarcheology division of the Anthropology Department of the National Museum of Natural History. In the archaeobiological laboratory, nestled in a remote corner of the Museum Support Center, faunal remains (i.e. animal bones) are analyzed to provide insight into the advent and effects of animal domestication in the Near East. This project in particular concentrated on the role of pastoral economy in the formation of complex societies in Northern Mesopotamia. Present research is centered upon the Khabur Drainage Basin, located in the northeastern corner of present day Syria. This project was concerned specifically with the city of Tell Leilan, one of the earliest and best-documented centers of urban society, shortly after its rise as such a center in the mid-Third Millennium B.P. In addition to a fully specialized, differentiated economy, a two-tiered socio-economic hierarchy seems to have developed in Tell Leilan by the third millennium. The two classes were divided geographically within the city, with the elite sector of society concentrated high on the hill in the Acropolis region, and the urban poor concentrated lower on the hill, in Lower Town South. The goal of this research was to investigate the existence and nature of dietary differences between the socio-economic strata in the city. Research at sites in Southern Mesopotamia indicated a possible discrepancy in pig usage between the poor and rich. Pig formed a far greater percentage of animal usage in the lower class areas, while the caprid species (goat and sheep) formed a greater percentage of elite diet. The hypothesis formed is that a similar trend would be found in Tell Leilan. Results confirmed this hypothesis, and highlighted several additional trends in usage, including a greater utilization of wild species by the elite, especially of gazelle and bird. Future research will be conducted to test these conclusions at different sites and to continue the investigation in Tell Leilan.
This research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation's Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program -award number DBI-9531331.