George Kazantzis
I am an archaeologist specialised in the study of animal bones. I did my undergraduate studies in "History and Archaeology" at the University of Ioannina, Greece, in 2005, before pursuing a Master's degree in "Environmental Archaeology and Palaeoeconomy" at the University of Sheffield (2008) focusing on the study of animal bones.
In 2014 i completed my doctoral research at the University of Sheffield; my PhD focused on the animal bone assemblage from the Greek sector of the Late Neolithic settlement of Promachon-Topolnica in Macedonia, northern Greece and it was supervised by Dr Umberto Albarella.
I have been involved in a number of projects dealing with animal bone assemblages from prehistoric Macedonian sites and I am currently working as a zooarchaeologist in the Ephoria of Antiquities of Aeani in Kozani, Western Macedonia, Greece.
My research interest is strongly orientated towards the understanding of the role and the economic, social and cultural significance of animals during the Neolithic and the Bronze Age of northern Greece. I am specifically interested in the size and the shape of domestic livestock, using biometry as the main tool for the investigation of the dynamics of animal management during prehistory.
Address: Ephoria of Antiquities of Serres
Ethnikis Antistasis 48
Serres
Greece
In 2014 i completed my doctoral research at the University of Sheffield; my PhD focused on the animal bone assemblage from the Greek sector of the Late Neolithic settlement of Promachon-Topolnica in Macedonia, northern Greece and it was supervised by Dr Umberto Albarella.
I have been involved in a number of projects dealing with animal bone assemblages from prehistoric Macedonian sites and I am currently working as a zooarchaeologist in the Ephoria of Antiquities of Aeani in Kozani, Western Macedonia, Greece.
My research interest is strongly orientated towards the understanding of the role and the economic, social and cultural significance of animals during the Neolithic and the Bronze Age of northern Greece. I am specifically interested in the size and the shape of domestic livestock, using biometry as the main tool for the investigation of the dynamics of animal management during prehistory.
Address: Ephoria of Antiquities of Serres
Ethnikis Antistasis 48
Serres
Greece
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This paper will focus on husbandry strategies at the Greek sector of Promachon and will examine the role of the domestic livestock and their contribution to the economy of the site. Within Promachon, animal remains indicate an economy particularly tuned to the production of meat; however, a small-scale exploitation of caprines and cattle for milk could also be inferred. This information is valuable, considering the scarcity of data from contemporary settlements across central Macedonia in general, and the basin of Strymonas in particular. The substantial better representation of cattle in Promachon than any other settlement in Greek Macedonia, suggests that, to some extent, husbandry practices in Promachon are linked to settlements of the Balkans. Of additional interest is the presence of a “communal” structure in Promachon, rich in material culture evidence and animal bones, thus creating an interesting contrast to the rest of the deposits, which indicate a more likely household origin.
This paper will present new information on subsistence strategies in an underrepresented area of northern Greece during a time-period (fifth and fourth millennium BC), that is considered one of the most dynamic eras of the prehistory of southeastern Europe. It will also clarify both temporal and regional trends in animal management, placing Promachon in the broader spectrum of contemporary agro-pastoral communities and creating an integrated picture of human-animal relationships that encompasses both the basin of Strymonas and Greek Macedonia.
1. Να αντιληφθούμε τη φύση, τη σημασία και τη κλίμακα της
κτηνοτροφικής δραστηριότητας στο Νεολιθικό Προμαχώνα.
2. Να ενσωματώσουμε τον οικισμό στο ευρύτερο πλαίσιο των
γεωργοκτηνοτροφικών κοινοτήτων του μέσου και κάτω ρού του
Στρυμόνα και της περιοχής της Μακεδονίας κατά την Ύστερη
Νεολιθική.
Talks & Seminars
Drafts
PhD Thesis
The current thesis focuses on the study of the faunal assemblage from the Greek sector of Promachon, and examines the role and the contribution of domestic and wild animals to the economy of the site. Within Promachon, the study of the animal remains indicates an economy particularly tuned to the production of meat; however, a small-scale exploitation of milk could also be inferred. This information is valuable, considering the scarcity of faunal data from contemporary settlements across the basin of Strymonas. Of particular interest is the presence of a large ‘public’ structure, rich in material culture evidence and animal bones, which creates an interesting contrast to the rest of the household deposits. In addition, the faunal evidence is consistent with the suggestion of the excavators of the site that significant changes occurred during the third phase of occupation at Promachon.
On the other hand, the substantially better representation of cattle in Promachon than any other settlement in Greek Macedonia, along with the evidence from pottery decoration and structural features, suggests that - to some extent - Promachon was linked to Balkan Late and Final Neolithic communities. Biometric analysis also provided interesting insights into the diverse husbandry practices among Late Neolithic sites in Macedonia and Thessaly. This information is particularly important, in view of the fact that the comparison of the size of domestic ruminants and pigs between Late Neolithic Macedonian and Thessalian sites has not been attempted prior to this study. In this respect, the collection of a larger body of metrical data from Late Neolithic Macedonian and Thessalian settlements should represent a priority for future research, in order to provide clarification to some of the issues discussed in this thesis.
The current research presents new information on subsistence strategies in an underrepresented area of northern Greece during a time-period (fifth and fourth millennium BC), that is considered one of the most dynamic eras of the prehistory of southeastern Europe. It also clarifies both temporal and regional trends in animal management, placing Promachon in the broader spectrum of contemporary agro-pastoral communities and creating an integrated picture of human-animal relationships that encompasses both the basin of Strymonas and northern Greece.
This paper will focus on husbandry strategies at the Greek sector of Promachon and will examine the role of the domestic livestock and their contribution to the economy of the site. Within Promachon, animal remains indicate an economy particularly tuned to the production of meat; however, a small-scale exploitation of caprines and cattle for milk could also be inferred. This information is valuable, considering the scarcity of data from contemporary settlements across central Macedonia in general, and the basin of Strymonas in particular. The substantial better representation of cattle in Promachon than any other settlement in Greek Macedonia, suggests that, to some extent, husbandry practices in Promachon are linked to settlements of the Balkans. Of additional interest is the presence of a “communal” structure in Promachon, rich in material culture evidence and animal bones, thus creating an interesting contrast to the rest of the deposits, which indicate a more likely household origin.
This paper will present new information on subsistence strategies in an underrepresented area of northern Greece during a time-period (fifth and fourth millennium BC), that is considered one of the most dynamic eras of the prehistory of southeastern Europe. It will also clarify both temporal and regional trends in animal management, placing Promachon in the broader spectrum of contemporary agro-pastoral communities and creating an integrated picture of human-animal relationships that encompasses both the basin of Strymonas and Greek Macedonia.
1. Να αντιληφθούμε τη φύση, τη σημασία και τη κλίμακα της
κτηνοτροφικής δραστηριότητας στο Νεολιθικό Προμαχώνα.
2. Να ενσωματώσουμε τον οικισμό στο ευρύτερο πλαίσιο των
γεωργοκτηνοτροφικών κοινοτήτων του μέσου και κάτω ρού του
Στρυμόνα και της περιοχής της Μακεδονίας κατά την Ύστερη
Νεολιθική.
The current thesis focuses on the study of the faunal assemblage from the Greek sector of Promachon, and examines the role and the contribution of domestic and wild animals to the economy of the site. Within Promachon, the study of the animal remains indicates an economy particularly tuned to the production of meat; however, a small-scale exploitation of milk could also be inferred. This information is valuable, considering the scarcity of faunal data from contemporary settlements across the basin of Strymonas. Of particular interest is the presence of a large ‘public’ structure, rich in material culture evidence and animal bones, which creates an interesting contrast to the rest of the household deposits. In addition, the faunal evidence is consistent with the suggestion of the excavators of the site that significant changes occurred during the third phase of occupation at Promachon.
On the other hand, the substantially better representation of cattle in Promachon than any other settlement in Greek Macedonia, along with the evidence from pottery decoration and structural features, suggests that - to some extent - Promachon was linked to Balkan Late and Final Neolithic communities. Biometric analysis also provided interesting insights into the diverse husbandry practices among Late Neolithic sites in Macedonia and Thessaly. This information is particularly important, in view of the fact that the comparison of the size of domestic ruminants and pigs between Late Neolithic Macedonian and Thessalian sites has not been attempted prior to this study. In this respect, the collection of a larger body of metrical data from Late Neolithic Macedonian and Thessalian settlements should represent a priority for future research, in order to provide clarification to some of the issues discussed in this thesis.
The current research presents new information on subsistence strategies in an underrepresented area of northern Greece during a time-period (fifth and fourth millennium BC), that is considered one of the most dynamic eras of the prehistory of southeastern Europe. It also clarifies both temporal and regional trends in animal management, placing Promachon in the broader spectrum of contemporary agro-pastoral communities and creating an integrated picture of human-animal relationships that encompasses both the basin of Strymonas and northern Greece.