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Micromorphological contributions to the study of ritual behavior at the ash altar to Zeus on Mt. Lykaion, Greece

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Abstract

The ash altar to Zeus, located on a peak of Mt. Lykaion (Greece), consists of a thick, anthropogenic deposit that formed as a result of repeated deposition of burnt offerings. Excavations conducted from 2007 to 2010 uncovered evidence of a long history of use of the mountain summit as a purely ritual locality. Micromorphological analyses of sediment from the southern area of the altar confirm that a majority of the sedimentary components are microscopic artifacts sourced from combustion activities. The basal units comprise the remnants of a thin soil which contains inclusions of charcoal, burned bone, and fat-derived char and is associated with Mycenaean (sixteenth–twelfth centuries BC) materials. Ritual burning activities in the southern area peaked in the Protogeometric through Classical periods (tenth–fourth centuries BC), with intensive burning associated with the practice of thysia (ritual sacrifice) yielding a deposit in which the <2 mm particle size fraction is composed almost entirely of burned bone, wood ashes, charcoal, and other charred materials. Both the basal and uppermost portions of the sequence were impacted by decalcification, which resulted in the dissolution of ashes and surficial weathering of rock fragments. Postdepositional bioturbation also contributed to the observed distribution of archaeological materials within the feature. The geoarchaeological analyses suggest that similar types of burning activities were conducted in Mycenaean and later times. This finding is relevant to hypothesized continuity of cult between the Bronze and Iron Ages and makes Mt. Lykaion one of the very few sites in the entire Greek world where ritual continuity can be demonstrated.

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Acknowledgments

Portions of this work were supported by The Institute for Aegean Prehistory (INSTAP) and National Science Foundation (NSF) grants (BCS#1125523) to M. Voyatzis and D.G. Romano and The American School of Classical Studies at Athens Wiener Laboratory Travel grant to S. Mentzer. The authors also wish to acknowledge the financial support provided by Mr. and Mrs. N. Karabots, the Karabots Foundation, and Mrs. A. Merle-Smith. In addition, G. Davis, D. Diffendale, A. Basa, A. Belis, A. Rohn, and E. Barnes contributed valuable insights into the formation processes of the altar and assisted with sample collection in the field. The Department of Geosciences, the School of Anthropology, and the Arizona State Museum provided access to scientific equipment at the University of Arizona. Additional analyses were conducted using equipment provided by the Institute for Archaeological Sciences at the University of Tübingen. Finally, the authors would like to extend warm thanks to C. Roos and E.C. Wells for organizing the Society for American Archaeology session on the geoarchaeology of ritual behavior and sacred spaces, as well as for compiling and editing the manuscripts that comprise this special volume. B. Starkovich and C. Miller provided valuable comments on the manuscript and we thank them for their work.

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Mentzer, S.M., Romano, D.G. & Voyatzis, M.E. Micromorphological contributions to the study of ritual behavior at the ash altar to Zeus on Mt. Lykaion, Greece. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 9, 1017–1043 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-014-0219-y

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