The Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM) and the Australian Archaeological Institute of Athens are hosting a seminar looking into the bioarchaeological study of Athenian society during the 1st millennium BCE.
Professor Philipp Stockhammer, an expert in bioarchaeology and prehistoric archaeology will be leading the seminar.
He is a professor for Prehistoric Archaeology with a focus on the Eastern Mediterranean at the LudwigMaximilians-University and co-director of the Max PlanckHarvard Research Center for the Archaeoscience of the Ancient Mediterranean at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig.
Knowledge of this period has long been built mostly on literary and archaeological sources, often presenting challenges in integration, while archaeologists have looked at the spatial organisation of cemeteries, grave typology, burial practices and rituals of each period, grave marker style and iconography and more.
The study of differences among regions and changes in the demographic composition of cemeteries in Athens and Attica through time have led to a more nuanced understanding of social developments.
However many questions have remained: What social groupings do burial plots correspond to? How did biological relatedness affect the organisation of cemeteries? What was the relation among individuals buried in the same grave plot, in different plots or neighbouring cemeteries?
“In this framework, we have generated archaeogenetic data for more than 100 human bone samples from 1st millennium BCE cemeteries from all over Attica, with a particular focus on the famous cemetery of Phaleron”, Prof. Stockhammer said in a media release.
“I will present the current state of our research and the novel insights achieved so far in social belonging, mobility and marital practices in Early Iron Age Attica.”
When: Monday August 26, 7pm
Where: Mezzanine Level, The Greek Centre, 168 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
Info: Call +61 3 9662 2722 or email: info@greekcommunity.com.au
