The skeletal remains from the Late Mycenaean Kastrouli-Desfina (Greece):New anthropological analysis and palaeodietary reconstruction

This paper presents the first preliminary isotopic data of skeletal (animal and human) remains recovered from Tomb A at the Mycenaean archaeological site of Kastrouli (Phocis) during the excavation periods from 2016 to 2021. The study also reports the results of the osteological analysis (minimum number of individuals, sex and age-at-death estimation) of several prenatal and adult bone fragments which were found commingled with animal remains in Tomb B, and Buildings 1 and 2. The majority of the animal remains were identified as domesticated species, i.e. Ovis aries, Capra hircus, Bos taurus and Sus scrofa domesticus. Other animal species present were Alectoris, Lepus, and a few different species of gastropod shells (Cerithium, Tarantinaea lignaria, Patella sp.). Isotopic analysis (δ13C, δ15N) of 12 humans and four animals with good quality collagen indicates a mixed diet incorporating significant amounts of domestic animal protein, plants (some potential evidence for C4), and possibly some marine contribution, all of which are archaeologically documented.