Search results for "Motya"
showing 8 items of 8 documents
Genetic structure and differentiation from early bronze age in the mediterranean island of sicily: Insights from ancient mitochondrial genomes
2022
Sicily is one of the main islands of the Mediterranean Sea, and it is characterized by a variety of archaeological records, material culture and traditions, reflecting the history of migrations and populations’ interaction since its first colonization, during the Paleolithic. These deep and complex demographic and cultural dynamics should have affected the genomic landscape of Sicily at different levels; however, the relative impact of these migrations on the genomic structure and differentiation within the island remains largely unknown. The available Sicilian modern genetic data gave a picture of the current genetic structure, but the paucity of ancient data did not allow so far to make p…
Exploring prenatal and neonatal life history through dental histology in infants from the Phoenician necropolis of Motya (7th–6th century BCE)
2023
The biological life history of infants from archaeological contexts can provide a unique insight into past human populations. Dental mineralized tissues contain a permanent record of their growth that can provide access to the prenatal and early infant life, and mortality, of human skeletons. This study focuses on the histomorphometric analysis of deciduous teeth from the ‘Archaic Necropolis’ of Motya (7th–6th century BCE, Sicily–Italy). The histomorphometric analysis is conducted on prenatal and postnatal enamel of eight anterior deciduous teeth from seven individuals from this Phoenician population to estimate their chronological age-at-death, health, and enamel growth parameters. Proteom…
Human remains and funerary rites in the Phoenician Necropolis of Motya (Sicily)
2017
The aim of this paper is to examine the fresh evidences retrieved in the early cemetery or "archaic necropolis" of the island of Motya, one of the main Phoenician colonies in the Mediterranean.
CHILD INHUMATIONS ON THE ISLAND OF MOTYA. NEW EVIDENCE FROM THE ARCHAIC CEMETERY
2020
The aim of this paper is to shed light on the interpretation of human remains and funerary rituals recently uncovered in the Archaic Necropolis of Motya. During the 20th century about 350 graves were brought to light by earlier explorations, showing that – apart from rare exceptions – adult cremation was the most common rite performed in archaic times (ca. 730-550 BC). This picture can be now changed in the light of the results of our recent fieldwork (seasons 2013-2017), showing that a large quantity of graves strikingly house remains of sub-adult individuals (i.e. foetuses, perinatals and children). While a few of them are cremated, the numerous inhumations recovered show clear patterns o…
Uova di struzzo dipinte da Mozia
2005
Analisi e studio di alcuni frammenti di uova di struzzo conservate al Museo di Motya Analysis and study of some fragments of ostrich eggs-shell preserved at the Motya Museum
New investigations in the North-East quarter of Motya. The archaic cemetery and Building J
2017
In June 2013 the University of Palermo excavations on Motya were resumed. The main goal of the new project is to investigate the north-east quarter of the Phoenician settlement and its urban development since the time of its foundation. Two main areas of excavation were opened. In the early cemetery sixteen cremation burials of the archaic period were uncovered. The most striking discoveries, never attested before, were a tomb containing Hellenistic offerings, and the occurrence of archaic infant cremations. The second excavation was conducted east of Zone K in Building J, which is characterized by its use of a fine ‘pier and rubble’ construction technique. Two rooms have been partially cle…
NEW ANTHROPOLOGICAL DATA FROM THE ARCHAIC NECROPOLIS AT MOTYA (2013 EXCAVATION SEASON)
2018
In this paper we present the most recent anthropological study on bones of the archaic tombs of Motya (Sicily, Italy), where a large necropolis has been brought to light since the first excavations of Joseph Whitaker. The newly acquired data suggest that this portion of the Motya archaic cemetery was not exclusively devoted to the incineration of particular classes of age but the urns and cists could contain multiple burials of very different ages. .
The Archaic Cemetery at Motya. A case-study for tracing early colonial Phoenician culture and mortuary traditions in the West Mediterranean
2016
The burial ground, roughly dating from the late 8th cent. BC onwards, is characterised in its earliest major phase by the almost exclusive practice of cremation, a rite that was introduced and largely attested in the Levant during the Iron Age1 . The same rite was inherited from the Phoenician homeland and became widespread in the western colonial world, where it eventually survived until the Hellenistic period. The purpose of the present paper is to re-examine briefly the archaeological evidence so far retrieved in the early island cemetery, stressing its main features and reviewing some of the current scholarly views and interpretations.