"Immortal, though he lies under the ground": Osteobiographies of three individuals from the first Battle of Himera (480 BCE) Katherine L. Reinberger 1 , Laurie J. Reitsema 1 , Britney Kyle 2 , Stefano Vassallo 3 1 Department of Anthropology, University of Georgia, 2 Department of Anthropology, University of Northern Colorado, 3 Archaeological Heritage Section, Superintendency of Palermo Greek Warfare in Sicily The Greek city of Himera (Fig. 1) was founded in 648 BCE by culturally Greek settlers and commanded the sea routes along the northern coast of Sicily and a major land route across the island 11 . Located between the Phoenician and Greek sides of the island, Himera became an important connection between two different political and cultural groups that would lead to economic prosperity at times, and violent encounters at others. Numerous research on Greek warfare has focused on mainland Greece, using the battle tactics and practices well documented by historians as models for the rest of the Greek world. This research will bring new focus on warfare in a Greek colonial context. The political and social structures differed dramatically from mainland Greece during the 5 th century BCE, most notably due to the presence of tyrants in charge of most Greek city-states on Sicily, rather than the democratic systems in mainland Greece. Acknowledgments Thank you to the Center for Applied Isotopes at UGA, especially Tom Maddox, and University of Florida Geological Sciences, especially George Kamenov and John Krigbaum. Burial maps and images are courtesy of Soprintendenza Archeologica di Palermo. This research was funded by the UGA Integrative and Interdisciplinary Research Grant, UGA Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, UGA CAS Norm Herz Award, the National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates award numbers 1560227 and 1560158, the University of Georgia, and the University of Northern Colorado. Literature Cited 1. Batchelder C, Reitsema LJ, Kyle B, Reinberger KL, Vassallo S, Fabbri P. (2018). Diet and Culture at the Greek Colony Himera. Am J Phys Anth 165:20-20. 2. *There is little evidence of fish consumption at Himera, so higher δ13C values were not interpreted as evidence for marine diets. However, it should be mentioned that if these soldiers were coming from other locations they may have had more access to fish than the local community. For more, see: Mari K, Reitsema L, Reinberger K, Batchelder C, Vassallo S, Kyle B. (2019). Assessing Fish Consumption in the Ancient Greek World Using Sulphur Stable Isotope Ratios. Am J Phys Anth 168: 154-154 3. Kyle, B., Reitsema L.J., Tyler, J. , Pier, F.F. Vassallo S. (2018). Examining the osteological paradox: Skeletal stress in mass graves versus civilians at the Greek colony of Himera (Sicily). Am J Phys Anth. 167:161-172.. 4. Reinberger KL, Kyle B, Fabbri PF, Vassallo S, Reitsema LJ.(2017). Paleomobility in the 5th century Mediterranean: Oxygen Isotope Analysis of Soldiers from the Battles of Himera (480 BCE, 409 BCE). Am J Phys Anth 162:330-330. 5. Reinberger KL, Reitsema LJ, Kyle B, Fabbri PF, Vassallo S. (2016). Reconstructing Daily Lives of Individuals in Ancient Mass Graves from Greek Sicily: Paleodietary Perspectives on the Battles Of Himera Mortuary Assemblages (480 BC, 409 BC). Am J Phys Anth 159:266-266. 6. Reinberger, K.L., Reitsema, L.J., Kyle, B., Vassallo, S., Kamenov, G, Krigbaum, J .(in prep) Isotopic Evidence for Geographic Heterogeneity in Ancient Greek Military Forces. 7. Reitsema, L.J., Kyle, B., Vassallo, S. (2020). Food traditions and colonial interactions in the ancient Mediterranean: Stable isotope evidence from the Greek Sicilian colony Himera. J Anth Arch 57, 101144. 8. Sears, M.A. (2019). Understanding Greek Warfare. New York: Routledge. 9. Stamer JR, Reinberger KL, Kyle B, Fabbri PF, Vassallo S, Reitsema LJ. (2017). Assembling a Winning Army: Strontium Isotope Analysis of Local and Non-Local Soldiers from the Ancient Greek Battles of Himera (480 BCE, 409 BCE). Am J Phys Anth 162:368-368. 10. Vassallo, S. (2010). Le battaglie di Himera alla luce degli scavi nella necropoli occipdentale e alle fortificazioni i luoghi, i protagonisti. Sicil. Antiq. 7. 11. Vassallo S. (2005). Himera: Citta Greca; Guida Alla Atoria e Ai Monumenti (Soprintendenza ai Beni Culturali E Ambientali Servizio Beni Archeologici Palermo). 12. Violaris C, Reitsema LJ, Reinberger KL, Kyle B, Fabbri P, Vassallo S. (2018). Local or Migrant? Insight into Culture Complexity Using Stable Oxygen Isotopes at Himera. Am J Phys Anth 165:289-289 13. Viva, S., Lonoce, N., Vincenti, G., Cameriere, R., Valentino, M., Vassallo, S., Francesco Fabbri, P., The mass burials from the western necropolis of the Greek colony of Himera (Sicily related to the battles of 480 and 409 BCE. Int. J. Osteoarchael. 1-11. 14. White, T.D. and Folkens, P.A. (2005). The Human Bone Manual. Amsterdam: Elsevier. American Association of Physical Anthropology Annual Meeting, Los Angeles, CA Conclusions • Greek soldiers in later periods were given centrally controlled rations, but during this time period soldiers would have been responsible for provisioning their own meals, such as transporting them from home and then acquiring them through local community resources 8 . The dietary compositions here show that while one individual (W461) had a diet consistent with local Sicilian Greek values, W396 and W403 likely spent time away from Sicily because of the greater C4 consumption. One of the main exports of Sicily was wheat, a C3 plant, so evidence of C4 plant consumption is less common in local communities*. • W403 and W396 have spread apart 20n Pb/ 204 Pb values from most of the soldiers from both 480 BCE and 409 BCE ( 208 Pb/ 204 Pb = 38.85 ± 0.04; 207 Pb/ 204 Pb = 15.67 ± 0.01; 206 Pb/ 204 Pb = 18.79 ± 0.06), indicating more evidence that these two individuals were from outside Sicily, while W461 may have been local to the island. • W403 and W396 have isotopic indicators that suggest non-local origin and diets from outside the local community 5,7 . These two individuals could be some of the foreign mercenaries hired by Gelon, the Syracusan tyrant and general who aided Himera in 480 BCE (Diod. 11.72). While W461 has a similar diet to local Himerans 5,7 , their place of origin seems to reflect a more inland location, with slightly older geology. Given the geologically varied bedrock of Sicily and the chora system of Greek city-states, W461 could represent someone recruited from the island’s hinterland such as a member of one of the allied armies from Agrigento or Syracuse. • The focus on the osteobiographies of these individuals has shed light on the considerable variation in soldiers’ cultural and geographic backgrounds, even among those engaged in the same battle and buried in the same grave. The Battles of Himera The Battles of Himera were two violent conflicts between Greeks and Carthaginians in Sicily: • 480 BCE: victorious alliance of Greeks from all over Sicily defeat Carthaginians (Diod. 11.20-22) • 409 BCE: Himera is left unaided and is destroyed by Carthaginians (Diod. 13.62) Mass graves likely from the battles – “Fossa Comune” (FC) 1-7 from 480 BCE (Fig. 2) - have been well documented with historical, archaeological 10 , and osteological 3,13 approaches with emphasis on population perspectives 1,2,4,5,7,9,12 . Data is presented for all three individuals alongside the rest of the soldiers from 480 BCE and 409 BCE (Fig. 3-4). Second molars were sampled for 87Sr/ 86Sr and dO, representing 6-8 years of age at crown formation 14 . These individuals were chosen based on completed isotopic analysis, paleopathological assessment, and close proximity of their burials. Osteobiographies in Anthropology The term “osteobiography” refers to an individualized approach that emphasizes the identity and life histories of ancient persons. For a field that typically takes population level approaches and gained its earliest positions by focusing on biology and health, osteobiographies enrich bioarchaeology by providing a more intimate view of individual past lives in social contexts. The ancient Greek world is frequently studied through historical documents that shine a light on individuals, especially the elite. Osteobiographies are eminently compatible with these accounts, yet are underexplored. This study explores the lived experiences of three individuals buried in the mass graves from the Battles of Himera. By using isotopic analysis, we are able to look beyond the elite generals who have been well recorded in history, and focus on the soldiers’ diet (δ 13 C, δ 15 Ν) and place of origin through water source (δ 18 O) and geology ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and 20n Pb/ 204 Pb). By focusing on a few soldiers involved in Greek warfare on Sicily, we are able to explore possible variation in models of ancient warfare. For example, there has been much debate on the rise of hoplite soldiers, whether they were farmers or wealthy elites from local communities or if soldiers traveled all over the Mediterranean as hired mercenaries. By exploring diet and place of origin, we can look at soldier provisioning of food and the movement patterns of some individuals involved. Questions? Email: klreinberger@uga.edu or Tweet @klreinbe Figure 2: FC 2 shows an orderly layout of individual burials characteristic of other mass graves from 480 BCE Figure 1: Map of Sicily showing Phoenician and Greek settlements during 6 th -4 th c. BCE • 20-30 M, buried in FC 1 (Fig. 6, Fig. 8) • δ 13 C = -17.5; δ 15 N = 11.2 • 87 Sr/ 86 Sr = 0.709993 • δ 18 O = -6.4 • 208 Pb/ 204 Pb = 38.93; 207 Pb/ 204 Pb = 15.70; 206 Pb/ 204 Pb = 19.03 • Porosity found on the hard palate indicates possible nutritional deficiency W403, likely non-local to Himera, grew up in an area with higher altitude or further inland (lower δ 18 O values than Himera). Their high 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values suggest places with older underlying bedrock. Their diet was mostly from terrestrial sources, with a mix of C3 and C4 plants, different than the local diet at Himera. Their slightly different diet suggests a cultural background from outside of Sicily or they were not provisioning food from the local Himeran community. W403 Figure 6: Burial map of W403 • 18-30 M, buried in FC 1 (Fig. 7, Fig.8) • δ 13 C = -16.6; δ 15 N = 10.6 • 87 Sr/ 86 Sr = 0.710123 • δ 18 O = -6.438.93 • 208 Pb/ 204 Pb = 38.88; 207 Pb/ 204 Pb = 15.66; 206 Pb/ 204 Pb = 19.09 • Evidence of porotic hyperostosis W396 also has low δ 18 O values indicating they also grew up further inland or at a higher altitude that Himera, as well as much higher 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values from older geologic regions. Their diet consisted of a terrestrial sources, a mix of C3 and C4 plants with slightly more C4 intake, diverging from the typical Himeran diet. This difference in diet suggests they had spent time outside of Sicily, possibly from the same area as W403. They either provisioned food from outside the local community or their isotopic signatures represent the diet of their homeland. W396 Figure 7: Burial map of W396 • 20-35 M, buried in FC 2 (Fig. 5; Fig. 8) • δ 13 C = -19.2; δ 15 N = 10.6 • 87 Sr/ 86 Sr = 0.709291 • δ 18 O = -6.7 • 208 Pb/ 204 Pb = 38.86; 207 Pb/ 204 Pb = 15.66; 206 Pb/ 204 Pb = 18.8 • Evidence of porotic hyperostosis W461 had low δ 18 O values and slightly higher 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values than Himera. This suggests they grew up more inland and in an area with older bedrock than Himera, corresponding to some of the hinterland surrounding Agrigento or Syracuse, known for military aid to Himera. δ 13 C and δ 15 N values suggest they ate similar foodstuffs as the local Himeran citizens: a terrestrial diet of mostly C3 plants with some animal consumption. They may have come from a similar cultural background or they were able to provision from the local community. W461 Figure 5: Burial map of W461 0.707500 0.708000 0.708500 0.709000 0.709500 0.710000 0.710500 0.711000 -8.00 -7.00 -6.00 -5.00 -4.00 -3.00 -2.00 Local Himera δ 18 O 87 Sr/ 86 Sr Figure 4: Plot of δ 18 O and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values for all soldiers, W461, W396, W403. Local Himera baseline from Reinberger et al (in prep) 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 -22.0 -21.0 -20.0 -19.0 -18.0 -17.0 -16.0 -15.0 -14.0 Local Himera δ 13 C δ 15 N Figure 3: Plot of δ 13 C and δ 15 Ν values for all soldiers, W461, W396, W403. Local Himera baseline from Reitsema et al. (2020) 7 480 BCE Soldiers 409 BCE Soldiers W461 W396 W403 Figure 8: Burial map of FC2 (left) and FC1 (right) with W461, W403, W396 marked to show spacing and location of burials