Mycenaean Feasting on Tsoungiza at Ancient Nemea

by Mary K. Dabney, Paul Halstead, and Patrick Thomas

Hesperia, Volume 73, Issue 2
Page(s): 197-215
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4134893
Year: 2004
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ABSTRACT:

This paper presents a ceremonial feasting deposit from Late Helladic IIIA2 Tsoungiza. The dominance of head and foot bones from at least six cattle suggests on-site butchery, with the possibility that the meat was distributed for consumption elsewhere. The pottery fulfills most of the criteria proposed here for recognizing feasting activities in ceramic assemblages. A ceramic female figure, similar to those from sanctuaries at Phylakopi and Mycenae, ties the feasting to religious rituals. It is suggested that regional feasts contributed to maintaining political and economic alliances within the area around Mycenae.