Plant resources and subsistence in the Late Minoan mountain ‘villa’ at Zominthos, Crete

Abstract

Minoan ‘villas’ were large complexes—in the vast majority of cases, the central buildings of settlements—erected in the Neo-palatial period in Crete. Their function is still a matter of debate while very little is known about subsistence and economic activities in relation to farming for these sites. The excavation research project at the Minoan villa of Zominthos, the highest in altitude Minoan villa found to date, conducted between 2004 and 2008, provided an opportunity to shed light into these issues. For the purposes of this project, the first systematic archaeobotanical study of a Minoan villa was conducted. This indicated a potentially varied food plant base at Zominthos that included the most common and ubiquitous food plants and their combinations recorded in Bronze Age Crete. Spatial analysis of the finds added information on activities that were taking place in the various excavated parts of this villa and also highlighted taphonomic factors influencing the assemblage. Comparison of the arhaeobotanical results with those previously obtained from another four villas in Crete stressed the disparities in the quality of the different datasets and allowed only some tentative suggestions to be made. All villas included basic cereal and fruit staples of the period and recorded a variety and regular presence of legumes, with stored produce found to date only at Myrtos-Pyrgos. This study highlighted the need for embracing bioarchaeological investigations when excavating these sites and implementing sampling strategies planned together with excavators. It provided the data and, therefore, the potential for coming closer to understanding the function(s) that villas had in the spheres of subsistence, leading to a closer understanding of their socio-economic role(s) in the Minoan political society.