Spatial Organization and Cemetery Structure at Phaleron

Abstract

This article uses human craniodental data to evaluate the spatial structure of the Archaic period site of Phaleron in Attica. The site was a burial ground located near the first port of Athens in use from around 700 to 480 B.C.E., a tumultuous time in the history of ancient Greece that witnessed the emergence of city-states and western democratic ideals. A key consideration of the project is understanding the lives of ancient communities beyond just the political elite, and this article seeks to understand how the structure of the burial ground may reflect the social dynamics of the time. Data on 59 cranial nonmetric and 128 dental morphological variables were recorded for approximately 600 individuals. After trait editing, 18 cranial nonmetric and 19 dental morphological variables were used to estimate the Mean Measure of Divergence statistics among Phaleron subsamples. Results indicated the Esplanada burial group comprising 79 bound individuals were phenotypically distinct from the rest of the sample, while other distinctive (D-group) burials identified throughout the site were not significantly different from the combined non-D-group burial sample. Burial sectors also exhibited phenotypic spatial structure reflecting a north-to-south transect of variation. These results may reflect the effects of localized kin structuring of the Phaleron cemetery or an organization based on larger groups relevant to Archaic society.