Where Typhoeus lived: 87Sr/86Sr analysis of human remains in the first Greek site in the Western Mediterranean, Pithekoussai, Italy

Abstract

The archaeological heritage of Pithekoussai offers a unique insight into the dynamics of human mobility and biocultural interactions at the dawn of the Magna Graecia during the Iron Age Mediterranean. Pithekoussai was founded by Greeks on the volcanic island of Ischia in southern Italy in the mid-eighth century BC, marking the earliest Greek settlement in the western Mediterranean. The archaeological evidence suggests that Pithekoussai was an emporium where local communities, Greeks, Phoenicians, and people from the mainland lived together and interacted. Despite the challenges posed by the active volcanic burial environment, which affected the preservation of human remains, this study successfully applied strontium isotope analysis (87Sr/86Sr) to n = 71 inhumed and cremated individuals. Integrating biogeochemistry and (bio)archaeology, this research enriches the narrative of human mobility by providing a nuanced reconstruction of the life histories of the individuals who participated in a crucial moment in Mediterranean history that shaped societies at the emergence of Magna Graecia.