Excavations on the border between Greece (sector Promachon) and Bulgaria (sector Topolnica) in the basin of Strymonas, central Macedonia, Greece, have revealed ‘flat-extended’ settlement dating to the Late Neolithic. In addition to the rich array of material culture evidence, the excavation yielded a substantial quantity of animal bone remains, thus offering an unparalleled opportunity to study the human-animal relationships.
This paper will focus on husbandry strategies at the Greek sector of Promachon and will examine the role of the domestic livestock and their contribution to the economy of the site. Within Promachon, animal remains indicate an economy particularly tuned to the production of meat; however, a small-scale exploitation of caprines and cattle for milk could also be inferred. This information is valuable, considering the scarcity of data from contemporary settlements across central Macedonia in general, and the basin of Strymonas in particular. The substantial better representation of cattle in Promachon than any other settlement in Greek Macedonia, suggests that, to some extent, husbandry practices in Promachon are linked to settlements of the Balkans. Of additional interest is the presence of a “communal” structure in Promachon, rich in material culture evidence and animal bones, thus creating an interesting contrast to the rest of the deposits, which indicate a more likely household origin.
This paper will present new information on subsistence strategies in an underrepresented area of northern Greece during a time-period (fifth and fourth millennium BC), that is considered one of the most dynamic eras of the prehistory of southeastern Europe. It will also clarify both temporal and regional trends in animal management, placing Promachon in the broader spectrum of contemporary agro-pastoral communities and creating an integrated picture of human-animal relationships that encompasses both the basin of Strymonas and Greek Macedonia.