The Organic Residue Analysis from the Early Bronze Age Site of Sotira Kaminoudhia in Cyprus

Summary

This paper presents the final results of organic residue analysis from the Early Bronze Age settlement and associated cemeteries of Sotira Kaminoudhia. A total of twelve pottery samples were analyzed using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (gc/ms) as part of a larger research program that aimed to identify prestigious, organic substances that would have been utilized on the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus during the prehistoric Bronze Age. Three categories of prestigious substances were targeted: 1) psychoactive substances that generate variable altered states in consciousness, 2) medicines, herbal infusions and other preparations that improve health, and 3) perfumes, ointments and other preparations that are hygienic in nature. This report confirms but also revises earlier reported preliminary results. Analytical methods, interpretative strategies, and anthropological implications will be discussed.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22751