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An isotopic perspective on the transport of Byzantine mining camp laborers into southwestern Jordan
Author(s) -
Perry Megan A.,
Coleman Drew S.,
Dettman David L.,
alShiyab Abdel Halim
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.21085
Subject(s) - byzantine architecture , elite , empire , homogeneous , perspective (graphical) , archaeology , geography , isotope analysis , ancient history , history , geology , political science , law , art , oceanography , physics , politics , visual arts , thermodynamics
The Byzantine Empire managed a complex administrative network that controlled the mining and processing of natural resources from within its boundaries. Scholars relying upon archeological and textual evidence debate the level of imperial involvement in these ventures, particularly in the provinces. Ancient sources note that many mining camps, for instance, purportedly contained criminal laborers and elite administrators transported from distant locales, indicating significant organization and expenditures by the imperial administration to run the mines. This analysis explores the presence of these nonlocal individuals in a cemetery associated with the third to seventh century A.D. mining camp of Phaeno (Faynan), located in modern Jordan. Strontium isotope analysis of 31 burials indicates that most spent their childhood in a similar geological region as Phaeno , implying that they were locally born. The δ 18 O results mirror the homogeneous 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values, confirming a local origin for most of the sample. Isotopic evidence therefore suggests that the Phaeno mining camp was largely a local operation, contrary to the picture presented in textual sources, although the profits surely padded imperial coffers. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.