When: February 13, 2025 at 7pm

Where: Aula Canaria Lecture Hall, Buenavista Building, UTSA Downtown Campus

Light snacks will be served following the lecture

State University of New York, Brockport

There is extensive evidence from Hellenistic and Roman literary sources for the practice of funerary dining and the provisioning of offerings to the dead. These types of mortuary behaviors have generally relied on ceramic and faunal remains but rarely are they explored using evidence from plants. In this talk I will explore the role of plants in this type of ritual context through the examination of botanical remains recovered from Nabataean tomb contexts in Petra, Jordan. Analysis of samples taken from several tombs that were excavated over three seasons (2012, 2014 & 2016) indicated the presence of a variety foodstuff such as Triticum sp. (wheats), Hordeum vulgare (barley), Lens culinaris (lentil), Vitis vinifera (grape), Ficus carica (fig) and Phoenix dactylifera (date). These finds provide intriguing evidence of plants consumed or offered to the deceased during ritual events. Information from this study, in association with the analysis of bioarchaeological remains and ceramics, expands our knowledge of Nabataean funerary practices and contributes to a broader understanding of the role of plants in ritual funerary events in the ancient world.