Animal remains of ancient city of Smyrna (İzmir, Türkiye): Zooarchaeological analysis (3rd century BCE–4th century CE)

Ancient Smyrna (modern İzmir, Türkiye) was one of the principal urban centres of western Anatolia, occupied continuously from the Hellenistic through the Early Byzantine periods. This study presents the first comprehensive zooarchaeological synthesis of faunal assemblages recovered between 2016 and 2025 from four excavation sectors (Agora, Theatre, Basmane and Kadifekale). A total of 8.998 animal remains were analysed using standard zooarchaeological methods, including taxonomic identification, NISP and MNI quantification, age-at-death estimation, osteometric analysis, and assessment of bone modifications and worked skeletal materials. The analysed material represents multiple archaeological assemblages originating from different depositional contexts and chronological phases rather than a single contemporaneous deposit. Consequently, the study adopts a contextual synthetic approach aimed at identifying broad long-term patterns of animal exploitation rather than reconstructing phase-specific economic systems. Domestic livestock dominated the assemblages, with sheep, cattle and pigs constituting the principal taxa, whereas equids, carnivores and wild mammals occurred in comparatively low frequencies. Fish and marine molluscs demonstrate the continued exploitation of aquatic resources, while worked bone, antler and ivory indicate the rather use of animal skeletal materials in urban craft production. Mortality profiles suggest differing exploitation strategies among livestock species, consistent with diversified urban animal economies. The results indicate that the currently available faunal evidence reflects long-term patterns of urban animal use shaped by the interaction of regional livestock production, maritime resources and urban demand. The quantity of faunal material recovered from individual sectors primarily reflects the extent of archaeological investigation and the attention devoted to particular areas, and should therefore not be interpreted directly as evidence of differences in the intensity of urban animal exploitation. Because the analysed material derives from heterogeneous archaeological contexts spanning several centuries, the interpretations presented here are intentionally restricted to broad zooarchaeological trends. The study establishes a contextual baseline for future investigations of human–animal relationships and urban provisioning systems in ancient Smyrna and contributes to the comparative zooarchaeology of eastern Mediterranean cities.