Aegean Bronze Age (Bronze Age Archaeology)

"""""Abstract
The eruption of Thera ca. 1600 BC is associated with striking cultural changes in the eastern Mediterranean and it may also have influenced other parts of Europe. However, on the Iberian Meseta, the event does not appear to have affected the cultural development of the Proto-Cogotas phase, which is characterised by the use of beautifully-decorated pottery, incipient bronze metal-working, communities that are not definitively sedentary, and social practices rooted in local traditions. The true changes in direction in this region took place several centuries before ca. 1800 BC, when these groups began to evolve, and later ca. 1450 BC, when the full Cogotas I phase began, involving several new developments in the material repertory and cultural practices.

Zusammenfassung
        Der Ausbruch des Thera-Vulkans ca. 1600 BC ist eng mit der kulturellen Transformation der östlichen Mittelmeerregion verknüpft. Seine Auswirkungen erstreckten sich auch auf andere Gebiete innerhalb Europas.
        Die kulturelle Entwicklung auf der iberischen Hochebene scheint das Ereignis in der Proto-Cogotas-Phase jedoch kaum beeinflusst zu haben. Diese zeichnete sich durch die Verwendung von underschöner dekorierter Keramik, den Beginn der Bronzebearbeitung, eine noch nicht vollständige Sesshaftigkeit und in den lokalen Traditionen verwurzelte Bräuche aus. Die wirklich tief greifenden Veränderungen in dieser Region fanden schon
mehrere Jahrhunderte zuvor (ca. 1800 BC), als diese Gruppen begonnen sich weiterzuentwickeln, und später (ca. 1450 BC) als die Blütezeit der Phase Cogotas I begann, in der verschiedene Gebrauchsgegenstände erfunden wurden und sich neue kulturelle Verhaltensweisen herausbildeten, statt."

More than 30 years ago the American anthropologist-archaeologist William Adams wrote a seminal article on the interpretation of material culture change in ancient Nubia entitled ‘Invasion, Diffusion, Evolution?’ (1968). In it the author laid bare the inadequacies of invoking population movement to explain changes that could just as easily be attributed to cultural diffusion or evolution. A decade later Adams co-authored another article that took an even dimmer view of ‘migrationism’ (Adams, van Gerven and Levy 1978). In this latter article the authors offered up the Philistines as an example of a ‘historical migration’ – that is, a migration known from texts or through philology, but largely indiscernible through excavation. Although many of their points are well taken, the case of the Philistines should have been exempted from this sweeping criticism of the migrationist tendencies of culture-history. In addition to the textual evidence that attests to the movement and settlement of Philistines and other Sea Peoples along the Levantine coast, there is a burgeoning corpus of supportive archaeological data. Indeed, the Philistines, based on extensive excavations at three of their capital cities (i.e., Ashdod, Ashkelon and Tel Miqne-Ekron),  provide a superb case study of migration from an archaeological perspective.
The main purpose of this paper, however, is not to address Adams’ passing dismissal of the Philistine migration as an archaeologically observable event; but, rather, to counter the more focused and sustained revisionist thinking of the past decade regarding the Sea Peoples phenomenon. First, though, it is necessary to present a brief history of how the Philistines and their fellow Sea Peoples have been regarded over the past 150 years.

It was a February afternoon in 2009, in the prehistoric
antiquities room of the Archaeological Museum of Naxos,
when I first talked with Colin Renfrew about the publication
of all the Early Cycladic figurines found in excavations.
Our conversation took place among the cases in which
the antiquities from Keros, and all the large figurines
from Aplomata, Phiondas, and other sites are exhibited.
Renfrew, as the excavator of Keros, where a large number
of marble figurine fragments and vases have been recently
found, wanted to look for comparanda in the excavated
material. The author, as the then Ephor of the Ephorate
of Antiquities for the Cyclades but also the excavator of
Skarkos, wished to see all the excavated material published.
Thus we joined forces and after a long collaboration our
efforts materialized in the form of a symposium entitled
Early Cycladic Sculpture in Context, held at the Athens
Archaeological Society on 27–29 May 2014.

The results of this symposium are presented here.
The current volume aims to publish a very important
class of material, partly unknown to scholarship. At the
same time, it constitutes a break from the usual way of
treating and publishing Early Cycladic sculptures...

During the Minoan Neopalatial period (ca. 1700-1450 BCE) female figures are depicted in visual art sitting on rocks and stepped cult structures, both of which may be symbolic representations of mountains. Trees are also depicted in conjunction with rocks and stepped altars, sometimes replacing the female figure, and suggesting a tree-and-mountain combination. These scenes echo a tradition in the iconography of Syro-Mesopotamia, the Levant and Egypt of an association betweenand even the interchangeability of-trees, or more broadly vegetation, and female figures. While the Minoan female figures are unidentified, the east Mediterranean examples are associated with known goddesses. This paper suggests that, along with cult structures, Cretan Neopalatial female garments also belong to this tree-and-mountain symbolic visual language. Not only do abstract mountain forms appear on female garments, but the combination of female torso and elaborate skirt forms a silhouette that evokes the cult scenes in which women sit on rocks and stepped altars and platforms. Examination of the decoration, structure, and shape of Minoan Neopalatial garments as depicted in glyptic, wall painting, and three dimensions, will demonstrate their suitability for incorporation into the classification of landscape epiphany.

Though Odysseus’ tales to Eumaios and Aninoos in Odyssey 14.199–359 and 17.417–44, respectively, are presented as fictional tales within Homer’s larger myth, some elements have striking analogs in Late Bronze–Early Iron Age reality.

This article examines these portions of the hero’s false ainoi within their fictive context for the purpose of identifying and evaluating those elements. Particular focus is given to Odysseus’ declaration that he led nine successful maritime raids prior to the Trojan War; to his twice–described ill–fated assault on Egypt; and to his claim not only to have been spared in the wake of that Egyptian raid, but to have spent a subsequent seven years in the land of the pharaohs, during which he gathered great wealth.

Through a comparative examination of literary and archaeological evidence from the Late Bronze–Early Iron transition in the Eastern Mediterranean, it is shown that these aspects of Odysseus’ stories are not only reflective of the historical reality surrounding the time in which the epic is set, but that Odysseus’ fictive experience is remarkably similar to that of one specific member of the ‘Sea Peoples’ groups best known from 19th and 20th dynasty Egyptian records: the ‘Sherden of the Sea.’

The end of the Early Bronze Age, in other words the EBA III, is one of the significant turning points in the cultural history of the Anatolian Peninsula. Metal objects that indicate social class differences, advancements in architecture, and finds that point to connections with distant regions all demonstrate that a political structure began to emerge in Anatolia during this period. Parallel to these developments, especially with the increase in interregional relations, the use of new vessels indicates a novelty in eating and drinking habits. Tankards, bell-shaped cups and depas amphikypellon stand out within this group and are referred to as the new drinking vessels. In addition to these, it is noteworthy that beakers or goblets, and also container amphorae started to become widespread. All these types are considered to be associated with new drinking habits, and the new drink type is suggested to be wine. However, the suggestions proposed regarding the use of these vessels are not supported by any archaeometric studies until now. In this study, we share results from total lipid extraction analyses (TLE) performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) on a group of depa vessels from the archaeological site of Küllüoba located in Eskişehir, Turkey, and re-evaluate at the possible purposes of these vessels. Biomolecules such as fatty acids, salicylic acids, organic acids, hydrocarbons, n-alkanes, and herbal steroids identified as a result of these analyzes provided the first direct evidence of the use of fermented products such as wine and herbal analgesics in Early Bronze Age Anatolia. Additionally, we present the first archaeological data of the period and the region regarding the use of salicylic acid.

This paper examines the possible foreign origins of the pillar base of the Judean Pillar Figurine (JPF).  After considering and rejecting Mesopotamian and Levantine origins due to lack of chronologically compatible antecedents, the hypothesis of Cypriot origins is presented.  The data show that Cyprus did have a pillar-based goddess image in its repertoire immediately preceding the earliest appearnaces of the JPF in Judea.  Furthermore, there is evidence of contacts between Cyprus and Judea in the areas where and when the JPFs first appear.  The mixing of the foreign pillar base with the indigenous arms positioning under the breasts led to the iconography of the JPF.  The essay then considers the origins of the pillar-based idol in Cyprus, noting that it emerged from the 'hoop-skirt' base of the Goddess With Upraised Arms from Crete.

Forthcoming April 2017

http://upers.kuleuven.be/en/book/9789462701052

Chapters by:
Simon Jusseret (The University of Texas at Austin, Université catholique de Louvain)
Manuel Sintubin (KU Leuven)
Jan Driessen (Université catholique de Louvain)
Susan E. Hough (U.S. Geological Survey)
James P. McCalpin (GEO-HAZ Consulting Inc.)
Christoph Grützner (RWTH Aachen University, University of Cambridge)
Thomas Wiatr (RWTH Aachen University, German Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy)
Charalampos Fassoulas (Natural History Museum of Crete, University of Crete)
Gerassimos A. Papadopoulos (National Observatory of Athens)
Jack Mason (RWTH Aachen University)
Klaus Reicherter (RWTH Aachen University)
Clairy Palyvou (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)
Eleftheria Tsakanika (National Technical University of Athens)
Jeffrey S. Soles (University of North Carolina – Greensboro)
Floyd W. McCoy (University of Hawaii – Windward)
Rhonda Suka (Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii)
Colin F. Macdonald (The British School at Athens)
Tim Cunningham (Université catholique de Louvain)

В работе рассматриваются памятники северной «периферии» срубной культурно-исторической общности в границах современных республик Чувашия и Татарстан. Привлечены данные о более чем 700 памятниках. На
основании изученных поселений и могильников, автором делается вывод о своеобразии северной территории распространения срубной культурно-исторической общности.

The institution of feasting in the Bronze Age Aegean, as in much of the world, has been the subject of considerable recent scholarship, with a broad consensus that feasts provided a locus for the negotiation and performance of sociopolitical and religious hierarchies. Despite the publication of numerous edited volumes, monographs, and journal articles on the subject, the relationship between feasting and gender has been explored only minimally. In the very few cases where gender has been discussed in the context of feasting, the assumption or argument has been that women were excluded from public feasting activities, with the implication that women were excluded from a critical venue for the creation and reinforcement of social and political status. While iconographic evidence for Mycenaean women feasting is almost nonexistent (and indeed, iconographic evidence for anyone at all feasting may also be, insofar as we have no images of anyone in the Bronze Age Aegean eating), there are a few hints that at least elite women and probably most or all women were present at some prehistoric feasts. Comparable public feasts in both the contemporaneous Near Eastern world and in later Greek contexts often included women, including in feasts honoring some of the same divinities whom Linear B tablets tell us were worshipped in the Late Bronze Age. The Ta tablets from Pylos, representing the paraphernalia for a feast, include footstools, which are iconographically and archaeologically associated with women; this suggests that women did indeed participate. The presence of lower status women who attended feasts is more difficult to identify, but the vast quantities of food and wine known to have been provided suggest that access must have been broadly inclusive.

During the Aegean Bronze Age (ca. 3,200-1,100 B.C.), blue pigments are rendered from a myriad of different sources across distinct media: from naturally-occurring minerals such as riebeckite and lapis lazuli to man-made compounds like Egyptian blue, and even plant- and animal-based pigments, such as murex purple and indigo. The ways in which these colors are employed in wall painting, however, often leaves modern viewers with more questions than answers. For instance, why render the shaved scalps of young individuals in blue? The fur of monkeys and cats, and the feathers of birds are not blue in reality either, so why depict them as such? One might turn to color theory, which is well established for the art of neighboring regions (Egypt, Mesopotamia), yet no such over-arching theory exists for the Aegean. Previous, cursory explanations for the choice to show a pictorial element as blue either regard Aegean artistic norms as mildly derivative of Egyptian artistic convention, or simply state that blue is more visually appealing than gray or brown. Rather than entertain reductionist notions, this paper seeks to propose a new, polyvalent understanding for the use of Aegean color. Not only might the pigments themselves serve as material references to the places from which they come (mostly The East), but blue may also be considered a luxury pigment, perhaps evocative of inextricable notions of personal or regional identity, access to far-flung trade networks, and participation in or belonging to an elite, international lineage.

This paper will consider the West House at Akrotiri in its context of a model Theran house and “typical urban house of the Minoan era in general,” combining old interpretations with new spatial studies including space syntax and 3D visibility analysis. This will allow for a better understanding of not only any architectural intentions behind the construction of the building, but some analysis of the mural rooms in the house, which still spur discussions surrounding their use and accessibility.

An ancient organization in age groups and ancient rites of passage for children and young people in the Aegean Greek world are ideas which was first developed by historical anthropology in XXth century, before being criticized by specialists of the history of Greek cities. However, these questionings have had little impact on the research on Aegean Protohistory, which continues to use of these categories, sometimes excessively, despite the ambiguity of the sources. This paper proposes a review of the documents and literature available on the Late Bronze Age, mainly based on iconography, to highlight the methodological problems of widespread arguments but also the limits of interpretations exclusively based on archaeological data. An assessment of our knowledge on age groups and rites of passage for the youth is finally sketched

This paper focuses on the occurrence of sealings impressed by the same seal faces or by very similar seal faces at different archaeological sites in the Late Minoan I period. Sealings are small clay lumps impressed one or more times with one or more seal faces, and at times inscribed with Linear A signs. Such a sealing system was aimed at controlling the mobilization of resources and goods. The existence of a dense network of inter-regional trade in the Neopalatial Period is indeed well documented by the overall archaeological evidence. Since impressions left on clay nodules by the same seals or by very similar seals occur on different types of sealing found at different sites on Crete (Knossos, Sklavokambos, Hagia Triada, Gournia, Zakros, and Chania) and outside Crete (Akrotiri on the island of Thera), we can argue that the inter-regional trade was, at least in part, managed by one or more central administrations. The aim of this paper is to clarify this last point and address the issue of whether or not we can infer the existence of diplomatic and legal bonds between the Knossos Palace and the other main Aegean settlements from the sealings.