Hellenic Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, Department of History and Archaeology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Ο τόμος «Beyond Thalassocracies: Understanding Processes of Minoanisation and Mycenaeanisation in the Aegean» (*) είναι βασισμένος σε μια συλλογή εργασιών που παρουσιάσθηκαν στην 114η Ετήσια Συνάντηση του Αρχαιολογικού Ινστιτούτου της Αμερικής (Σιάτλ, 3–6 Ιανουαρίου 2013).
Based on a collection of papers presented at the 114th Annual Meeting of
the Archaeological Institute of America (Seattle, 3–6 January 2013) and
augmented by four specifically commissioned contributions, this volume promises
to take us beyond traditional explanations of cultural interaction in the
Middle and Late Bronze Age Aegean that have often been grouped under the modern
categories of “minoanization” and “mycenaeanization.”
The agenda of “Minoan” or “Mycenaean” influence in the broader Aegean
region is a familiar one to AJA readers, with these labels intended as
conventional terms for sets of cultural features. The theoretical background to
the approach advocated most often originates in Cyprian Broodbank’s highly
influential and programmatic revision of his article “Minoanisation” (PCPS 50,
2004, 46–91), calling for a multifaceted, as well as regionally and
chronologically sensitive, analysis of the various detectable aspects of
“Minoan” cultural influence. Renewed emphasis was placed on the agency of local
“recipients,” boosting “bottom-up” approaches to the phenomenon. The book’s
editors have been active contributors to discussions over emulative processes
and how these, among other factors, contribute to the formation of cultural
identities in the southern (Gorogianni on Keos / Κέα) and northern (Girella and Pavúk
on Mikro Vouni, Samothrace / Μικρο Βουνι Σαμοθράκης) Aegean.
This volume takes this specific agenda certain significant steps
further, following original and stimulating pathways. Most prominent among
these is the comparison between the adoption of Minoan and Mycenaean cultural
features in the same sites or regions, which is what most papers focus on, with
the exception of Bryan Feuer’s chapter on the mycenaeanization of Thessaly / Θεσσαλια (186–201). An emphasis on the viewpoint of the local “recipient” communities is
prominent in all contributions, as is the emphasis on the diversity of such
local responses, effectively demonstrating that these “-izations” should be
viewed as taking shape within the fluid and variable matrix of interaction
among cultural traditions and local communities. With its extensive geographic
and chronological scope, the volume gives us rich material for assessing the
variability of these dynamic phenomena.
The first four papers discuss evidence from the eastern Aegean and
western Anatolia. Girella and Pavúk (15–42) discuss the involvement of southern
Aegean polities in the northeastern Aegean throughout the Late Bronze Age, in
the aftermath of Pavúk’s work on the pottery of early Troy VI / Τροια and their joint
study of the pottery from Mikro Vouni on Samothrace. The distinction between
“pre-contact,” “contact,” and “hybrid” stages in the adoption of Minoan
cultural traits does not downplay the local character of each response within
that region. In a contribution focusing on “-izing” elements from southwestern
Anatolia and the neighboring Aegean islands, Jana Mokrišová (43–57) reacts
against the “disproportionate interpretative weight” (52) of decorated pottery
and its distribution and suggests that the small-scale but continuous movement
of people in the region, reflecting and perpetuating a considerably broad area
of interaction, was the basis for the phenomena that we recognize as
minoanization and mycenaeanization, with rigid distinctions between various
groups and cultural elements not being of emic significance. Amy Raymond,
Ivonne Kaiser, Laura-Concetta Rizzotto, and Julien Zurbach discuss evidence
from Miletus / Μιλητος throughout the Middle and Late Bronze Ages (58–74). The emphasis
is expectedly on ceramics, emphasizing hybrid forms. The long history of the
settlement invites a very promising comparative assessment of the gradually
intensifying minoanizing and mycenaeanizing phases, viewed in conjunction with
analogous developments in the adjacent sites of Teichioussa / Τειχιουσα and Tavşan Adası (σημ. Γ. Λεκάκη: Πρόκειται για την νησίδα Νεανδρο).
Salvatore Vitale compares Minoan and Mycenaean influences on the settlement
deposits from the “Serraglio” on Kos / Κως as well as the mortuary assemblages from
the cemeteries of Eleona and Langadas, drawing on his restudy of the material
from Luigi Morricone’s excavations (75–93). His thorough analysis brings
forward the contrast between a brief minoanizing phase ending abruptly in a
series of devastating Late Bronze Age I events (the Theran / Θηρας eruption, the
collapse of the Neopalatial administrations, and the Mycenaean conquest of
Crete) and the long-term and more intense adoption of Mycenaean cultural
features that resulted in communities “who considered themselves Mycenaeans and
were presumably perceived as Mycenaeans by their neighbours” (87) during the
Late Helladic IIIA2–IIIC phases.
The next four papers discuss evidence from the Cyclades / Κυκλαδες, assessing
material from Melos / Μηλος, Naxos / Ναξος, and Keos / Κεα. Jason Earle (94–115) compares the
adoption of Minoan and Mycenaean features at Phylakopi / Φυλακωπη, discussing
architecture, ceramics, cult objects, personal adornment (including weaving
implements), and administration phase-by-phase throughout Late Cycladic I–IIIB,
with a focus on the variable patterns discerned in each category and through
time, and with the goal of emphasizing differences between the minoanizing Late
Cycladic I and the later mycenaeanizing phases. Andreas Vlachopoulos gives a
comprehensive overview of Bronze Age Naxos (116–35), offering another
well-crafted critique of “western string” and other “string” theories (whereby
Cretan contact moves along specific linear routes, most famously along the
western Cyclades, in the string formed by Thera / Θηρα, Melos, Keos, and Laurion / Λαυριο). He
proposes instead a pan-Cycladic spiral that gravitated toward Crete. Although
it is strongly emphasized that the local character of the material culture was
retained, the impression one gains from the presentation of the Late Helladic
III material is that of a thoroughly mycenaeanized island. Vlachopoulos
stresses the self-sufficiency of Naxos and its potential for forging a special
relationship with the Mycenaean palace states, thereby proposing that it
constituted an insular polity centered on the main settlement of Grotta
(129–30).
Gorogianni in one chapter (136–54) and Natalie Abell and Jill Hilditch
in another (155–71) review evidence from Ayia Irini / Αγια Ειρηνη on Keos. Gorogianni focuses
on material from the Northern Sector, tracing specific elements of the “Minoan”
(Ayia Irini IV–VI) and “Mycenaean cultural packages” (Ayia Irini VII–VIII)
(145-147, Tables 8.4-8.5), in both ceramic materials and other facets. The
multicultural character of the site since period IV (Middle Bronze II) is
stressed, with minoanizing elements becoming more prominent in period VI (Late
Bronze I) tied to what is aptly termed “the visual language of power” (148)
(e.g., wall paintings and architecture), while the mycenaeanization of Ayia
Irini is interpreted as effected by elite groups interested in the metal trade.
The intended audience of the prestige expression conveyed by the control of
this trade is argued to be regional competitors for the resources at Laurion,
notably the Thorikos / Θορικος elites. Abell and Hilditch focus specifically on ceramic
technology and the differences between the deep and constructive Minoan
technological impact (e.g., the potter’s wheel) at Akrotiri / Ακρωτηρι, Phylakopi, and
Ayia Irini and the mycenaeanized Late Cycladic II–III phases when fine
decorated pottery was imported rather than locally produced at Ayia Irini and
Phylakopi.
The next chapter, by the late Joanne Cutler, discusses the two processes
from the perspective of textile production, focusing on innovations indicated
by the appearance of discoid loomweights or the so-called “spools” (172–85). A
most interesting aspect of her discussion is the emphasis on the role of women
in the minoanization of southern Aegean communities, as both producers
(weavers) and as consumers (wearers) of Minoan dresses (181).
Feuer assesses evidence bearing on the mycenaeanization of Thessaly
within the broader confines of contact-induced culture change (186–201), making
the point that the phenomenon is geographically variable and divisible into
core (fully mycenaeanized by Late Helladic IIB–IIIA1), border, and frontier
zones emanating inland from the Gulf of Volos / Βολος, where the core area and the more
complex sites lie (“Iolkos” he generally identifies with Volos Palia but
“Dimini / Δημινι / Iolkos / Ιωλκος” [189] causes some confusion). The case of Thessaly brings
forward an interesting aspect of a phenomenon that is not included in the
volume: the relationship between the adoption of Mycenaean features in various
regions of the mainland, particularly north of the Isthmus of Corinth (e.g., in
Mitrou / Μητρου in East Lokris / Λοκρις, or in Kontopigado / Κοντοπηγαδο in Attica / Αττικη, where recent studies by
Vitale, Konstantina Kaza-Papageorgiou, and Elina Kardamaki have presented
pertinent ceramic analyses).
Carl Knappett (202–6) and Michael Galaty (207–18) provide some closing
thoughts. Knappett stresses the intricate connection between minoanization and
mycenaeanization processes forming “a necessary sequence” (205), while acknowledging
the important differences noted in some of the papers.
Galaty takes a rich, broad, comparative perspective on mycenaeanizations
(in the plural), focusing on the potential relevance of ethnographic evidence
on exogamy to a model for the mycenaeanization of Epirus / Ηπειρος (where a site map
would be useful) and its similarities and differences from similar
acculturation processes in the (mostly insular) regions discussed elsewhere.
This is very stimulating, but the term “Mycenaean” is occasionally used as if
Mycenaeans were a people with a fixed cultural (and genetic) makeup who came
into contact with other cultures (“gene flow ensued . . . between locals and
Mycenaeans. . . . These peoples . . . were . . . hybridized products . . . with
Mycenaean blood running through their veins” [215–16]). To continue the
analogies with evolutionary biology explored in this paper, cultures cannot be
reproductively isolated as biological species commonly are (cf. J.A. Coyne,
“Ernst Mayr and the Origin of Species,” Evolution 48.1, 1994, 19–30); in
cultural evolution, “fertile hybrids” (and their transformative potential) are
the norm.
The volume ends with two special indexes of geographical names and the
personal names of scholars cited; it might have been accompanied by an even
more useful subject index.
This valuable volume will certainly stir discussion and encourage
further inquiry into culture change throughout the Aegean Late Bronze Age,
hopefully encouraging the comparison between “-izations” in other sites and contexts.
But there is more. Prospective readers should be aware that the path that takes
us Beyond Thalassocracies is not the only one currently followed. Malcolm
Wiener, the volume’s dedicatee, has supported, on many occasions, the
historical existence of a rather aggressive Knossian expansion in the southern
Aegean, initiated by Cretan economic interests, boosted by Minoan cultural
prestige, and materialized in the—not necessarily peaceful—establishment of
colonies (see primarily his “Realities of Power: The Minoan Thalassocracy in
Historical Perspective,” in R.B. Koehl, ed., Amilla: The Quest for Excellence.
Studies Presented to Guenter Kopcke in Celebration of His 75th Birthday, INSTAP
Academic Press 2013, 149–73). Are these two paths incompatible? There lies a
great interpretative challenge for the future.
Περίληψη
Beyond Thalassocracies aims to evaluate and rethink the manner in which archaeologists approach, understand, and analyse the various processes associated with culture change connected to interregional contact, using as a test case the world of the Aegean during the Late Bronze Age (c. 1600–1100 BC). The 14 chapters compare and contrast various aspects of the phenomena of Minoanisation and Mycenaeanisation, both of which share the basic underlying defining feature of material culture change in communities around the Aegean. This change was driven by trends manifesting themselves in the dominant palatial communities of each period of the Bronze Age.
Over the past decade, our understanding of how these processes developed and functioned has changed considerably. Whereas current discussions on Minoanisation have already been informed by more recent theoretical trends, especially in material culture studies and post‐colonial theory, the process of Mycenaeanisation is still very much conceptualised along traditional lines of explanation. Since these phenomena occurred in chronological sequence, it makes sense that any reappraisal of their nature and significance should target those regions of the Aegean basin that were affected by both processes, highlighting their similarities and differences. Thus, in the present volume we focus on the southern and eastern Aegean, in particular the Cyclades, Dodecanese, and the north-eastern Aegean islands.
Περιεχόμενα
Preface [vii]
Contributors [viii]
1. Introduction: Methodological Considerations [1-14] - Luca Girella, Evi Gorogianni & Peter Pavúk.
2. The Nature of Minoan and Mycenaean Involvement in the Northeastern Aegean [15-42] - Luca Girella & Peter Pavúk.
3. Minoanisation, Mycenaeanisation, and Mobility: A View from Southwest Anatolia [43-57] - Jana Mokrišová.
4. Discerning Acculturation at Miletus: Minoanisation and Mycenaeanisation [58-74] - Amy Raymond, Ivonne Kaiser, Laura-Concetta Rizzotto & Julien Zurbach.
5. Cultural Entanglements on Kos during the Late Bronze Age: A Comparative Analysis of ‘Minoanisation’ and ‘Mycenaeanisation’ at the ‘Serraglio’, Eleona, and Langada [75-93] - Salvatore Vitale.
6. Melos in the Middle: Minoanisation and Mycenaeanisation at Late Bronze Age Phylakopi [94-115] - Jason W. Earle.
7. Neither Far from Knossos nor Close to Mycenae: Naxos in the Middle and Late Bronze Age Aegean [116-135] - Andreas G. Vlachopoulos.
8. Keian, Kei-noanised, Kei-cenaeanised? Interregional Contact and Identity in Ayia Irini, Kea [136-154] - Evi Gorogianni.
9. Adoption and Adaptation in Pottery Production Practices: Investigating Cycladic Community Interactions through the Ceramic Record of the Second Millennium BC [155-171] - Natalie Abell & Jill Hilditch.
10. Fashioning Identity: Weaving Technology, Dress and Cultural Change in the Middle and Late Bronze Age Southern Aegean [172-185] - Joanne Cutler.
11. Mycenaeanisation in Thessaly: A Study in Differential Acculturation [186-201] - Bryan Feuer.
12. Minoanisation and Mycenaeanisation: A Commentary [202-206] - Carl Knappett.
13. The Mycenaeanisation Process [207-218] - Michael L. Galaty.
Index of Personal Names [223]
(*) Edited by Evi Gorogianni, Peter Pavúk, and Luca Girella, Oxford, Oxbow
2016. Pp. x + 224. ₤45. ISBN 978-1-78570-203-7.
ΠΗΓΗ: AJA, Οκτ. 2021. ΑΡΧΕΙΟΝ ΠΟΛΙΤΙΣΜΟΥ, 7.9.2021.
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