ABSOLUTE DATING OF THE AEGEAN LATE BRONZE AGE

A recent argument for raising the absolute date of the beginning of the Aegean Late Bronze (LB) Age to about 1700 B.C. is critically examined. It is argued here that: (1) the alabaster lid from Knossos did have the strati-graphical context assigned to it by Evans, in all probability Middle Minoan IIIA, c. 1650 B.C.; (2) the attempt to date the alabastron found in an early Eighteenth Dynasty context at Aniba to Late Minoan IIIA:1 is open to objections; (3) radiocarbon dates from Aegean LB I contexts are too wide in their calibrated ranges and too inconsistent both within and between site sets to offer any reliable grounds at present for raising Aegean LB I absolute chronology to 1700 B.C. Other evidence, however, suggests this period began about 1600 B.C., i.e. some fifty years earlier than the conventional date of 1550 B.C.     

DATING THE AEGEAN LATE BRONZE AGE WITH RADIOCARBON: ADDENDUM

Additional comment on the new high-precision calibration curves and tables published after this article (Archaeometry 29 (1), 1987, 45–49) was in press.     

THE FIRST LAKE-DWELLERS OF LITHUANIA: LATE BRONZE AGE PILE SETTLEMENTS ON LAKE LUOKESAS

Summary.   Lake Luokesas in Lithuania has become the centre of attention in northern European wetland archaeological research after the discovery of two Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age pile dwellings. Their unique location, chronology and building techniques have the potential to revolutionise our understanding of important aspects of wetland communities in later prehistoric Europe.     

ISOTOPIC DISCRIMINANTS BETWEEN LATE BRONZE AGE GLASSES FROM EGYPT AND THE NEAR EAST

This paper presents oxygen, strontium and neodymium isotopic analysis from a series of Late Bronze Age glasses from Egypt and Mesopotamia. It was found that oxygen and neodymium isotopes alone cannot readily distinguish between glasses from the various sites. However, combined Sr and Nd isotope analysis separate the data into three groups: an Egyptian group with relatively low Sr and Nd ratios; a Late Bronze Age (LBA) Nuzi group with high Sr and low Nd ratios; and an intermediate Sr and high Nd ratio grouping of glasses from Tell Brak. These findings suggest that most of the glass from Nuzi and Tell Brak had different raw materials and hence the glass was probably produced at different manufacturing sites. However, one glass ingot found at Tell Brak (TB1) appears to have Nuzi‐type Sr–Nd characteristics. This is the first positive identification of multiple production sites in LBA Mesopotamia and an exceptional example of a glass that may have been exchanged from one LBA site to another.     

RESEARCH NOTES AND APPLICATION REPORTS DATING THE AEGEAN LATE BRONZE AGE WITH RADIOCARBON*

The beginning of the Late Bronze Age in the Aegean has usually been thought to coincide with the start of the Eighteenth Dynasty in Egypt, and radiocarbon dates (which consistently suggest an earlier chronology) have been rejected by Aegean specialists because they do not agree with this view. Evidence from pottery is used to re-examine the links between the Aegean and Egypt, with the conclusion that the Aegean Late Bronze Age began during the Hyksos period.     

DIRECT EVIDENCE OF PRIMARY GLASS PRODUCTION IN LATE BRONZE AGE AMARNA,EGYPT

This paper presents direct archaeological evidence for the primary production of glass at the LBA site of Tell el‐Amarna, in the form of numerous finds of semi‐finished glass. The diagnostic microstructural and chemical composition of these finds is presented alongside macroscopically similar finds, of shapeless lumps of finished white glass. The semi‐finished glass was found to contain numerous inclusions of residual quartz and newly formed lime‐rich crystal phases, but no added colorant. However, several samples of semi‐finished glass have antimony oxide levels comparable to those of finished white glass, suggesting that the opacifier was added to the initial glass‐making batch. The results are discussed in comparison with the evidence for glass‐making from Qantir – Pi‐Ramesse, identifying some close technical similarities, which indicate that the same technological processes were used at both sites for the production of glass.     

CHEMICAL AND LEAD ISOTOPE ANALYSES OF GREEK LATE NEOLITHIC AND EARLY BRONZE AGE METALS

Results of a combined archaeological and analytical project of Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age copper, bronze and lead artefacts from four distinct areas of mainland Greece are presented. The aim of the study is to understand better the stages of technological development of each region, their possible ore sources and also to assess any external contribution to or internal evolution of their metallurgy. Interesting results which could challenge the established view of Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age metallurgy in the Greek mainland are presented.     

DATING THE BRONZE AGE IN SPAIN

Summary. How can archaeologists combine and use C14 determinations when they have irregular recalibrated dates? This question is solved by an example with six determinations from the Bronze Age settlement of El Castillo in the mountains of eastern Spain. For the first time we can date precisely the end of the Eneolithic to 2150–2110 BC, and the start of a Bronze Age expansion stage by 1960 BC. Each has a distinctive material culture; that of the Bronze Age stage is linked closely to the climax of the Motillas in La Mancha, and more distantly to El Argar in SE Spain.     

APPLICATION OF LEAD ISOTOPE ANALYSIS TO A WIDE RANGE OF LATE BRONZE AGE EGYPTIAN MATERIALS*

Lead isotope analysis was applied to Egyptian materials from the Late Bronze Age in order to investigate the relationship between these different materials, many of which have lead as a significant component. The galena kohls analysed can be provenanced to Gebel Zeit, a large mining site known to have been active during the period. However, the source of lead metal is different and seems to be outside Egypt, along with the source of copper. Lead‐based pigments such as lead antimonate that were used in glass and glazes seem mostly to come from Egypt, although they may well contain a component of ‘Mesopotamian’ lead. In the Predynastic period, galena from many sources is being exploited for use as kohl. However, by the Middle Kingdom (2055–1650 bc ), extraction has concentrated on one source, Gebel Zeit, perhaps reflecting increasingly centralized control and/or the use of large‐scale exploitation. It therefore appears that a complex pattern of trade in lead‐based materials was evident, with lead metal and galena being separate commodities from separate sources and treated as such.     

WHEELS WITH THICKENED SPOKES, AND THE PROBLEM OF CULTURAL CONTACT BETWEEN THE AEGEAN WORLD AND EUROPE IN THE LATE BRONZE AGE

Summary. A technological advance in wheel construction, entailing spokes with thickened or strengthened ends, can be detected in Central Europe at the start of the Late Bronze Age. Spokes with thickened ends are seen in Central Europe on full-size wheels, wagon models and wheel depictions. It is argued that this technological innovation had its source in the Aegean, where wheels with thickened spokes are seen not only depicted on late Mycenaean craters but also on Linear B wheel ideograms. The second part of the article discusses a closely-related Central European group of wheel-shaped designs, characterised by forked spokes, found on pin-heads, pendants, decorated belt-sheets, phalerae and belt-hooks. As some of these designs refer to real wheels constructed with thickened or strengthened spoke ends, it is concluded that the designs really represent wheels, although the designs are often so simplified that this is not immediately apparent.     

THE COMMUNICATIVE POTENTIAL OF THERAN MURALS IN LATE BRONZE AGE AKROTIRI: APPLYING VIEWSHED ANALYSIS IN 3D TOWNSCAPES

This paper aims to contribute to the discussion of the social functions of Aegean wall painting, by examining the communicative impact and possible socio‐symbolic significance of Theran murals in the urban landscape of Late Bronze Age Akrotiri (Thera, Greece). It uses a novel method of computational analysis to investigate the visibility of mural painting in the prehistoric townscape which combines the functionalities of 3D modelling and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The benefits of this approach lie in that it considers virtually all observer locations in the study area, while taking more fully into account the precise shape of built forms and the physiological structure of the human visual system than other established methods of visibility analysis used in landscape and urban studies. The application of the methodology in the townscape of Akrotiri highlights some previously unobserved spatial relationships that could have played a role in enhancing the communicative impact of Theran murals in the LBA built environment, consequently encouraging the wide production of mural decoration in the settlement.     

THE SYMBOLIC AND SOCIAL MEANINGS OF THE INTERMEDIATE BRONZE AGE COPPER DAGGERS

Abstract

The transformation of hard, durable natural substances, such as stone or metal, into cultural objects with symbolic value has played an important role in human social development. This paper attempts to understand the symbolic and social meanings of copper daggers during the Intermediate Bronze Age, and the reasons for their widespread use within a burial context. A multidisciplinary approach is taken, combining and processing different areas of research, and employing a range of archaeological and ethnographic parallels. This paper allows also for a more comprehensive understanding of the social organisation during the Intermediate Bronze Age.     

USING AND ABANDONING ROUNDHOUSES: A REINTERPRETATION OF THE EVIDENCE FROM LATE BRONZE AGE–EARLY IRON AGE SOUTHERN ENGLAND

Summary.   It has recently been demonstrated that a number of roundhouses of the early first millennium BC in southern England show a concentration of finds in the southern half of the building. It has thus been argued that this area was used for domestic activities such as food preparation, an idea which has formed the basis for discussion of later prehistoric 'cosmologies'. However, reconsideration of the evidence suggests that this finds patterning does not relate to the everyday use of the buildings, being more likely to derive from a particular set of house abandonment practices. Furthermore, evidence can be identified for the location of domestic activities within contemporary roundhouses that appears to contradict the established model.     

SOTIRA KAMINOUDHIA AND THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE EARLY BRONZE AGE IN CYPRUS

Summary. The Early Bronze Age (EBA) of Cyprus is a key phase of transformation in the prehistory of the island. Major developments are observed in the economic, social and artistic arenas, but owing to the lack of excavated settlements no firm chronology has ever existed for this period. Excavations in southern Cyprus at Sotira Kaminoudhia, a site with an assemblage belonging in broad terms to the Early Cypriot (EBA) Red Polished ceramic tradition, have helped to fill the lacuna. This paper presents the analyses of a series of radiocarbon determinations from well stratified organic samples in the settlement. These both confirm the EBA status of the site and provide the first firm absolute chronology for the Cypriot EBA. In addition, the new data from Sotira Kaminoudhia provide an opportunity to examine the beginning of this period on Cyprus — specifically the much debated issue of the so-called Philia Phase — both in chronological and socio-economic terms.