Aegean Prehistory as World Archaeology: Recent Trends in the Archaeology of Bronze Age Greece

This article surveys archaeological work of the last decade on the Greek Bronze Age, part of the broader discipline known as Aegean prehistory. Naturally, the literature is vast, so I focus on a set of topics that may be of general interest to non-Aegeanists: chronology, regional studies, the emergence and organization of archaic states, ritual and religion, and archaeological science. Greek Bronze Age archaeology rarely appears in the comparative archaeological literature; accordingly, in this article I place this work in the context of world archaeology, arguing for a reconsideration of the potential of Aegean archaeology to provide enlightening comparative material.     

Representations of birds in Minoan art

During the second millennium BC , the Minoan civilization was established in the southern Aegean Sea. In Minoan art, especially on Crete, birds occupied a prominent place, and were often represented in wall-paintings and craft objects. Species still occurring on the island, such as cormorants, mallards, cuckoos, owls, hoopoes, and swallows, as well as exotic taxa such as partridges and possible domestic forms such as pigeons, were the subject of artistic inspiration, and they were depicted not only in purely cult contexts, but also in the backgrounds of naturalistic landscapes. The aim of this paper is to reconsider the identification of some of the birds depicted and to discuss them in the context of the environmental conditions and osteological finds from the southern Aegean islands in Minoan times. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS? GENOMIC HISTORY AND THE RETURN OF RACE IN THE STUDY OF THE ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN

This article discusses the impact of genomic history, a subdiscipline that emerged in the study of the ancient Mediterranean in the 2010s. In 2014, scientists first published a method for extracting genetic material, which they christened aDNA (ancient DNA), from ancient human remains in hot climates. After a decade of research, genomic history is now poised to transform our understanding of Mediterranean premodernity, centering migration and conflict as the key mechanisms for cultural change. Despite years of critique, aDNA researchers have failed to seriously examine the bioessentialist assumptions implicit in their work—a failure that has led many to deploy language that is strikingly evocative of pre-World War II racialism. Even worse, some genomic historians continue to make troubling overtures toward the ethnonationalist Right, which has been ascendant across Europe and North America since the 2010s. This article traces the intellectual genealogy of genomic history from World War II to the present, examines recent attempts to answer criticism from the humanities and social sciences, and suggests paths for responsible use of aDNA in historical and prehistorical scholarship.     

Strofilas (Andros Island,Greece): new evidence for the cycladic final neolithic period through novel dating methods using luminescence and obsidian hydration

The recently excavated coastal prehistoric settlement of Strofilas on Andros Island (Cyclades, Greece) in the Aegean sheds new light on the transitional phase from the Final Neolithic to Early Cycladic period regarding masonry, fortification, and richly engraved rock art. The fortification possesses early evidence of preserved defensive architecture, as evidenced from the plethora of scattered finds from within and around the settlement. Important features are carvings on rock walls which mainly depict ships, animals, and fish. Initial archaeometric dating via the application of luminescence dating of two samples from the fortified wall bearing engraved ships, and by obsidian hydration of two blades employing the new SIMS-SS method (secondary ion mass spectrometry via surface saturation), has been undertaken to determine the site's chronology. The former yields an average date of 3520 (±540) BC and the latter an average date of 3400 (±200) years BC, both of which, within overlapping errors, suggest the main settlement occurred during the Final Neolithic.     

Dendrochemical analysis of a tree-ring growth anomaly associated with the Late Bronze Age eruption of Thera

The most marked tree-ring growth anomaly in the Aegean dendrochronological record over the last 9000 years occurs in the mid 17th century BC, and has been speculatively correlated with the impact of the Late Bronze Age eruption of Thera (Santorini). If such a connection could be proved it would be of major interdisciplinary significance. It would open up the possibility of a precise date for a key archaeological, geological and environmental marker horizon, and offer a direct tie between tree-ring and ice-core records some 3600 years ago. A volcanic explanation for the anomaly is highly plausible, yet, in the absence of a scientifically proven causal connection, the value of the proposed correlation is limited. In order to test the hypothesis, dendrochemical analysis via Synchrotron Radiation Scanning X-ray Fluorescence Microscopy (SXFM), Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS) was carried out on growth-ring series from four trees displaying the anomaly. Increases of sulfur, calcium, and rare earth elements following the onset of altered growth, plus concentration spikes of zinc and hafnium in the first affected growth-ring provide promising new evidence in support of a volcanic causal factor. Although a volcanic association is implied, the new data are not sufficient to prove a link to the exact eruption source.     

Ancient Greece: Recent developments in Aegean archaeology and regional studies

This review begins by defining the diverse field of Greek archaeology. Based on our own expertise, we focus on recent advances in the study of ancient Greece, especially the prehistoric Aegean, and on regional approaches, primarily those associated with archaeological surface survey. General developments in method and theory are addressed as they relate to several major topics: social complexity, Aegean chronology, writing systems, exchange, and regional studies.     

Fluid circulation related to post‐Messinian extension,Thassos Island,North Aegean

In the North Aegean Domain, Thassos Island contains a Plio‐Pleistocene basin controlled by a large‐scale flat‐ramp extensional system with a potential décollement located at depth within a marble unit. Numerous mineralizations associated with normal faults of Plio‐Pleistocene age are the sign of fluid circulation during extension. Two main generations of fluid flow are recognized, related to Plio‐Pleistocene extension. A first circulation under high‐temperature conditions (about 100–200°C) resulted in dolomitization of marbles near the base of the Plio‐Pleistocene basin. The dolomites are characterized by low δ¹⁸O values (down to 11‰ versus Standard Mean Ocean Water). Some cataclastic deformation affected the dolomites. Hydrothermal quartz that crystallized in extension veins above a blind ramp also has low δ¹⁸O values (about 13‰). This shows that high‐temperature fluids moved up from the décollement level toward the surface. A second downward circulation of continental waters at near‐surface temperature is documented by calcite veins in fault zones and at the base of the Plio‐Pleistocene basin. These veins have O isotope values relatively constant at about 23–25‰ and C isotope values intermediate between the high δ¹³C value of the carbonate host rock (about 1–3‰ versus Peedee Belemnite) and the low δ¹³C value of soil‐derived carbon (?10‰). The calcites associated with the oxidative remobilization of primary sulphide Zn–Pb mineralization of Thassos carbonates have comparable O and C isotope compositions. Hot fluids, within the 100–200°C temperature range, have likely contributed to the weakening of the lower marble unit of Thassos and, thus, to the process of décollement.     

Dendrochronology and archival texts: Dating the Ottoman fortress of Seddülbahir on the Gallipoli Peninsula,Turkey*

This paper provides the results of the dendrochronological analyses of seven wood samples from the Ottoman fortress of Seddülbahir on the Gallipoli Peninsula or Turkey. It concludes that the trees were cut in the late spring of 1656. The data collected allows the first building phase of the fortress to be securely dated. By bringing together the dendrochronological results with various archival records about the fortress, a more precise building chronology for the fortress can be reconstructed. The probable initial period of construction was between 1656 and 1661.     

A Pirate's Life for me: The Maritime Culture of the Sea Peoples

An anthropological approach to a culture extrapolates social structures, traditions, and general organizing principles of that culture from the careful observation of patterns of behaviour as described in case studies. In the absence of a living culture to record, archaeologists extrapolate this information from behaviour reconstructed from spatially determined patterns in the deposition of material remains and from patterns found in the general organizing principles of historically documented cultures, using arguments based on analogy. This contribution builds on our previous research on the “Sea Peoples” as a piratical culture in order to apply an anthropological approach to understanding the cultural identities of the various tribal groups involved in maritime activities at the end of the Bronze Age who are popularly known as the “Sea Peoples”, and place this within the broader context of the current discussions on the transition between the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age in the Mediterranean.