Kommos

A collection of sixteen papers focusing on the economic activities of prehistoric, Classical, Hellenistic and Roman Crete. The wide-ranging papers discuss the economy of prehistoric Crete, social development, production and symbolism in the pre-Palatial and Palatial periods, economic activities and social development in the Classical and Hellenistic periods, coinage and minting and relationships with other polities of the Aegean and east Mediterranean.

Rhyta are among the most appealing yet enigmatic classes of artefacts from the Aegean Bronze Age. They were produced in a wide range of forms and media with a consistently high degree of craftsmanship. This comprehensive study of Bronze Age rhyta from the Aegean builds on nearly a century of discoveries and scholarly contributions, and addresses questions of typology, function, context, and the uses of these vessels. The volume includes a thoroughly illustrated catalogue, an index of sites and the present locations of rhyta.

This volume presents an in-depth study of the Late Minoan IA cross-draft kiln found in excavations at Kommos, Crete. The kiln is of a type popular during the Neopalatial period, and its good state of preservation has allowed the authors to speculate about its original internal layout and use, as well as about the roof that covered it. Much of the large quantity of pottery found associated with the kiln is analyzed in detail, allowing for the first time the study of the shapes, decoration, and technical characteristics of vases known to have been fired in a specific LM IA kiln. The book presents an integrated program of analytical techniques used to illustrate the range of firing temperatures, the compositional similarities and differences in the clays used, and aspects of the firing process and the upper kiln structure. Offered here is a valuable contribution to our knowledge of the technology and organization of ceramic production at the beginning of the Late Minoan period, which will form a basis for studies of pottery provenience and exchange.

This volume presents papers from the conference "Crete 2000: A Centennial Celebration of American Archaeological Work on Crete (1900-2000)," held in Athens from July 10-12, 2000. The American School of Classical Studies at Athens and the Institute for Aegean Prehistory (INSTAP) Study Center for East Crete organized the conference. Scholars participating in the American and joint Greek-American on Crete or studying material from these excavations were invited to present papers at the conference. The volume is divided into the following sections: Trade, Society and Religion, Chronology and History, Landscape and Survey, and Technology and Production.

The Mediterranean Context of Early Greek History p>“Drawing extensively on the latest archaeological data from the entire Mediterranean basin, Nancy Demand offers a compelling argument for situating the origins of the Greek city-state within a pan-Mediterranean network of maritime interactions that stretches back millennia.” Jonathan Hall, University of Chicago “Nancy Demand’s book is a remarkable achievement. Her Heraklian labors have produced stunning documentation of the consequences of the vast spectrum of interaction between the peoples surrounding the Mediterranean Sea from the Mesolithic into the Iron Age.” Carol Thomas, University of Washington Were the origins of the Greek city-state – the polis – a unique creation of Greek genius? Or did their roots extend much deeper? Noted historian Nancy H. Demand joins the growing group of scholars and historians who have abandoned traditional isolationist models of the development of the Greek polis and cast their scholarly gaze seaward, to the sparkling waters of the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean Context of Early Greek History reveals the role the complex interaction of Mediterranean cultures and maritime connections had in shaping and developing urbanization, including the ancient Greek city-states. Utilizing, and enhancing upon, the model of the “fantastic cauldron” first put forth by Jean-Paul Morel in 1983, Demand reveals how Greek city-states did not simply emerge in isolation in remote country villages, but rather, sprang up along the shores of the Mediterranean in an intricate maritime network of Greeks and non-Greeks alike. We learn how early seafaring trade, such as the development of obsidian trade in the Aegean, stimulated innovations in the provision of food (the Neolithic Revolution), settlement organization (“political form”), materials for tool production, and concepts of divinity. With deep scholarly precision, The Mediterranean Context of Early Greek History offers fascinating insights into the wider context of the Greek city-state in the ancient world.

Food and drink, along with the material culture involved in their consumption, can signify a variety of social distinctions, identities and values. Thus, in Early Minoan Knossos, tableware was used to emphasize the difference between the host and the guests, and at Mycenaean Pylos the status of banqueters was declared as much by the places assigned to them as by the quality of the vessles form which they ate and drank. The ten contributions to this volume highlight the extraordinary opportunity for multi-disciplinary research in this area.

This volume of the report on the excavations at Marsa Matruh on Bates's Island, which is located on the seacoast at the north of Egypt's western desert, publishes the local and imported pottery, the crucibles and other evidence for metalworking, the organic finds (including ostrich egg shells), and the other discoveries made at the site. The pottery found in the excavations indicates that this small Late Bronze Age settlement had links to several cultures: Cyprus, the Aegean, Egypt, the coast of western Asia, and the local Marmarican people.

To celebrate thirty years of excavation, the director of the University of Toronto excavations at Kommos presents a personal view of the site and the archaeological investigations that have transformed our understanding of what daily life for more humble members of the Bronze Age population may have been like.