Abstract
This article discusses the results of neutron activation analysis made on a limited number of LH IIIB and LH IIIC period sherds from the Argive settlement Asine, Greece. The analysis indicates that the transformation from the palatial to the post-palatial period, on a local level of a village as Asine, was not signified by loss of contacts with the surrounding world. Rather continuity and interaction prevailed, although with other geographical areas as production and use of pottery in the LH IIIB period apparently had a more regional preponderance. The geographical dominance of pottery assigned to producers in north-eastern Peloponnese and distributed over the Mediterranean was terminated, but other operators may have responded to the demand for pottery.
Highlights
A major puzzle in Mycenaean studies is the causes and implications of the destruction of settlements and in particular the palaces in about 1200 BC
If the polity was heavily centralised, and the economy very dependent on that central power, what were the sources of resilience? Or is it an expression of our lack of knowledge about society beyond the palaces? One way of resolving the conflicting information available to us is to think of LH IIIB society and economy as being made up of distinct circles or activities, only some of which were controlled by the palaces (Halstead 1992; Sjöberg 2004)
As was pointed out by Whitelaw, in any attempt to extrapolate the Pylos model to other regions, caution should be exercised, but the results of the investigation are of interest for how we might understand the construction of regional economies in the wider Late Helladic society
Summary
A major puzzle in Mycenaean studies is the causes and implications of the destruction of settlements and in particular the palaces in about 1200 BC. One way of resolving the conflicting information available to us is to think of LH IIIB society and economy as being made up of distinct circles or activities, only some of which were controlled by the palaces (Halstead 1992; Sjöberg 2004). In their shadow, everyday activities continued without much interference from central powers, and, as a result, when the palaces fell on hard times, the rest of society was not as severely affected. As has been shown with respect to pottery production, for instance, there is little
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