Towards an anthropological historical archaeology in Greece

Abstract

During the past three decades, various techniques and theoretical approaches developed by anthropological archaeologists have made steady inroads into the study of Greek prehistory. Most Aegean prehistorians are now conversant with survey methods, absolute chronometric techniques, ecological models, and the issues raised by the New Archaeology. Scholars who deal with historical periods (Archaic through Early Modern, i.e., 8th century b.c. to 15th century a.d.), however, have, with a few notable exceptions, been slower to adopt such innovations. For example, Late Roman and Byzantine archaeologists infrequently discuss issues of local subsistence, settlement hierarchies based on survey data, and theoretical models of social change. Chronologically, Aegean archaeologists largely ignore the period between the 16th and 20th centuries. This article reviews a series of recent efforts that attempt to introduce such theoretical and methodological approaches to historical archaeology in Greece. Among these developments are nonsite survey, geophysical prospecting, the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for predictive modeling, and the application of various theoretical approaches as explanatory frameworks. This paper provides an historical overview of the forces that led historical archaeology along different paths in North America and Greece, respectively, points out recent trends that signal a convergence, and presents examples of such research from various projects in Greece.