Prepalatial Crete Research Articles

Losing liminality: Turner’s theory of transition in the funerary archaeology of Prepalatial Crete

Over fifty years after the publication of Arnold van Gennep’s (1909) Les Rites de passage, anthropologist Victor Turner (1967) adapted and expanded upon van Gennep’s theory of transition, formulating the now ubiquitous concept of ‘liminality’. From education to performance studies, geography to psychology, there are few disciplines which have yet to embrace the ‘liminal’ in interpretative discussion, defined by Turner as a precarious, interstructural position in social dynamics, frequently associated with pollution and taboo. Another fifty years since Turner’s development of the concept, this paper argues that the popularity of liminality in archaeology has led to its interpretative depreciation, now so far removed from its theoretical origins that it has become an unhelpful synonym for all that is unfamiliar or anomalous, rather than the transitory process of becoming Turner proposed. Through the discussion of the Prepalatial tombs of Crete, it is illustrated that the uncritical invocation of the ‘liminal’ hinders the investigation of other interpretative lines of inquiry: questions of marginality, exceptionality, and the impact of our own unfamiliarity with bodily decomposition on our perception of the past. By highlighting the continued influence of the liminal – despite contradictory archaeological data – on our understanding of prehistoric practices and beliefs, it is argued that liminality cannot continue to be accepted either as a universally applicable concept or convenient metaphor, but must instead be recognised and critically evaluated as a fundamentally theoretical model.

Emily S.K. Anderson. Seals, craft and community in Bronze Age Crete.

After a list of illustrations (191 b/w), acknowledgements, and an introduction, five chapters and a lengthy appendix constitute the core of the book. There then follow references (bibliography), (end)notes, and an index. The book’s introduction and five chapters mostly present anthropological theories and constructions of Cretan society in the late PrePalatial period (ca. 2300–1900 BCE) seen through the lenses of other, presumably similar societies, cultures, and ethnologies as studied by a variety of quoted scholars. The chapter titles give an indication of themes, sometimes promising archaeological data (e.g., ‘Identity and Relation through Early Cretan Glyptic’ [ch. 2], ‘In the Hands of the Craftsperson: Innovation and Repetition across Cretan Communities’ [ch. 4]), sometimes teasing the reader with poetic playfulness (e.g., ‘Rethinking Prepalatial Crete: Social Innovation on an Island of Persistence’ [ch. 1], ‘Distance and Nearness: Fundamental Changes to the Dynamics of Seal Use in Late Prepalatial Crete’ [ch. 3]).

Ariadne's Threads: The Construction and Significance of Clothes in the Aegean Bronze Age

Ariadne's Threads: The Construction and Significance of Clothes in the Aegean Bronze Age

Redistribution in Aegean Palatial Societies. Redistribution in Aegean Palatial Societies: Terminology, Scale, and Significance

Nakassis et al., in their contribution to this Forum, argue that the term “redistribution” has been used with a range of meanings in the context of the Aegean Bronze Age and so obscures rather than illuminates the emergence and functioning of political economies. They call for detailed empirical investigation rather than reliance on ambiguous idealized types. Lupack and Schon concur, arguing respectively that the palace shared control of the Mycenaean economy with sanctuaries and local communities and that centralized production of craft goods (and thus elite strategies of wealth finance) developed late at the palace of Pylos. Pullen finds little archaeological support for Renfrew’s extrapolation of centralized redistribution to the Early Bronze Age, while Christakis uses evidence of storage to argue the same for Prepalatial Crete and to play down the scale and importance of elite redistribution in the Minoan palaces. The calls for circumspect use of the term “redistribution” and for detailed empirical investigation are applauded, although these five papers arguably do not all attack the same form of redistribution. This response argues that redistribution sensu Polanyi, Finley, and Killen (i.e., centrally administered movements of goods and services without equivalence of value) retains considerable heuristic value in investigation of both textual and archaeological evidence for Bronze Age political economies. Join the discussion on AJA Online.

Egyptian Gold in Prepalatial Crete? A Consideration of the Evidence

This study analyzes the evidence for the origin of gold found in secure prepalatial contexts in Crete. As there are no natural gold sources on Crete, extra-island interaction was required to procure this raw material. Information regarding the origin of prepalatial gold may, therefore, throw light on Crete’s interactions during this formative period. Unfortunately, there are many difficulties in sourcing ancient gold, which make it impossible to know with certainty where the gold used in the production of prepalatial objects originated. However, careful analysis of the contexts of prepalatial gold objects, which demonstrates the frequent co-occurrence of gold with hippopotamus ivory, and the distribution of gold products and gold working technologies in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, provide intriguing evidence to make a strong case for Egypt as a principal source of gold arriving in Crete during the prepalatial period, likely via the port city of Byblos on the Levantine coast.

THE MINOAN FALLACY: CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND MORTUARY BEHAVIOUR ON CRETE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE BRONZE AGE

SummaryWe are becoming increasingly aware of regional data patterning in the archaeological record of Prepalatial Crete, yet a theoretically informed and methodologically systematic study assessing the significance of such differences is still lacking. This article investigates variation through the rich mortuary record of the period and explores the significance of such diversity for our understanding of Prepalatial Crete. A detailed analysis using mortuary data reveals a complex spatial and temporal variation in the record which raises questions about social, political and ideological differences between communities on the island during the early periods of the Early Bronze Age. Prepalatial Crete emerges from this analysis as a complex context resulting from an intricate combination of local and regional histories and trajectories and far from the unified culture that the term ‘Minoan’ implies.

Exotica and the Early Minoan Elite: Eastern Imports in Prepalatial Crete

Eastern imports, including finished products, raw materials, and technologies, first appear in Crete in the Early Minoan (EM) II period. The relative inaccessibility of imports to Crete, and that they are found in clusters-sometimes in monumental tombs or associated with ritual objects-suggests that they were used in the creation and continued negotiation of elite identity. Although found primarily in mortuary contexts, these imports often show evidence of wear and sometimes repair, indicating that they were used during the lifetimes of their owners before being deposited in tombs. As many of these imports were used as bodily adornment, they were highly visible and may have taken on a performative role, especially during ceremonies or rituals. Several of the imports also draw on Eastern power symbols. Thus, as emblems, exotic imports were likely used by the Cretan emergent elite to distinguish themselves from the general population of the island and perhaps to align their new status with that of the ruling elite from powerful Eastern centers.

About the Distribution of Metal Objects in Prepalatial Crete

Although metal objects have been used as evidence in different interpretations of the socioeconomic changes identified in Prepalatial Crete (c.3100-1900 BC), they constitute an understudied category of material. This paper argues that metal objects on Crete were subject to complex processes regarding the creation of meaning; a more comprehensive appraisal of metal objects on the island may cast new light on these issues. Copper-based, gold, lead and silver objects are investigated from their ore extraction locations outside Crete to their final deposition, linking the different steps of the process of creating an artefact with different layers of meanings for the metal and, subsequently, for the finished objects. This study evaluates differences in the use of metals, with a particular focus on their intra-island depositional patterns. It seeks to identify differences in the roles of metals within Cretan communities as well as regional fashions in the use of metal objects. It is suggested that metals had different characters since their depositional patterns vary, and that people consciously chose certain metals to make specific objects and also used metal objects in different ways, reflecting the socio-economic context for each region.

About the Distribution of Metal Objects in Prepalatial Crete

Although metal objects have been used as evidence in different interpretations of the socioeconomic changes identified in Prepalatial Crete (c.3100-1900 BC), they constitute an understudied category of material. This paper argues that metal objects on Crete were subject to complex processes regarding the creation of meaning; a more comprehensive appraisal of metal objects on the island may cast new light on these issues. Copper-based, gold, lead and silver objects are investigated from their ore extraction locations outside Crete to their final deposition, linking the different steps of the process of creating an artefact with different layers of meanings for the metal and, subsequently, for the finished objects. This study evaluates differences in the use of metals, with a particular focus on their intra-island depositional patterns. It seeks to identify differences in the roles of metals within Cretan communities as well as regional fashions in the use of metal objects. It is suggested that metals had different characters<br />since their depositional patterns vary, and that people consciously chose certain metals to make specific objects and also used metal objects in different ways, reflecting the socio-economic context for each region.

Silver and Lead in Prepalatial Crete

Previous articleNext article No AccessSilver and Lead in Prepalatial CreteKeith BraniganKeith Branigan Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by American Journal of Archaeology Volume 72, Number 3July 1968 The journal of the Archaeological Institute of America Views: 3Total views on this site Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.2307/503550 Views: 3Total views on this site Copyright © 1968 by the Archaeological Institute of America. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.