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Aegeus Society For Aegean Prehistory

ARTICLES | 2026

Exploring alternative trajectories of social change in European prehistory. Anarchist theory and the Aegean Bronze Age

Polina Kapsali Journal of Archaeological Science, Reports 83, 2026: 101789

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Societal transformations in European prehistory have traditionally been examined through evolutionary frameworks that depict a unilinear development from egalitarian to hierarchical social systems. While their specific claims are often contested, these interpretations are seldom reassessed from alternative interpretative perspectives. This paper offers such an alternative by drawing on anthropological and archaeological approaches informed by Anarchist Theory.

Aegean Bronze Age writing systems through RTI: New potential and perspectives

Lavinia Giorgi, Sara Lopez Journal of Archaeological Science, Reports 41, 2026: e00508

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This paper aims to explore the potential of Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) as applied to signs and marks engraved on hard materials, with particular focus on the writing systems of the Bronze Age Aegean (2nd millennium BC). These (para-)writing forms (the Arkhanes script, Cretan Hieroglyphic, the Phaistos Disc script, Linear A, Linear B, and Masons’ Marks) share the common feature of being incised onto hard surfaces, mainly clay and both hard and soft stones.

Feeding the dead, sustaining the living: an archaeobotanical study of Mycenaean Eleon in Boeotia, Greece

Symeon Gkinoudis, Trevor Van Damme, Brendan Burke, Bryan Burns, Evi Margaritis Journal of Archaeological Science, Reports 70, 2026: 105507

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Eleon is located in east Boeotia, on mainland Greece. Research conducted by the Eastern Boeotia Archaeological Project has revealed a long-lasting occupational sequence at the site. At the beginning of the Late Bronze Age, a monumental burial enclosure, the Blue Stone Structure, was constructed on the east side of the plateau. Settlement remains from both the Palatial and Post-Palatial periods have been documented, with the latter being more extensively explored and better understood.

Exploring local and regional dynamics in the Bronze Age Kythera Island, Greece, through an analytical approach on archaeological data from Kataphygadi cave

Konstantinos P. Trimmis, Stavroula Fouriki, Patrick Quinn, Julie Dunne, Richard P. Evershed, Katie Faillace, Richard Madgwick, Morten Andersen, Marc-Alban Millet, Alexandra J. Nederbragt, Timothy Knowles, Paul Monaghan, Georgios Lazaridis, Christianne L. Fernée, Katerina Trantalidou Journal of Archaeological Science, Reports 73, 2026: 105798

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Interactions between islands and mainland has long been the subject of numerous archaeological projects in the Mediterranean and beyond. The island of Kythera in Greece has been a focal point for such studies over the last century. This paper re-visits Kythera and presents an analytical study on pottery and skeletal assemblages from the Kataphygadi cave excavations in the central west Kythera, in order to further explore insular dynamics and long-range interactions in the area, during the Bronze Age.

Emerging complexity through human-animal interactions at Early Bronze Age Koropi, Attica, Greece

Angelos Hadjikoumis, Eleni Andrikou, Kerasia Douni Journal of Archaeological Science, Reports 75, 2026: 105981

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Current knowledge on Early Bronze Age society in Attica (Greece) is limited, especially on human-animal interactions. Large faunal samples from Early Bronze Age Koropi in southeast Attica present a unique opportunity to address this gap. Their study contributes important insights into the economic and social practices at a large Early Bronze Age settlement, as well as the adaptations to the environment, landscape and regional networks.

Transport Stirrup Jars at the Late Bronze Age harbour of Pefkakia (Thessaly, Greece): petrographic characterisation, provenance and implications for the Aegean trade networks

Valeria Tiezzi, Bartłomiej Lis, Anthi Batziou Journal of Archaeological Science, Reports 76, 2026: 106039

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Transport Stirrup Jars (TSJs) are emblematic maritime transport containers of the Aegean Late Bronze Age, usually associated with Cretan production places and tied to Mycenaean palatial exchange systems. Despite extensive research on palatial assemblages, TSJs from non-palatial and traditionally ‘peripheral’ regions of the Greek Mainland remain underexplored. This paper presents a petrographic provenance study of TSJs recovered from the harbour site of Pefkakia in the Pagasetic Gulf (Thessaly), contributing towards filling this research gap and assessing the site’s role within wider Aegean exchange networks.

The agricultural system of a crisis years settlement: archaeobotanical evidence from Late Bronze Age Pyla-Kokkinokremos, Cyprus

Carly Henkel, Joachim Bretschneider, Jan Driessen, Athanasia Kanta & Evi Margaritis Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 75, 2026: 106069

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To date, archaeobotanical records for Late Bronze Age Cyprus provide little insight into agricultural activity of the time, such as specific farming systems and cultivation practices. This paper presents the results of an archaeobotanical study for the site of Pyla-Kokkinokremos (LC IIC, c. 1230–1170 BCE): a short-lived settlement that existed towards the end of the Late Bronze Age during a time often referred to as the crisis years on account of increasing mobility of people, violence and aridity throughout the Eastern Mediterranean.

Ochre and hide-working during the early bronze age at Dhaskalio, central Cyclades: first insights from use-wear analysis

Diego Capra, Isabella Caricola, Giulio Lucarini, Giuseppina Mutri, Evi Margaritis, Michael J. Boyd, †Colin Renfrew Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 74, 2026: 105946

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Dhaskalio is a small and steep-sided islet at the western end of the island of Keros in the central Cyclades. Excavations carried out between 2006–2008 and 2016–2018 brought to light the remains of extensive architecture on Dhaskalio and a ritual area of significant importance in the Kavos area of Keros, both dated to the mid-third millennium BCE.

Mediterranean Late Bronze Age copper ingots: A new lead isotope-based synthesis

Daniel M. Finn-Kandel, Naama Yahalom-Mack & Yigal Erel Journal of Archaeological Science 195, 2026: 106669

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Within the dynamic exchange networks of the Mediterranean Late Bronze Age, copper ingots are central to reconstructing the scale, organization, and intensity of economic and cultural contact. Yet, whether Late Bronze Age copper ingots derived from a single copper source or were mixed among sources has remained largely unresolved, obscuring their provenance.

New anthropological insights into the use of stonemasons’ percussive stone tools at the site of Malia, Crete based on experiments

Athina Boleti Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 69, 2026: 105321

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This paper presents part of the research conducted in the framework of the MCSA LiTechAe project exploring the percussive tools and techniques used for stone dressing in monumental architecture in the 2nd millennium BC Aegean world on the basis of experiments and use-wear analysis.

Exploring mobility in Bronze Age Greece: A Sr isotope perspective

Anja B. Frank , Ioanna Moutafi, Serena Sabatini, Robert Frei, Sofia Voutsaki, Raphaël Orgeolet, Vassilis Lambrinoudakis, Lazaros Kolonas, Jörg Rambach, Michael Boyd, Evi Margaritis, Kristian Kristiansen & Karin M. Frei PLoS One 21(9) 2026: e0357576

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The Mediterranean region saw significant socio-economic and cultural transformations during the Bronze Age, varying across regions and through time. Expanding exchange networks played an important role in these developments by connecting distant communities.

The Sissi Genius lentoid: A lapis lacedaemonius seal from Final Palatial Crete

Diana Wolf Hesperia 91 (2022): 351-384

A Final Palatial lapis lacedaemonius seal, here called the Sissi Genius Lentoid, was recovered during the 2018 excavation of the Court-Centered Building at Sissi, East Crete. The seal instantly drew attention because of its rare material and unique iconography that shows a Minoan genius flanked by the foreparts of two agrimia.