In recent years, several studies have been undertaken on ceramic technology and there is now a general agreement among scholar about the introduction of the potter’s wheel in Minoan Crete in (M)iddle (M)inoan IB (1900 BC ca.), corresponding to the emergence of the First Palaces on the island.
Sofia Voutsaki, Corien Wiersma, Wieke de Neef & Adamantia VasilogamvrouJournal of Greek Archaeology 4 (2019): 67-95
This article presents the research design, i.e. the main aims, questions and methods of the Ayios Vasileios Survey Project. This ongoing project combines field walking, geophysical prospection and ethnographic interviews in order to place more firmly the Mycenaean Palatial Complex of Ayios Vasileios (Laconia, Greece) in its physical, regional and historical context.
V. Maxwell, R. M. Ellam, N. Skarpelis & A. SampsonJournal of Greek Archaeology 4 (2019): 1-30
In the wider Aegean, it is now recognised that the very end of the Neolithic is a key period in the evolution of communities and in the roots of changes observed in the succeeding Early Bronze Age. One important aspect of this change was involvement in metallurgy.
Charlotte LangohrJournal of Greek Archaeology 4 (2019): 31-66
During the Late Minoan (hereinafter LM) II to IIIB phases, roughly between 1450 and 1200 BCE, Cretan society went through a series of changes, the causes and circumstances of which are still the subject of dispute. One of the key issues that remains is the question of the cultural identity or identities of Cretan communities after the widespread, violent destructions of the LM IB palatial centres and settlements on the island.
Eleni VasileiouJournal of Greek Archaeology 3 (2018): 145-164
The area of central Epirus (prefecture of Ioannina) occupies the northwestern part of the Greek peninsula. It has been continuously settled for a quarter of a million years during which it witnessed lots of changes of physical landscape owing mainly to the intense tectonic activity.
Guy D. MiddletonJournal of Greek Archaeology 3 (2018): 115-143
A recent paper argues that climate change at the end of the Late Bronze Age caused mass migrations, ‘vast movements of population’, out of the Balkans into Greece and Anatolia, with migrants destroying cities and states as they went – causing the collapse of Late Bronze Age societies such as the Mycenaeans.
This case study documents an unusual heterotopic ossification with associated pseudarthroses of the lumbar spine. We examined the partial skeletal remains of an adult from a Late Bronze Age (Mycenaean Late Helladic IIB‐IIIA1 period, approximately1400–1375 BCE) chamber tomb from the Athenian Agora excavations in Greece.
Tholos A at Apesokari (south-central Crete, Greece) was constructed on a sloping ledge of bedrock, overlooking the Mesara Plain below. Such an inconvenient topographic setting makes Tholos A an unusual example in the corpus of Minoan circular tombs, which were more commonly built on flatter ground.
This paper presents the results of the geochemical characterisation of complete obsidian assemblages dating to the Early Aceramic Neolithic (8200–6900 Cal BC) and located in Cyprus, eastern Mediterranean. Obsidian artefacts have over the years been recovered from a number of Early Holocene archaeological sites on the island of Cyprus.
The island of Antiparos belongs to the Aegean volcanic arc. The obsidian outcrops here contain pieces of excellent tool-making quality, but of small size making the raw material less attractive.
Catherine PerlèsQuaternary International 407 (July 2016): 45-58
The long Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic sequence of Franchthi Cave is often quoted for the importance of its marine resources. The first coastal resources to be exploited, from the very beginning of the Upper Palaeolithic, were ornamental shell species. Fish was captured since at least the 13th millennium cal BC, and Franchthi is well known for the episode of intense tuna fishing in the Upper Mesolithic (8th millennium cal BC).
Arthur Glais, José Antonio López-Sáez, Laurent Lespez & Robert DavidsonQuaternary International 403 (June 2016): 237-250
Palynological and sedimentological investigations carried out around the tell of Dikili Tash (Eastern Macedonia, Greece), one of the oldest Neolithic sites in Europe, improve our understanding of the evolution of the paleoenvironment from the Late Pleistocene to the Neolithic period (6500–3200 cal BC in this region).
Changes in subsistence patterns during the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic at Klissoura Cave 1 in southern Greece indicate that some shifts track local climatic changes, while others do not. Specifically, increases in ungulate species diversity correlate with wetter periods, and greater abundance of certain dry-loving small game animals (e.g., great bustard) might correspond with dry periods.
Third millennium B.C. anthropomorphic marble sculpture from the Aegean Cyclades, the so-called Early Cycladic figures and figurines, have fascinated art aficionados and scholars alike for over a century. This has led to a tremendous amount of aesthetic appreciation and monetary value for the aforementioned artifacts.
