Peter Ian Kuniholm, Maryanne Newton, Hend Sherbiny & Hussein BassirRadiocarbon 56.4 (2014), 93-102
We assess the state of and potential for expansion of dendroarchaeological research in Egypt. We also report previously unpublished findings, which we hope will assist with the new effort in constructing tree-ring chronologies in Egypt. In doing so, we explain briefly some of the problems and potential of the future enterprise.
Dispilio is the only excavated Neolithic lakeside settlement in Greece. Archaeological research provided evidence that the site was continuously used from the Early Neolithic (~6000 BC) to the Late Chalcolithic period (~1200 BC, Mycenaean period).
John BennetBulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies 57.2 (December 2014), 127-137
Inaugurated in January 1954, the ‘Minoan Linear B Seminar’ explored the information emerging from Ventris' decipherment of Linear B in 1952. The new academic discipline of ‘Mycenaean Studies’ rapidly moved on from questions influenced by the field's ‘pre-history’ dating back a further 60 years to Evans' first publication on Aegean scripts.
V. Tourloukis, P. Karkanas & J. WallingaJournal of Archaeological Science 57 (May 2015), 355-369
The red-bed site of Kokkinopilos is an emblematic and yet also most enigmatic open-air Palaeolithic site in Greece, stimulating controversy ever since its discovery in 1962. While early research raised claims for stratigraphically in situ artifacts, later scholars considered the material reworked and of low archaeological value, a theory that was soon to be challenged again by the discovery of in situ lithics, including handaxes.
Nick AllenBulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies 57.1 (June 2014), 1-19
Students of the narrative content of Greek epic usually ignore the hypothesis that it shares a common origin with the Sanskrit epic, and even Georges Dumézil, the best known Indo-European cultural comparativist of the last century, emphasized the contrast between the two traditions. However, since Dumézil's death, it has been argued that his ‘trifunctional’ theory of Indo-European ideology needs to be subsumed within a pentadic framework.
A neglected aspect of ‘miniaturization’ is the development of the so-called ‘pictographic’ or ‘iconographic’ writing systems. ‘Picture-writing’ is the term used to describe the beginnings of various scripts, whereby the initial inspiration for the visual rendering of the signs is suggested to have been an array of tangible objects, or parts thereof.
Thomas LeppardJournal of Mediterranean Archaeology 27.2 (2014), 231-254
It has been suggested that the islands of the Mediterranean were first settled during the Pleistocene. Attention has in particular been paid to recent claims that the occupation of Crete by hominins dates to the Middle Pleistocene.
Curtis RunnelsJournal of Mediterranean Archaeology 27.2 (2014), 211-230
Humans evolved in Africa and colonized Eurasia in successive adaptive radiations, establishing themselves in Europe ca. one million years ago. It is assumed that these dispersals were by land through southwest Asia, or secondarily across the Strait of Gibraltar, because early hominins lacked the cognitive faculties and technical skills needed to cross the open Mediterranean.
Nena GalanidouJournal of Mediterranean Archaeology 27.2 (2014), 260-267
The prehistory of Greece begins in the Middle Pleistocene, with compelling Lower Palaeolithic (LP) evidence coming from its north. HOMO HEIDELBERGENSIS lived around the Petralona Cave in Macedonia, a significant Acheulean presence is known at Rodafnidia on Lesvos, and a very few Large Cutting Tools originate from Kokkinopilos in Epirus and Palaiokastro in west Macedonia.
Sturt W. Manning, Georgia-Marina Andreou, Kevin D. Fisher, Peregrine Gerard-Little, Catherine Kearns, Jeffrey F. Leon, David A. Sewell & Thomas M. UrbanJournal of Mediterranean Archaeology 27.1 (2014), 3-32
The transformations entangled in becoming an urban society are increasingly attracting attention in archaeology, including in the Mediterranean. The place-making entailed in the development of urban settlement represents a fundamental change for a society; it creates over time a new urban mentalité and habitus, such that the urban fabric and place become an active part of social life, and its reproduction.
Laura B. MazowJournal of Mediterranean Archaeology 27.1 (2014), 33-50
Reconstructions of ancient wool-processing techniques have generally been based on the assumption that lanolin was a by-product of the woolen textile industry. However, both ancient and modern sources point to significant procedural differences between the extraction and recovery of lanolin and the preparation of wool for spinning and weaving.
Louise SteelJournal of Mediterranean Archaeology 26.1 (2013), 27-50
The Vounous Bowl occupies a privileged position in discussions of prehistoric representations on Cyprus. It has most commonly been viewed as a sacred scene, or a religious ceremony conducted within a rural sanctuary, and several commentators have emphasized the funerary connotations of the scene, perhaps depicting idealized funerary ritual or an ancestor cult.
Michael GivenJournal of Mediterranean Archaeology 26.1 (2013), 3-26
Over the last three decades, Mediterranean survey projects have established a broadly agreed methodology, a wide awareness of the invaluable contribution made by intensive survey, and a wealth of data from across the region. Where they have made less progress is in the interpretation of artefact density figures and other findings to go beyond the dots on the map and gain insights into past human lives, the complexity of past landscapes, and the relationship between people and the environment.
Britt M. StarkovichJournal of Archaeological Science 52 (December 2014), 39-55
This paper evaluates a long sequence of zooarchaeological remains from Klissoura Cave 1 (southern Greece) within the paradigm of evolutionary ecology. The prey choice, central place foraging, and patch choice models are applied to the dataset in order to understand subsistence shifts related to local resource depression and changes in the intensity of site use from the Middle Paleolithic through Mesolithic.
Thomas P. LeppardJournal of Mediterranean Archaeology 27.2 (2014), 231-254
It has been suggested that the islands of the Mediterranean were first settled during the Pleistocene. Attention has in particular been paid to recent claims that the occupation of Crete by hominins dates to the Middle Pleistocene.
