The Early Helladic II–III transition at Lerna and Tiryns revisited: Chronological difference or synchronous variability?

Erika Weiberg & Michael Lindblom Hesperia 83:3 (July-September 2014), 383-407

Abstract

Lerna and the Lower Citadel of Tiryns are key sites for understanding the Early Helladic II–III transition in the northeastern Peloponnese. We argue that the differences between the two settlements do not reflect chronological variation, but rather the ways in which each settlement responded to events ca. 2200 B.C. The ceramic and architectural sequences are used to illustrate the divergent strategies practiced by the inhabitants of each site. Lerna III–IV epitomizes the renegotiation of social values during a period when centralized decision-making and coordination of economic activities was disintegrating. Activities in the coeval Lower Citadel of Tiryns, on the other hand, reflect the maintenance of continuity in a domestic setting.