Maritime Networks in the Mycenaean World

Thomas F. Tartaron

City: Cambridge/New York

Year: 2013

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Description: Hardback, 353 p., 71 b/w illustrations, 25 maps, 11 tables, 26x18.2 cm

Abstract

In this book, Thomas F. Tartaron presents a new and original reassessment of the maritime world of the Mycenaean Greeks of the Late Bronze Age. By all accounts a seafaring people, they enjoyed maritime connections with peoples as distant as Egypt and Sicily. These long-distance relations have been celebrated and much studied; by contrast, the vibrant worlds of local maritime interaction and exploitation of the sea have been virtually ignored. Dr. Tartaron argues that local maritime networks, in the form of “coastscapes” and “small worlds,” are far more representative of the true fabric of Mycenaean life. He offers a complete template of conceptual and methodological tools for recovering small worlds and the communities that inhabited them. Combining archaeological, geoarchaeological, and anthropological approaches with ancient texts and network theory, he demonstrates the application of this scheme in several case studies. This book presents new perspectives and challenges for all archaeologists with interests in maritime connectivity.

Contents

Figures [ix]
Tables [xii]
Preface [xiii]
Acknowledgments [xv]

1. The Problem of Mycenaean Coastal Worlds [1]

2. Mycenaeans and the Sea [12]

3. Ships and Boats of the Aegean Bronze Age [48]

4. The Maritime Environment of the Aegean Sea [90]

5. Coasts and Harbors of the Bronze Age Aegean: Characteristics, Discovery, and Reconstruction [139]

6. Concepts for Mycenaean Coastal Worlds [182]

7. Coastscapes and Small Worlds of the Aegean Bronze Age: Case Studies [212]

8. Conclusions and Prospects [285]

Notes [291]
References [297]
Index [333]