The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean

Edited by Eric H. Cline

City: Oxford

Year: 2010

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Description: Hardback, 976 p., 162 halftones, 11 line illustrations, 17,1x24,8 cm

Abstract

The Greek Bronze Age, roughly 3000 to 1000 BC, witnessed the flourishing of the Minoan and Mycenean civilizations, the earliest expansion of trade in the Aegean and wider Mediterranean Sea, the development of artistic techniques in a variety of media, and the evolution of early Greek religious practices and mythology. The period also witnessed a violent conflict in Asia Minor between warring peoples in the region, a conflict commonly believed to be the historical basis for Homer’s Trojan War. The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean provides a detailed survey of these fascinating aspects of the period, and many others, in sixty-six newly commissioned articles.

Divided into four sections, the handbook begins with Background and Definitions , which contains articles establishing the discipline in its historical, geographical, and chronological settings and in its relation to other disciplines. The second section, Chronology and Geography , contains articles examining the Bronze Age Aegean by chronological period (Early Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age, Late Bronze Age). Each of the periods are further subdivided geographically, so that individual articles are concerned with Mainland Greece during the Early Bronze Age, Crete during the Early Bronze Age, the Cycladic Islands during the Early Bronze Age, and the same for the Middle Bronze Age, followed by the Late Bronze Age. The third section, Thematic and Specific Topics , includes articles examining thematic topics that cannot be done justice in a strictly chronological/geographical treatment, including religion, state and society, trade, warfare, pottery, writing, and burial customs, as well as specific events, such as the eruption of Santorini and the Trojan War. The fourth section, Specific Sites and Areas , contains articles examining the most important regions and sites in the Bronze Age Aegean, including Mycenae, Tiryns, Pylos, Knossos, Kommos, Rhodes, the northern Aegean, and the Uluburun shipwreck, as well as adjacent areas such as the Levant, Egypt, and the western Mediterranean.

Containing new work by an international team of experts, The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean represents the most comprehensive, authoritative, and up-to-date single-volume survey of the field. It will be indispensable for scholars and advanced students alike.

Contents

Acknowledgements [v]
Contents [vii]
Contributors [xiii]
Abbreviations [xvii]
Preface, Eric H. Cline [xxxi]

Part I: Background and Definitions
1. James D. Muhly, ‘History of Research’ [3-10]
2. Sturt W. Manning, ‘Chronology and Terminology’ [11-28]

Part II: Chronology and Geography
3. Peter Tomkins, ‘Neolithic Antecedents’ [31-49]

Early Bronze Age
4. Jeannette Forsén, ‘Mainland Greece’ [53-65]
5. Peter Tomkins and Ilse Schoep, ‘Crete’ [66-82]
6. Colin Renfrew, ‘Cyclades’ [84-95]

Middle Bronze Age
7. Sofia Voutsaki, ‘Mainland Greece’ [99-112]
8. Ilse Schoep, ‘Crete’ [113-125]
9. Robin L. N. Barber, ‘Cyclades’ [126-136]

Late Bronze Age
10. Kim Shelton, ‘Mainland Greece’ [139-148]
11. Erik Hallager, ‘Crete’ [149-159]
12. Robin L. N. Barber, ‘Cyclades’ [160-170]
13. Reinhard Jung, ‘End of the Bronze Age’ [171-184]

Part III: Thematic Topics

Art and Architecture
14. Louise Hitchcock, ‘Minoan Architecture’ [189-199]
15. Louise Hitchcock, ‘Mycenaean Architecture’ [200-209]
16. Ioulia Tzonou-Herbst, ‘Figurines’ [210-222]
17. Anne P. Chapin, ‘Frescoes’ [223-236]

Society and Culture
18. Dimitri Nakassis, Michael L. Galaty, and William A. Parkinson, ‘State and Society’ [239-250]
19. Susan Lupack, ‘Minoan Religion’ [251-262]
20. Susan Lupack, ‘Mycenaean Religion’ [263-276]
21. Christopher Mee, ‘Death and Burial’ [277-290]
22. Bryan E. Burns, ‘Trade’ [291-304]
23. Ioannis Georganas, ‘Weapons and Warfare’ [305-314]

Seals and Writing/Administrative Systems
24. Judith Weingarten, ‘Minoan Seals and Sealings’ [317-328]
25. John G. Younger, ‘Mycenaean Seals and Sealings’ [329-339]
26. Helena Tomas, ‘Cretan Hieroglyphic and Linear A’ [340-355]
27. Thomas G. Palaima, ‘Linear B’ [356-372]
28. Nicolle Hirschfeld, ‘Cypro-Minoan’ [373-384]

Material Crafts
29. Doniert G. Evely, ‘Materials and Industries’ [387-404]
30. Birgitta Hallager, ‘Minoan Pottery’ [405-414]
31. Jeremy B. Rutter, ‘Mycenaean Pottery’ [415-429]
32. Brendan Burke, ‘Textiles’ [430-442]
33. Robert Laffineur, ‘Jewellery’ [443-454]
 

Events
34. Sturt W. Manning, ‘Eruption of Thera/Santorini’ [457-474]
35. Trevor Bryce, ‘Trojan War’ [475-482]
36. Oliver Dickinson, ‘The Collapse at the End of the Bronze Age’ [483-490]

Section IV: Specific Sites and Regions

Crete
37. Vincenzo La Rosa, ‘Ayia Triada’ [495-508]
38. Lefteris Platon, ‘Kato Zakros’ [509-517]
39. Maria Andreadaki-Vlazaki, ‘Khania (Kydonia)’ [518-528]
40. Colin Macdonald, ‘Knossos’ [529-542]
41. Joseph and Maria Shaw, ‘Kommos’ [543-555]
42. Jan Driessen, ‘Malia’ [556-570]
43. J. Alexander MacGillivray and L. Hugh Sackett, ‘Palaikastro’ [571-581]
44. Vincenzo La Rosa, ‘Phaistos’ [582-595]

Mainland Greece
45. Sofia Voutsaki, ‘Argolid’ [599-613]
46. Anastasia Dakouri-Hild, ‘Boeotia’ [614-630]
47. William G. Cavanagh, ‘Central and Southern Peloponnese’ [631-642]
48. Stelios Andreou, ‘Northern Aegean’ [643-659]
49. Martha Wiencke, ‘Lerna’ [660-670]
50. Elizabeth French, ‘Mycenae’ [671-679]
51. Jack L. Davis, ‘Pylos’ [680-689]
52. Anastasia Dakouri-Hild, ‘Thebes’ [690-711]
53. Robert Laffineur, ‘Thorikos’ [712-721]
54. Joseph Maran, ‘Tiryns’ [722-734]

Cyclades, Dodecanese, and Saronic Islands
55. Walter Gauss, ‘Aegina Kolonna’ [737-751]
56. Christos Doumas, ‘Akrotiri’ [752-761]
57. Toula Marketou, ‘Dodecanese’ [762-774]
58. Toula Marketou, ‘Rhodes’ [775-793]

Wider Mediterranean
59. George F. Bass, ‘Cape Gelidonya shipwreck’ [797-803]
60. Louise Steel, ‘Cyprus’ [804-819]
61. Jacke Phillips, ‘Egypt’ [820-831]
62. Assaf Yasur-Landau, ‘Levant’ [832-848]
63. Peter Jablonka, ‘Troy’ [849-861]
64. Cemal Pulak, ‘Uluburun shipwreck’ [862-876]
65. Alan M. Greaves, ‘Western Anatolia’ [877-889]
66. Lucia Vagnetti, ‘Western Mediterranean’ [890-905]

Index