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Aegeus Society For Aegean Prehistory

BOOKS | 2011

The Seascape in Aegean Prehistory

Edited by Giorgos Vavouranakis Athens 2011

The Seascape in Aegean Prehistory

This book is about the relationship between the people and the sea in the prehistoric Aegean. It explores how people understood the sea as an integral part of their way of life and examines the role the sea played in the prehistoric societies of the archipelago. It may at first seem obvious - even selfevident - that there had been a close relationship between people and the sea, since the Aegean Archipelago is the dominant feature of its wider area. It spreads over at total area of about 214,000 sq km. This is a bit less than the overall land area of Greek state today, which is almost 132,000 sq km. This large area of water includes over 1000 islands, many of which are populated today. The Aegean Sea and its islands epitomise Greece in the minds of many people today.

A rare Neolithic find from the Aegean: A fibre from Drakaina Cave, Kephalonia Island, W. Greece

Marie-Louise Nosch, Bridget Murphy, Bodil Holst, Irene Skals, Georgia Stratouli & Anaya Sarpaki Online article (http://www.drakainacave.gr)

The article publishes a neolithic fibre from Drakaina Cave (Kephalonia, Greece). This uncommon material was found in a rich archaeological unit of the eastern roofed part of the cave, particularly in the southern part of trench Δ5 , excavated in July 2004 and dated most probably to the late 6th millennium BC (radiocarbon dating is pending). Considering the nature of the deposit of this unit, it consisted mainly of ash and charcoal fragments alongside with burnt food remains, i.e. bones, seeds, as well other plant substance. There is little doubt that the unit represents, largely, the in situ remnants of a hearth. From the aforementioned unit/deposit, a soil sample (6 litres in sum) was collected for water flotation, in which the microscopic fibre was discovered.

Radiocarbon dating archaeological samples in the eastern Mediterranean, 1730 to 1480 BC: Further exploring the atmospheric radiocarbon calibration record and the archaeological implications

S.W. Manning & B. Kromer Archaeometry 53.2 (April 2011): 413–439.

The East Mediterranean Radiocarbon (Inter-)Comparison Project (EMRCP) has measured time series of radiocarbon ages for known age samples of German oak (GeO) and for samples from the near-absolutely placed Gordion juniper dendrochronology from central Anatolia. In this paper, we review the data for the calendar years from 1730 to 1480 bc, relevant in particular to controversy and debate concerning the absolute date of the Minoan eruption of the Santorini (Thera) volcano.

Seriphos surfaces: A study of copper slag heaps and copper sources in the context of Early Bronze Age metal production

M. Georgakopoulou, Y. Bassiakos & O. Philaniotou Archaeometry 53.1 (February 2011): 123-145.

Kephala and Phournoi, on the island of Seriphos, add to a growing number of EBA metal production sites identified in the south-central Aegean. Analytical examination of samples from the two sites addressed the technological parameters of the copper smelting process, indicating the use of mixed oxidic and sulphidic copper–iron ores to produce unalloyed copper with minute copper sulphide inclusions.

Lead isotopic analysis for the identification of Late Bronze Age pottery from Hala Sultan Tekke (Cyprus)

V. Renson, J. Coenaerts, K. Nys, N. Mattielli, F. Vanhaecke, N. Fagel & P. Claeys Archaeometry 53.1 (February 2011): 37-57.

Lead isotopic compositions were measured for 65 sherds from five pottery wares (Plain White, Coarse, Canaanite, White Slip and Base-ring) excavated from the Late Bronze Age site of Hala Sultan Tekke (Cyprus). The elemental composition and isotopic signature of the sherds were compared with those of 65 clay samples collected in south-east Cyprus, mainly in the surroundings (<20 km) of Hala Sultan Tekke.

Mineralogical analysis and provenancing of ancient ceramics using automated SEM-EDS analysis (QEMSCAN®): a pilot study on LB I pottery from Akrotiri, Thera

C. Knappett, D. Pirrie, M.R. Power, I. Nikolakopoulou, J. Hilditch & G.K. Rollinson Journal of Archaeological Science 38.2 (February 2011): 219-232.

A wide range of existing mineralogical and geochemical methodologies such as optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, manual scanning electron microscopy, ICP-MS and INAA have been utilised in the analysis of ancient ceramics, in attempts to elucidate patterns of regional trade and interaction. However, advances in automated scanning electron microscopy with linked energy dispersive spectrometers (SEM-EDS) have created the potential to offer a seamless combination of textural and mineralogical data based on the acquisition of energy dispersive spectra that has so far been unattainable with existing techniques.

Three-dimensional visibility analysis of architectural spaces: iconography and visibility of the wall paintings of Xeste 3 (Late Bronze Age Akrotiri)

Eleftheria Paliou, David Wheatley & Graeme Earl Journal of Archaeological Science 38.2 (February 2011): 375-386.

In recent years various methods of visibility analysis have been applied to investigate human engagement, experience and socialisation within historic and prehistoric ‘natural’ and built environments. On many occasions these approaches appear to be either extremely limited or wholly inadequate for the interpretation of complex built structures and building interiors because they do not fully model the three-dimensional geometry of such spaces.