The years c. 1250 to 1150 BC in Greece and the Aegean are often
characterised as a time of crisis and collapse. A critical period in
the long history of the region and its people and culture, they
witnessed the end of the Mycenaean kingdoms, with their palaces and
Linear B records, and, through the Postpalatial period, the transition
into the Early Iron Age. But, on closer examination, it has become
increasingly clear that the period as a whole, across the region,
defies simple characterisation – there was success and splendour,
resilience and continuity, and novelty and innovation, actively driven
by the people of these lands through this transformative century. The
story of the Aegean at this time has frequently been incorporated into
narratives focused on the wider eastern Mediterranean, and most
infamously the ‘Sea Peoples’ of the Egyptian texts. In twenty-five
chapters written by 25 specialists, Collapse and Transformation
instead offers a tight focus on the Aegean itself, providing an up-to
date picture of the archaeology ‘before’ and ‘after’ ‘the
collapse’ of c. 1200 BC. It will be essential reading for students
and scholars of the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean regions, as well
as providing data and a range of interpretations to those studying
collapse and resilience more widely and engaging in comparative
studies. Introductory chapters discuss notions of collapse, and
provide overviews of the Minoan and Mycenaean collapses. These are
followed by twelve chapters, which review the evidence from the major
regions of the Aegean, including the Argolid, Messenia, and Boeotia,
Crete, and the Aegean islands. Six chapters then address key themes:
the economy, funerary practices, the Mycenaean pottery of the mainland
and the wider Aegean and eastern Mediterranean region, religion, and
the extent to which later Greek myth can be drawn upon as evidence or
taken to reflect any historical reality. The final four chapters
provide a wider context for the Aegean story, surveying the eastern
Mediterranean, including Cyprus and the Levant, and the themes of
subsistence and warfare.
Les mer
The Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age in the Aegean
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781789254266
Publisert
2020
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Casemate Publishers and Book Distributors, LLC
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter