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The Minoan Past in the Past: Bronze Age Objects in Early Iron Age

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The Minoan Past in the Past: Bronze Age Objects in Early Iron Age The Minoan Past in the Past: Bronze Age Objects in Early Iron Age Burials at Knossos, Crete A thesis submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Classics of the College of Arts and Sciences 2016 by Alice Crowe B.A. Boston University, 2014 Committee Chairs: A. Kotsonas, Ph.D. and Eleni Hatzaki, Ph.D. ABSTRACT Knossos is one of the few Aegean Bronze Age (BA) palatial centers at which occupation continued uninterrupted into the Early Iron Age (EIA); as a result, the site, and especially its burial record, provides a unique setting for a study of the use of the Minoan past in general, and of BA objects in particular, in EIA society. About thirty Knossian EIA tombs have produced BA objects, which would have been between 100 and 1,400 years old at the time of their redeposition. Through an analysis of the morphologies and EIA contexts of these reused BA objects, this thesis examines how and for what purposes the BA past was employed during the EIA. The study also explores how and from where the BA objects were acquired, in what periods of the EIA they were redeposited, and in what kinds of tombs and with what kinds of objects they were placed. This analysis suggests that BA objects are unlikely to have been “heirlooms”—objects passed down within a kin group—but rather functioned as “antiques.” It also shows that most were probably robbed from Final Palatial - Postpalatial—rather than from earlier Minoan— tombs. Additionally, the analysis reveals a stark difference in the morphologies and functions of BA objects redeposited during periods in which the BA was the “recent past” and in periods during which it was the “deep past.” In the Subminoan period (11th century)—only circa 100 years removed from the end of the BA—the materials and shapes of the antique BA objects were ones that were no longer able to be produced in the EIA, and the restricted distribution of these objects indicates that one elite group monopolized this seemingly exotic past. In the Protogeometric “B” - Orientalizing periods (late 9th to 7th centuries)—circa 400 years removed from the end of the BA—the materials and motifs of the BA objects resembled those of EIA burial goods and thereby fit within the constructs of EIA ideologies. The objects were also ii dispersed within several tombs of moderate wealth, which suggests that the use of past objects was not only more inclusive but also one of several competing means of expressing status. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis could not have been completed without the constant support, assistance, and advice of many UC faculty members, colleagues, friends, and family members. First and foremost, I would like to thank my committee chairs, who entrusted me with this topic and constantly guided me throughout the research and writing process. Antonis Kotsonas has tirelessly provided feedback on all aspects of this thesis, and has both challenged and encouraged me. I am grateful for the time and patience that he has invested in this project, and I greatly appreciate having him as a mentor and advisor. Eleni Hatzaki has offered much insightful guidance on this thesis, and discussions with her have greatly influenced how I approached the topic. I also owe many thanks to the other UC Classics faculty members, who have provided continual academic and professional mentoring throughout my graduate career, and to Todd Whitelaw, who kindly offered the advice and resources necessary for solving the mystery of “Hogarth’s seals.” Many UC graduate students have provided much needed support throughout this process. In particular, I would like to thank Sarah Beal for her helpful and insightful edits (provided at all hours of the day) and for her constant enthusiastic support; the “boys of summer”—especially Mitch Brown and Simone Agrimonti—who welcomed me with open arms into the brotherhood; Haley Bertram and Maura Brennan for listening to and laughing with me; and Charles Sturge for our always stimulating discussions about everything from LH IIIC to English football stadiums. Finally, I would most especially like to thank my sisters, Mary and Anna Crowe, and my parents, Patricia and Vincent Crowe. Their constant support over the years and their interest (feigned or otherwise) in the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age is forever appreciated. Without them, none of this could have been accomplished. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................... v TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................... vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION: THE (RE)USE OF THE PAST ........................................ 1 HISTORY OF SCHOLARSHIP: APPROACHING THE EIA REUSE OF BA MATERIAL IN AEGEAN BURIALS ..................................................................................................................... 4 EIA BURIAL PRACTICES AND THE FUNERARY LANDSCAPE OF KNOSSOS ............... 6 KNOSSIAN ANTIQUES: ASSEMBLAGE, ANALYSIS, AND EIA KNOSSIAN SOCIETY .. 8 CHAPTER 2: BA LARNAKES IN KNOSSIAN EIA TOMBS ............................................. 11 CRETAN BA LARNAKES ......................................................................................................... 12 CRETAN EIA BURIAL CONTAINERS .................................................................................... 17 BA LARNAKES IN EIA CONTEXTS AT KNOSSOS ............................................................. 18 CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................................................... 39 CHAPTER 3: BA SEALS IN KNOSSIAN EIA TOMBS ...................................................... 49 PROTOPALATIAL-POSTPALATIAL CRETAN SEALS ........................................................ 50 GEOMETRIC AND ORIENTALIZING SEALS ....................................................................... 54 BA SEALS IN EIA CONTEXTS AT KNOSSOS ...................................................................... 56 CONCLUSIONS ON BA SEALS IN EIA KNOSSIAN TOMBS AND COMPARISONS FROM ELSEWHERE IN CRETE............................................................................................................ 79 CHAPTER 4: BA BEADS IN KNOSSIAN EIA TOMBS ...................................................... 80 CRETAN LBA BEADS .............................................................................................................. 81 CRETAN EIA BEADS ................................................................................................................ 85 BA BEADS IN EIA KNOSSIAN TOMBS ................................................................................. 86 CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................................................... 93 CHAPTER 5: SYNTHESIS AND CONCLUSIONS: BA OBJECTS AND EIA KNOSSIAN SOCIETY ................................................................................................................................... 98 ANTIQUE ACQUISITION ......................................................................................................... 98 A DIACHRONIC PERSPECTIVE ON ANTIQUE USE: EIA SOCIETAL CHANGES AND THE EVOLVING USE OF BA OBJECTS ............................................................................... 102 CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................................................... 112 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................. 114 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................... 116 APPENDIX A: CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUES .................................................................. 140 vi APPENDIX B: SEALS FROM ‘HOGARTH’S TOMBS:’ BA OR EIA CONTEXT(S)? 142 FIGURES .................................................................................................................................. 146 vii Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION: THE (RE)USE OF THE PAST Societies have long grappled with the existence of past material remains in the landscapes of the present.1 Particularly in periods without written records, objects and structures “out of time”2 not only provided tangible connections to an alien past3 but could also be associated with magical properties and lost or supernatural races.4 These remains of the past were often manipulated in order to serve agendas in the “present.”5 As a result, analyzing uses of the “past in the past” provides insight into societal developments within the “present in the past.” While tombs, monuments, objects, and buildings were reused in the past, this thesis focuses exclusively on the reuse of portable objects. Objects with production dates significantly older than that of their (re)depositional contexts are varyingly referred to within scholarly literature as heirlooms or antiques.6 The term antique simply refers to an old object, including an object that was disposed of and recirculated much later, while the term heirloom denotes an inherited object connected to an ancestral lineage.7 Katina Lillios has pointed out that “to call an object an heirloom refers primarily to
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