DOCSLIB.ORG

Time-Space Appropriation in the Inka Empire a Study of Imperial Metabolism BOGADÓTTIR, RAGNHEIDUR

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Time-Space Appropriation in the Inka Empire a Study of Imperial Metabolism BOGADÓTTIR, RAGNHEIDUR Time-space Appropriation in the Inka Empire A Study of Imperial Metabolism BOGADÓTTIR, RAGNHEIDUR 2016 Document Version: Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): BOGADÓTTIR, RAGNHEIDUR. (2016). Time-space Appropriation in the Inka Empire: A Study of Imperial Metabolism. Lund University. Total number of authors: 1 General rights Unless other specific re-use rights are stated the following general rights apply: Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal Read more about Creative commons licenses: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. LUND UNIVERSITY PO Box 117 221 00 Lund +46 46-222 00 00 s LUND STUDIES IN HUMAN ECOLOGY 15 HUMAN ECOLOGY LUND STUDIES IN 15 Ragnheiður Bogadóttir in the Inka Empire Time-space Appropriation Time-space Appropriation in Time-space the Inka Empire A Study of Imperial Metabolism Appropriation in the This thesis analyzes some aspects of the appropriation of labor time and natural space in the Inka Empire (ca. AD 1400 – 1532) in order to illuminate the cultural organization of Inka imperial metabolism. Rather than understanding Inka imperialism simply as a political process with socioecological consequences, it is investigated as an ecological process organ- Inka Empire ized through specific cultural categories. The Inka imperial economy is conceptualized in terms of transfers of time and space between different categories of people. The thesis thus addresses long-standing questions regarding the economic operation of A Study of Imperial Metabolism the Inka Empire as well as central issues in general social theory. It demonstrates how impe- rial power is based on biophysical flows of embodied labor and land, organized by specific cultural permutations of reciprocity and redistribution. The thesis focuses on estimating Ragnheiður Bogadóttir these flows through analyses of time-space appropriation. This is done by reconstructing, on the basis of archaeological, historical and ethnographic data, the production processes of three emblematic Inka artifacts: textiles, chicha (maize beer), and stone walls. Ragnheiður Bogadóttir Human Ecology Division Lund University 193181 ISSN 1403-5022 ISBN 978-91-7623-898-1 789176 9 Time-space Appropriation in the Inka Empire 1 2 Time-space Appropriation in the Inka Empire A Study of Imperial Metabolism Ragnheiður Bogadóttir DOCTORAL DISSERTATION by due permission of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Lund University, Sweden. To be defended at Flygeln, Geocentrum I, Sölvegatan 10, Lund, Friday 16th of September 2016 at 10.00 Faculty opponent Professor Cathy L. Costin 3 Organization Document name LUND UNIVERSITY DOCTORAL DISSERTATION Department of Human Geography and Date of issue the Human Ecology Division September 2016 Sölvegatan 10, 223 62 Lund Author(s) Sponsoring organization Ragnheiður Bogadóttir FORMAS The Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning Title and subtitle Time-space Appropriation in the Inka Empire: A Study of Imperial Metabolsim. Abstract This thesis analyzes some aspects of the appropriation of labor time and natural space in the Inka Empire (ca. AD 1400 – 1532) in order to illuminate the cultural organization of Inka imperial metabolism. Rather than understanding Inka imperialism simply as a political process with socioecological consequences, it is investigated as an ecological process organized through specific cultural categories. The Inka imperial economy is conceptualized in terms of transfers of time and space between different categories of people. The thesis thus addresses long-standing questions regarding the economic operation of the Inka Empire as well as central issues in general social theory. It demonstrates how imperial power is based on biophysical flows of embodied labor and land, organized by specific cultural permutations of reciprocity and redistribution. The thesis focuses on estimating these flows through analyses of time-space appropriation. This is done by reconstructing, on the basis of archaeological, historical and ethnographic data, the production processes of three emblematic Inka artifacts: textiles, chicha (maize beer), and stone walls. Key words: Inka Empire, time-space appropriation, ecologically unequal exchange, historical political ecology, human ecology Classification system and/or index terms (if any) Supplementary bibliographical information Language: English ISSN and key title ISBN 1403-5022 (Lund Studies in Human Ecology 15) 978-91-7623-898-1 Recipient’s notes Number of pages 198 Price Security classification I, the undersigned, being the copyright owner of the abstract of the above-mentioned dissertation, hereby grant to all reference sources permission to publish and disseminate the abstract of the above-mentioned dissertation. Signature Date 4 Time-space Appropriation in the Inka Empire A Study of Imperial Metabolism Ragnheiður Bogadóttir 5 Copyright © Ragnheiður Bogadóttir 2016 Illustration on rear cover by Kristina Anshelm Faculty of Social Sciences Department of Human Geography and the Human Ecology Division ISBN 978-91-7623-898-1 ISSN 1403-5022 Printed in Sweden by Media-Tryck, Lund University Lund 2016 6 To my parents 7 Table of Contents Acknowledgements 10 1. Introduction 13 1.1 A note on orthography and the term “Inka” 17 1.2 Overview of thesis 17 2. Theoretical framework 21 2.1 Imperialism 23 2.2 Social metabolism and Inka imperial metabolism 24 2.3 Capital accumulation in noncapitalist societies 25 2.4 Historical political ecology 26 2.5 Economic anthropology 34 2.5.1 Reciprocity and moral principles of exchange 35 2.5.2 Ideologies of reciprocity and their materialization 38 3. Methods and perspectives 43 3.1 Data and limitations 43 3.2 Time, space and energy 46 3.3 Time, space and inequality 47 3.4 Time and space in the Andes - Pacha 49 4. Tawantinsuyu, the Inka Empire 53 4.1 Reading the Inka landscape 56 4.1.1 Ritual commensality 58 4.1.2 The zeq’e system 61 4.1.3 Complementarity and dual organization 62 4.1.4 The Inka tribute and administrative system 65 4.1.5 Khipu – Inka accounting technology 69 4.1.6 The productive Andean landscape 71 4.1.7 Andean land-use zones 75 4.1.8 The Andean agropastoral landscape 75 8 4.1.9 The built landscape – Inka architecture 76 5. Case studies: textiles, chicha, and stone walls 81 5.1 A note on the generalization of standards for calculation 83 5.2 Textiles 86 5.2.1 Inka textiles in historical perspective 87 5.2.2 The role of textile in the Inka political economy 87 5.2.3 Who made the textiles? 96 5.2.4 Discussion of results 97 5.3 Chicha 99 5.3.1 Chicha in historical perspective 100 5.3.2 The role of chicha in the Inka political economy 101 5.3.3 Reciprocity, labor, and chicha in the Inka Empire 103 5.3.4 Inputs in chicha production: maize, pots, fuel, and labor 104 5.3.5 The process of chicha brewing 107 5.3.6 Who made the chicha? 122 5.3.7 Discussion of results 124 5.4 Stone walls 125 5.4.1 The Inka culture of stone 127 5.4.2 Inka walls 128 5.4.3 Inka stone masonry in historical perspective 131 5.4.4 Terrace retaining walls 132 5.4.5 Who made the walls? 134 5.4.6 Discussion of results 145 6. Inka imperial metabolism 149 6.1 Reconceptualizing time as space 149 6.2 Prehispanic Andean ecological footprints 150 6.3 Productive capacity of Andean land-use zones 159 7. Results and conclusions 165 7.1 Material footprints of Inka artifacts 165 7.2 Concluding remarks 168 8. References 171 9 Acknowledgements So many people contributed to this work in so many different yet invaluable ways which I can never duly acknowledge in these few lines. I would like to thank first the people who have been part of the Human Ecology Division at Lund University, students and staff alike, since I stumbled across my first undergraduate course in human ecology more than a decade ago and immediately realized here was the place and the knowledge I had been searching for. Some of you became dear friends, and some of you have no idea what impact you made on me. A deep gratitude goes to you all for creating places like this in the world. In this respect, and for continued support, guidance and encouragement throughout the process of thesis writing, special thanks must go to my supervisor and Head of Division Professor Alf Hornborg. Likewise to Professors Thomas Malm and Pernille Gooch who were there from the beginning, and to Professor Susan Paulson who was there for a while and made a very big impression. Abrazos amiga. A very large group of colleagues and fellow PhD students in both human ecology and other fields provided a vibrant and stimulating environment; Anders Burman, Richard Langlais, Love Eriksen, Sabina Andrén, Kenneth Hermele, Nabi Kanta Jha, Sanna Händén-Svensson, Andreas Malm, Rikard Warlenius, Martin Oulu, Gregory Pierce, Sarah Kollnig, Cheryl Sjöström, Anna Kaijser and many more. Although most of the data for this thesis was collected from either dusty library books or through bright screens, there is no source to knowledge like real life.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Monumental Architecture of Iklaina
    The Monumental Architecture of Iklaina Michael B. Cosmopoulos1 Abstract: The excavations of the Athens Archaeological Society at Iklaina have brought to light a major LH settle- ment that is identified with *a-pu2, one of the district capitals of the Mycenaean state of Pylos. One of the most striking features of the site is its monumental architecture, which includes at least two large buildings, two paved roads, a paved piazza, and massive built stone drains. The presence of this kind of monumentality outside the traditionally defined ‘palaces’, combined with other markers of advanced socio-political complexity, opens up a number of questions regard- ing the processes of the unification of the Mycenaean state of Pylos. In the present paper I review the relevant archi- tectural and stratigraphic evidence and assess its possible implications for this issue. It is concluded that the emergence of monumental architecture at Iklaina could have been initiated either by the Palace of Nestor following a peaceful annexation of Iklaina in the early Mycenaean period, or by the local Iklaina rulers following a period of continuous growth before a forced annexation in LH IIIB. Keywords: Monumentality, state formation, Mycenaean, Pylos, Iklaina Introduction The excavations at Iklaina are conducted under the auspices of the Archaeological Society at Athens.2 Over the course of nine field seasons we have unearthed a significant part of a LH settle- ment, which can be identified with *a-pu2, one of the district capitals of the Mycenaean state of Pylos.3 The site includes three general areas: residential, industrial, and administrative (marked as R, I, and A in Fig.
    [Show full text]
  • Pauline Hoggarth Phd Thesis
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by Pauline Hoggarth A dissertation presented in application for the Degree of Ph. D. in the University of St. Andrews Centre for Latin American Linguistic Studies, University of St. Andrews. June 1973 BEST CO" AVAILABLE Certificate I hereby certify that Pauline F. Hoggarth has spent nine terms engaged in research work under my direction and that she has fulfilled the conditions of the General Ordinance No. 12 (Resolution of the University Court No. 1) 1967), and that she is qualified to submit the accompanying thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. (gad.) Declaration I hereby declare that the following thesis is based on work carried out by me, that the thesis is my own composition, and that no part of it has been presented previously for a higher degree. The research was conducted in Peru, London and the Centre for Latin American Linguistic Studies, University of St. Andrews, under the direction of Mr. D. J. Gifford. (8ga") Candidate TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Preface Acknowledgements i and .... .... ." "" "" iv List of Abbreviations .... .... .... .... I. INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER ...
    [Show full text]
  • Masonry Constructions As Built Archives: an Innovative Analytical Approach to Reconstructing the Evolution of Imperial Opus Testaceum Brickwork in Rome
    Masonry Constructions as Built Archives: An Innovative Analytical Approach to Reconstructing the Evolution of Imperial Opus Testaceum Brickwork in Rome Gerold Eßer Vienna University of Technology, Austria The Colosseum, Trajan’s Market, the Baths of buil dings are to be regarded as the outcome of Caracalla and the Basilica of Maxentius: the monu- rational decisions made on the basis of economy, mental ruins of the imperial representational build- durability and functionality. Particularly in the ings mark the crystallisation points in a profound, area of important imperial public buildings, where centuries- long recasting of the appearance of the the pressure to be successful was exceptionally city of Rome (Fig. 1). The cores consist of practi- high, the conditions imposed by the market were cally indestructible opus caementitium, faced with certainly strictly observed. Large imperial buil- hard, quasi- industrially produced fired bricks. This ding projects in which often many thousands of construction method, later called opus testaceum, workers had to be organised and directed required was uniquely suited to surviving the passage of the definition and implementation of standards time. For us today, this means that we have at our applicable right across the site. To ensure the suc- disposal an extraordinary wealth of evidence for the cess of a major project these standards had to be building construction methods used in those times. laid down in series of technical regulations. The Given that even the building sites of classi- doctoral thesis on which the present paper is based cal antiquity were subject to market forces, the examined the extent to which the organisation of large building sites influenced masonry construc- tions and whether, using the characteristics of the masonry that will be defined below, this influence can be read as a regulative on the erection of the structures.
    [Show full text]
  • Seismic Performance of Rock Block Structures with Observations from the October 2006 Hawaii Earthquake
    4th International Conference on Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering June 25-28, 2007 SEISMIC PERFORMANCE OF ROCK BLOCK STRUCTURES WITH OBSERVATIONS FROM THE OCTOBER 2006 HAWAII EARTHQUAKE Edmund MEDLEY 1, Dimitrios ZEKKOS 2 ABSTRACT Unreinforced masonry construction using blocks of rock is one of the oldest forms of building, in which blocks are stacked, sometimes being mortared with various cements. Ancient civilizations used locally available rocks and cements to construct rock block columns, walls and edifices for residences, temples, fortifications and infrastructure. Monuments still exist as testaments to the high quality construction by historic cultures, despite the seismic and other potentially damaging geomechanical disturbances that threaten them. Conceptual failure modes under seismic conditions of rock block structures, observed in the field or the laboratory, are presented. A brief review is presented of the damage suffered by the culturally vital Hawaiian Pu’ukoholā and Mailekini Heiaus, rock block temples damaged by the Mw 6.7 and 6.0 earthquakes that shook the island of Hawaii on October 15, 2006. Keywords: rock block structures, Hawaii earthquakes, earthquake observations, geomechanical failures INTRODUCTION Construction of unreinforced masonry is common in various earthquake-prone regions, particularly in developing countries, and rural areas of developed countries. This vulnerable type of construction is susceptible to often devastating damage, as evident from the effects of the 2001 Bhuj, India earthquake (Murty et al. 2002), where 1,200,000 masonry buildings built primarily based on local traditional construction practices, either collapsed or were severely damaged. Buildings constructed with adobe and unreinforced masonry suffered devastating damage in the Bam, Iran 2003 earthquake (Nadim et al.
    [Show full text]
  • 99Th Annual Meeting & Centennial Celebration Of
    99TH ANNUAL MEETING & CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MAMMALOGISTS 28 JUNE-2 JULY 2019 HYATT REGENCY WASHINGTON ON CAPITOL HILL -WASHINGTON, DC- PROGRAM The 2019 American Society of Mammalogists Annual Meeting logo was designed by John Megahan. It features the African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana), which for decades has welcomed visitors to Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. The Smithsonian Institution Building (aka, The Castle) is featured in the background. 99TH ANNUAL MEETING AND CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MAMMALOGISTS 28 JUNE – 2 JULY 2019 HYATT REGENCY WASHINGTON ON CAPITOL HILL -WASHINGTON, DC- AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MAMMALOGISTS (ASM) The American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) was established in 1919 for the purpose of promoting interest in the study of mammals. AN OVERVIEW In addition to being among the most charismatic of animals, mammals are important in many disciplines from paleontology to ecology and evolution. We, of course, are mammals and thus are in the interesting position of studying ourselves in quest of a greater understanding of the role of mammals in the natural world. The ASM is currently composed of thousands of members, many of whom are professional scientists. Members of the Society have always had a strong interest in the public good, and this is reflected in their involvement in providing information for public policy, resources management, conservation, and education. The Society hosts annual meetings and maintains several publications. The flagship publication is the Journal of Mammalogy, a journal produced six times per year that accepts submissions on all aspects of mammalogy. The ASM also publishes Mammalian Species (accounts of individual species) and Special Publications (books that pertain to specific taxa or topics), and we maintain a mammal images library that contains many exceptional photographs of mammals.
    [Show full text]
  • Inspection of Concrete and Masonry Dams (FEMA Guidelines)
    Inspection of Concrete and Masonry Dams (FEMA Guidelines) Course No: G06-005 Credit: 6 PDH Allen Hughes, P.E. Continuing Education and Development, Inc. 9 Greyridge Farm Court Stony Point, NY 10980 P: (877) 322-5800 F: (877) 322-4774 [email protected] ~~---------~~ Training Aids for Dam Safety "'~~~~--~ MODULE: INSPECTION OF CONCRETE AND MASONRY DAMS "'~--------~--~--------~ Subject-MaHer-Expert Panel Ralph O. Atkinson Bureau of Reclamation, Chairman Jem ,. Chastain Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Samuel M. Huston Tennessee Valley Authority Edward Lonon Corps of Engineers ~------~ PREFACE There are presently more than 80,000 dams in use across the United States. Like any engineering works, these dams require continual care and maintenance, first to ensure that they remain operational and capable of performing all intended purposes, and then to preclude endangering people and property downstream. The safety of all dams in the United States is of considerable national, state, and local concern. Given that, the principal purpose of the TADS (Training Aids for Dam Safety) program is to enhance dam safety on a national scale. Federal agencies have responsibility for the safe operation, maintenance, and regUlation of dams under their ownership or jurisdiction. The states, other public jurisdictions, and private owners have responsibility for the safety of non-Federal dams. The safety and proper custodial care of dams can be achieved only through an awareness and acceptance of owner and operator responsibility, and through the availability of competent, well-trained engineers, geologists, technicians, and operators. Such awareness and expertise are best attained and maintained through effective training in dam safety teChnology. Accordingly, an ad hoc Interagency Steering Committee was established to address ways to overcome the paucity of good dam safety training materials.
    [Show full text]
  • Compressed Earth Blocks: Manual of Design and Construction
    COMPRESSED EARTH BLOCKS: MANUAL OF DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION by Hubert Guillaud, Thierry Joffroy, Pascal Odul, CRATerre- EAG Volume II. Manual of design and construction A Publication of the Deutsches Zentrum für Entwicklungstechnologien - GATE in: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH in coordination with BASIN - 1985 Scientific supervision: Patrice Doat, teaching architect; Hubert Guillaud, research engineer Authors: Hubert Guillaud, research architect; Pascal Odul, engineer architect; Thierry Joffroy, architect Illustrations: Oscar Salazar, architect; Patrick Idelman, draughtsman Documentation: Marie-France Ruault Format: Régine Rivière English Translation: Claire Norton Publishing coordination: Titane Galer © Photographs CRATerre-EAG: Dario Abgulo, Patrice Doat, Sébastien d’Ornano, Hubert Guillaud, Hugo Houben, Thierry Joffroy, Serge Maïni, Pascal Odul, Vincent Rigassi and additional assistance from: Sylvian Arnoux, Patrick Bolle, Anne-Sophie Clémençon, Christian Lignon, Christophe Magnée, Philippe Romagnolo, Olivier Scherrer © Drawings: CRATerre-EAG Cover photograph (Fig. 1): Rented house, Mayotte, Built by SIM. Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufnahme Compressed earth blocks: A publication of Deutsches Zentrum für Entwicklungstechnologien - GATE, a division of the Deutsche Gessellshaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH in coordination with the Building Advisory Service and Information Network - BASIN / (Engl. Transl.: Claire Norton). - Braunschweig: Vieweg. NE: Norton, Claire (Übers.); Deutsches Zentrum für Entwicklungstechnologien <Eschborn> Vol. 2. Manual of design and construction / Hubert Guillaud… (III.: Oscar Salazar; Patrick Idelman). - 1995 ISBN 3-528-02080-6 NE: Guillaud, Hubert With the help of Architectural Research staff of the Department of Architecture and Urbanism (Direction de l’Architecture et de l’Urbanisme - DAU) du Ministère de l’Equipment, du Logement et des Transports All rights reserved © Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH, Eschborn 1995 Published by Friedr.
    [Show full text]
  • CMS Pre-COP12
    Regional Preparatory Meeting for the 12th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) for Latin America and the Caribbean 18th – 20th July 2017 Hotel Calacoto, La Paz, Bolivia WORKSHOP REPORT Hanah AI-Samaraie February 2018 Contents 1. Workshop introduction ................................................................................................... 2 2. Workshop venue and programme ................................................................................. 2 3. Workshop participants ................................................................................................... 2 4. Workshop opening and resume ..................................................................................... 2 5. Workshop account ......................................................................................................... 3 6. Evaluation ..................................................................................................................... 9 7. Annexes ...................................................................................................................... 11 The European Commission were recognized as Champion Plus for their generous support and commitment towards Building Capacity for Migratory Species Conservation for the period 2015-2018. This activity has been funded with the contribution granted by the European Commission under the Migratory Species Champion Programme and through the Global Public Goods and Challenges (GPGC Programme) Cooperation Agreements with
    [Show full text]
  • Excavations at Kommos (Crete)
    EXCAVATIONSAT KOMMOS (CRETE)DURING 1976 (PLATES 49-55) JD URING eight weeks of the summerof 1976 excavationswere initiated at the prehistoric Minoan site of Kommos, situated along the shore of the Messara Plain bordering the Libyan Sea (P1. 49: a).1 The chief archaeological aim of the 1 The excavations at Kommos are being carried out by the University of Toronto and the Royal Ontario Museum under the auspices of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. The cooperation and help of the Greek Antiquities Service, especially that of the late Dr. Nicholaos Kondoleon and of Dr. Dimitrios Lazarides, former and present directors of the Service, is most appreciated. The advice and support of Dr. Stylianos Alexiou, Ephor of Crete and Director of the Archaeological Museum of Herakleion, was especially crucial from the earliest stages of the excavation. Generous financial support for the initial stages of the project has been supplied by the chief sponsoring institutions and the Canada Council (Grants S 74-0460 and 1930), as well as the SCM Corporation of New York. Other corporations (Kodak Canada, Ltd.; Keuffel and Esser of Canada; Olivetti Canada, Ltd.; Polaroid Corporation of America; Staedtler-Mars, Ltd.) provided much-needed drafting, photographic, and office equipment. Individual help and encourage- nment,especially that of Leon Pomerance (in cooperation with the American Institute of Nautical Archaeology), Mrs. Edgar Stone, Luther Replogle, and Rue Shaw, have been most appreciated. The staff for the first season consisted of the director, The University of Toronto and The Royal Ontario Museum; Professor Philip Betancourt, Temple University; Professor L.
    [Show full text]
  • Fabrication Methods of the Polygonal Masonry of Large Stone Blocks with Fitted Curved Surfaces in Megalithic Structures of Peru Rostislav V
    Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 3 August 2021 doi:10.20944/preprints202108.0087.v1 Fabrication methods of the polygonal masonry of large stone blocks with fitted curved surfaces in megalithic structures of Peru Rostislav V. Lapshin, Ph. D. Institute of Physical Problems Zelenograd, Russian Federation E-mail: [email protected] The article suggests methods that allow creating the most complicated type of polygonal masonry found in Peru. This masonry consists of large stone blocks weighing from several hundred kilograms to several tons fitted close to each other almost without a gap between complicated curved surfaces of large area. The work provides a brief description of techniques, which apparently were used by builders who arrived from Europe. The techniques under discussion are based on the use of a reduced clay model, 3D- pantograph and replicas. The use of a reduced clay model and a pantograph provides not only the unique appearance and high quality of masonry with large blocks, but also allows to significantly in- crease the productivity of the builders. As the pantograph designed to work with three-dimensional ob- jects has been known since the 18th century, the constructions under consideration should be dated by that and later time. The remaining simpler types of polygonal masonry with smaller stones or fitted sur- faces are almost flat, or stones contact with each other by a small area, or there are significant gaps be- tween stones, are quite consistent with the well-known methods of stone processing of those and earlier years, and, therefore, they do not require any additional explanations.
    [Show full text]
  • (Abstracts from the Edition of the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation:ALCESTIS PAPADIMITRIOU, MYCENAE. 2015) Tran
    MYCENAE (Abstracts from the edition of the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation:ALCESTIS PAPADIMITRIOU, MYCENAE. 2015) Translation: Deborah Kazazis) THE LANDSCAPE More than any other factor, location must have determined the fortunes of Mycenae: located at the northeastern termination of the ever-fertile plain of Argos, it abutted the sea on the south, was protected by the mountain ranges of Arachnaion on the east and Artemision on the west, and lay atop a low elevation which the opening of the mountains to its north. Homer (Od. 3.263) placed the kingdom of Agamemnon “in the heart of Argos” (“µυχῷ Ἄργεος ἱπποβότοιο”), and it was as if he saw it in the shadow of the steep hills of Prophetes Elias and Zara, which like horns of consecration protected it to north and south, while the two deep ravines of Kokoretsa and Havos made it impregnable. Before the Cyclopes crowned it with its emblematic walls, this isolated piece of land, which rose 278 meters above sea level and was accessible only from the west, would have been almost invisible, appearing only to those passersby who approached it. From the summit of the acropolis, there was an unobstructed view only in the direction of Argos and the southwestern part of the plain. However, if one climbed up to the natural observatory on Prophetes Elias, they had a clear view in every direction and could mark out their kingdom at sight. Man’s choice of this location was not only dictated by its location near the main land passage from Korinthia to the Argolic plain and sea.
    [Show full text]
  • PLATAIAI I N BOIOTIA Pages 28I-320 a PRELIMINARY REPORT of THE
    HESPERIA 72 (2003) PLATAIAI I N BOIOTIA Pages 28I-320 A PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE I996 200I CAMPAIGNS AB STRACT Recentresearch at Plataiai in southernBoiotia by the Plataiai Research Project (1996-2001)has addedsubstantially to our knowledgeof the site'shistory. Inhabitedsince the Neolithicperiod, Plataiai was protected by fortifications fromthe early5th centuryB.C. onward.Under the aegisof KingPhilip 11 the settlementarea was greatlyenlarged. The circuitwall was shortenedby the insertionof a diateichismaduring Hellenistic times, and the citylaidout along an orthogonalgrid. The settlementremained in this formuntil Late Roman timeswhen a newfortification wall again constricted the perimeter. Occupa- tion continueduntil medieval times, when Plataiai was abandoned, replaced by two smallervillages nearby. The battleof Plataiai,one of the mostpivotal and decisive military en- gagementsln. anequlty,. conanues . to craw attenhon . ln. popu.bar accounts aswell as morescholarly treatises on the ancientworld.l Various assump- tionsand a wealthof speculativecommentary exist on the battlein gen- eraland, more specifically, the reconstructionof the difficulttopography in whichit tookplace. The latteris complicatedby the almostcomplete lossof the historicaland natural markers mentioned by Herodotosin his narrationof the eventsof 479 s.c.2A preoccupationwith the battleand the defeatof the Persianforces under Mardonios has overshadowed the 1. The followingorganizations Precision/Trimble,Vienna, for lending Fundingwas provided by the Greek andindividuals
    [Show full text]