THE KNOSSOS OXEN DOSSIER THE USE OF OXEN IN MYCENAEAN CRETE. PARTI:GENERALBACKGROUND AND SCRIBE I07*
1. Introduction
AL Lh e fifth internaL io nal Mycenological Co ll oquium in Sa la ma nca, Louis Godart wrote lhal his work with a set of P y los Lexls dea ling wilh the m a nagement of li vrst ock in Bro nze Age Messenia (Cn set : Cn 655 ; Cn 40 , Cn 45 , Cn 254, Cn 599, Cn 600 , Cn 643 , Cn 719 ; Cn 131 ) led him Lo write his fundamental article on the mixed li vestock series (Co) fro m Knossos 1. fn particul a r Goda rt was led fro m the two provin ces of a main land pa latia l te rri to ry to t he western a nd central regions of M:,cenaea n Crete by Lhe commo n eco no mic vocabulary o f these tablets (a-ko-rn, a-ke-re, a-ko-ra-ju, a-lw-r·a-jo) a nd the co mpa rable ad minisl raLive procedures t hat th is sha red vocabu la ry implied . Twe 11L y yea rs later l am tracin g the same route for similar reasons. Wha l is different is m y focus : n ot administra tive te rminology a nd econo mic procedures pel' se , but o ne specia l a nimal , domestic cattle, bas 2. In this paper I cont inue m y deta il ed study of refere nrrs to oxen in the Linear B texts in order lo unde rstand how t hey were m a naged a nd used in the
(*) I use t he foll owing sta nda rd a bbrevi a tio ns : ASSA : Aegean Seals, Seatings and Adminislralion (Th . G. PALA DI A ed . = Aegaeum 5 (1990)): lvll\1£: W . A . MA C D ONA LD & G. RAPP , Jr., The .Wi1111 esola M essenia F::rp edilion (1972); f> erspeclives: Th. G. PAI. A I MA , «Perspectives on the Py los Oxen TablPls: Textua l (and Archaeologica l) Evid ence for t he Use a nd Management of Oxen in Late Rronze Age Messenia (a nd Crete)•> , S /udia Myrenaea (1988) , p. 85- 124; HCTK : .J. DRIESSEN , The I-l oom of /h e Chariot T ab/els al Knossos. ln/erdisciplinary Approach lo /h e S /wiy of a Linear n Deposit (Dissertatio n h: alholi eke UniversiLeil Le uven, 1989). (1) L. Go DART. ,, Les tableLtes de la Seri P Co de Cnossos,,. Ac/a :Hycenaea , p. 4 18--124. (2) In o r ra la lia l rronomi cs of d ifferent Myce nara 11 Lcrritori cs. In Lh is oren i11 g sect ion I sha ll d isc uss four in terrelaLed poinLs which a ff ect our in Le rpretaLion of the Knossos oxen documenLs : ge nera l background ; reaso ns for sLudy in g Lhcse texLs; iniLi al assumptions; and limil a Lio11 s of 1h r daLa. 1a. General background n eferences to oxen on main la nd texLs have rece ntly bee n expanded by the sudden double publi caLi on of t he Thebes sea lings 3 . These sca lin gs see m Lo be connec Lcd wit h Lh e rnovemenL (a nd subsequenL temporary mainLe nance) of li vest oc k from Euboea a nd 4 ouUy ing a reas of Roeotia Lo Lh e environs of Lh e citadel of Thebes • The two sea lin gs wh ich refer to oxen belong Lo large r seLs of sca lings (defin ed by sea l-impression : Wu 53 [':19~'"] 5 and sea l r ; Wu 76 [Bos'] a nd sea l C) that co ntain information approrriate to such orrrations Wu 53 .IX l_l(_)~"' supm siyillu m F [;1) -~ giH\'-<.> .y 1-n -.1 a .a. ~1 9'?"' corrcrlt'd from l.l9'?'· Wu 76 .a. IJOS1 wpru sigi/111,n C [fi] -~ 1 a-t'-n -qo .~2 voca l .y 0-p,1 * 171 :30 Two of t he fi ve sea lin gs impressed by sea l F describe sus + S I as a-lw-ra-jo. All of Lh e fiv e sca li ngs impressed by seal C (including Wu 76) and one of Lh e two sca lin gs im pressed by sea l J li nk Lhe animals (CAP', CA P"' , uos', sus') wit h *177 (mosL likely some (:1) V. AR AVANTINOS, ,, The Mycenat•an l nsrribed SPa lings fro m Thebes: P rob lem s of ConlPnl a nd function,,, ASSA. p. 14~)- 174 , pl. :\:\111-:\:XI V ; Chr. P 1rnnos . .J.-P . 01.1v 1En & .J. L. MELENA . ,, Lf's in scriptions en li neai re H d es nodu les de Th/.hes (H)82) : la fouille , les documents, Jes possibilites d 'inl t>rp relalio n ,, , BC ff 104 (1990). p . 103- 184. S ince I.h e RC /I versio n is more widely accessihlP and follows Llw format o f a n editio princeps by presenting proper transcriptio ns a long wit h photographs a nd/or drawings, I re fPr ma inl y t.o it.s readings a nd a na lysis of the tex t.s, un less noted by (A). R eaders should hew~1re I.hat Lhe I.ext numbers assigned lo Lh e sea lings by t he (A) a nd BC/I editions diffe r from Wu 81 onwa rd , since Lhe RC/I edit.ors d PI.Pded veslig ia on TII M 9944 , which (A) cons ide red agraphon. Consequenll y [A) Wu 81-98 = RC/-/ Wu 82-99. Th te desig11-,Li ons or sea l designs likewise a re not. coord inaled , i.e., Lhe HC /1 lelters do no t. correspond to the (A) numbers : e.g., BC // seal F = [A) sea l ',)' It is regn· lta ble Lhal, such pol ent.ial so urces o r co nfusion could nol have hPe n avoided by drawing upon t he cooperative spirit wh ich has preva il ed in My cenaean studies from (;if o nwa rd , particula rl y beca use I.h e Lii hular presenta tion o f the inscriptions in (A] is extremely useful. (·1) HC// 104 ( 1990). p. 153- 155 , 18:3- 184 wilh re ferences. (5) The r1eadi ng of m a le ox he re , a lthough dot.Led, is reinforced hy conlext. a nd by I.h e non-existence or a ny pla usible a lternative interpret.at.ion of the inscription on f;l("e .rx . THE K NOSSOS OXE!\ DOSSIF.R 46:'i t ype of fodder recorded in quanlilies o f 30-36 unils) 6 a nd/or t he transactiona l Lerm o-pa. Scalings from olhei· scLs contain expli cit reli gious vocabul a ry (Wu 44 [i-j e-r-a ] sea l A; Wu 86 a nd Wu 87 [i-je-ro] sea l U). O n Lhe basis of compa randa (mainly PY Un 2 a nd Un 138), Lhc BCH edito rs have advanced t he t heory tha t this co ll eclion of 56 inscribed sea lings records t he con t ri bu tio ns o f single a n i m a Is from vari ous locations and unde r va rious terms o f o bligatio n for a re li gious ceremony (inc luding sacrifi ce of Lh c animals) at 7 t he palatial cente r of Thebes • Jf Lhis interpretatio n is correct, Lh e new Thebes references would be consist ent w ith the clea r reli gious a nd sacrifi cia l associations of oxen i11 Mycenaea n iconography a nd in a II e ig ht P y los tablets t hat refe r Lo t he a nima Is d irecLl y 8 . Secula r uses of oxen o n Lh e mainland a re suggested only by re ferences to oxherds. TI Ef 2 links qo-u-ko-ro wiLh la ndholding (DA 1 a nd GR A 6 o n Ef 2 and the Lcrm k e- ke- m e[ o n 9 Ef 3 from Lh e same seri es and archaeologica l conLext) . At Py los, fi ve tablets of t he Ea series link qo-u-ko-r-o w ith ki-li-me-na la nd a nd qo-qo-la with ke-ke-m e-na la nd IO_ The unfortunaLcl~1 fragmentary document An 830 [+I 907 regist ers four large groups o f qo-u ko-ro (al lcasL 204 tota l) in a reas of grazing lowla nds in both provinces of Mcssenia. Ea rlier sections of Lhi s tablet refer Lo la ndholdings : ke-k e- m e- n o a nd DA 30 a nd 50. A grea ter hinL o f Lh e use of oxen for la bor is furnished by PY table ts An 18, An 852 and perhaps Nn 831 u . On An 18, 90 qo-u-ko-ro are li sted at t he siLc of Li-no wh il e previous sect io ns of the tablet record indiv idual lo-ko-do-mo a nd le-ko-lo-na-pe. The associatio n between qo-u-ko-ro a nd le-k o- lo-na-pe is repealed o n An 852 in connection wiLh a place name, a fo rm of whic h recurs on An 18. PY Nn 831 li sts qo-u-lw-ro a long with other occupationa l (po-me-ne, ka-ke-u[) a nd o ffi cia l (e-re-e-u , ko-re-le) desig nations in Lhe conLexL of fl ax contributions at the site of lw-ri-lo. I have a rgued Lhat this evidence suggests t hat oxherds controlled anima ls in specifi c breeding a nd g razing zones a nd t hat Lhcy may a lso have been in volved in using Lh e an im a ls as a source of power in agri culture, flax g rowing a nd building operatio ns. The growth in populatio n , seLLl e ments a nd intensive exploita t ion o f natura l resources in the Lil IIIB period would have m ade il necessa ry for the central a uthorities in Messenia lo control Lhese im portant a nima ls very carefull y 12 . (6) RCI/ 10-1 (1\J\JO), p. 16;!- 163, reasonably explains t he nurnher of uni ts as corresponding In the number of days for which fodd er has bee n prnvid 1c d . IL is surprisin g Uwl no absolute quantity is registered for I.h e fodd er supplied t o a ninwls with sud1 wid ely va ry in g food need s. If the sealings were m a nufactured al the pl ace of ori gin of lh 1c an ima ls, one must imagine tha t those responsible for sending t he a nimals estima ted in ;idvanee how muc h fodd er (30 or 36 d ays' worth) would lrnve been needed Lo maintain the ,rnimals afte r t hey had arrind al t heir destination. The respo ns ible administrator(s) at Thebes woul d then have had Lo judge whelher tllP actual quantit y of fodder furnished by the senders was su ff icient for t he goats, ox and pig respective ly. If this is a correct int erpreta tion, then we might conclu de that th 1c pig on Wu 59 was supposerl to a rri ve al Thebes 6 da ys befo re t he other foddered a nima ls. (7) RC/I 104 ( l \-!90), p. 171 - 184. In m y opinion. t he inclu sion o f sus + S / and t he low p roportion of oxen lo sheep. p igs and goal s arP st rong points in favor o f t he id ea that t he a nima ls a t IPasl were Lo be consumed. It is reasonable to assume that. the information on the ind ividual sea lings, in clu ding t he personal ide ntifica t ions communicated by the impressed sea l desig ns, wou ld event ua ll y have been transff'rred . if necess,1 ry, t.o lea f shaped Lab let.s or single ent ri es 0 11 (a) page-shaped t.ab let(s). (8) Perspectives, p. 97 (b ri e f iconographi enl survey wit.h further re ferences) a nd p. 110 el passim (d iscussio n of reli gious tex ts) . (\3) L. GonART & J.-P. Ouv1ER, « :'1/ouvea ux Lex t es en lineai rc R de Tiry nthe•>, Tiryns V I 11 ( 1\.!75). p. 43- 50 , pl. -1 1. (IO) Perspeclives. p. 100 and p. 123. (11 ) T he An and Nn t.exts a rc coll ected and more full y discussed in Perspeclivtis, p. 100- 10:3 a nd p. 122- 124. (12) Perspeclives, p. \-!9 - 10:1 a nd p. 11 0- 11 5 . 4GG THOMA S G . PALA IM A [llC/1 Suppl XXV 1b. Reasons for studying the Knossos oxen dossier These are simply d e fin ed. I w ish to a na ly ze t he in te rests in oxen d isplayed by the scriba l a nd economic adm inisLr a Lion aL Mycenaean Knossos from t he com parative pe rspect ive o f the mainland data. le. Initial assumptions and limitations of the data I assume that Lh e Knossos LexLs will document som e o f Lhe sa m e genera l re li gio us a nd secula r in LeresLs in oxen. I lowever, Lh e s pecifi c nature o f such interest s should be som ewhat d ifferent fo r interconnected histori cal, chrono logical a nd geographi cal reasons . In CreLe we have a doc umenta ry background from which to inter pret the Linea r B evid ence. Although in Lhe Linea r A in scriptio ns ideographic re fe re nces Lo li vestock - in clu d in g sheep wh ic h were so im portant Lo the hig hly d eve loped Cretan cloth-production in dustry o f the Mycenaea n period - a rc surprising ly few 13 , oxen are attested id eographica ll y on tablets from H agia Triada (sos"' on HT 30.4.5, HT 114a.3, HT 121.3) and l ( 13) S igns AR 21. 2Jf and 21"' (= ov ,s. ov1s', a nd ov1s"') occur as cerlain id eograms o n a mere 7 Lahle l.s a nd :3 roundels from ll agici Triada , h:lt ania , Pha islos a nd Zakro . S ig ns AR 22. 22f, a nd 22"' (= CAP , CAP', and CAP"') a re a llesled as certain ideograms on only 5 lablels and 2 roundels al lhe sit.es of H agia Triada, l ( 17) See t hf' Land Use m a p o pposile p. 572 in L. G. A 1.1 .RAUG H. Cre/i>: A Case S tudy of cm [; nderrJ,,v,,lo1m l Area (1\:l53). See a lso the com m e nls on the nalu ra l resources o f the regio n o f l(ha nia-Apte rn i11 I.. G o nAfn. « :'lluovi rilrova m e nti ne ll 'epa rc hia di Amari», Ri1JF'il 111 (198:3) , p. 258-2:'i~J, :i nd Lh e genera l stale rn e nt by J. T . K 11.1. EN. << The Knossos Tex l s a nd lhe Geogra phy of Cn, t.e », Mytena1'a11 Geography. p . 42. (18) E. ll AL I.A GE R, /\SSA , p. 127. p. 13 1- 13:1. Again Gourni:i is situated a lo ng lhe coast a nd 11 ear the fe rlile le rrilo r~' helween thP Gu lf of Me rabello a nd lhe sile of le rapelra. ( 19) J.-P . 0 1.1v1ER , ,,St.ru clure d es arch ives pa lalia les e n lineaire A el Pn lineaire B,,, V .s y sleme palatial en Orient. en Grece el u Rome (E. LI':vv ed. , 1\:l86), p. 2:30-231. (20) This is a commo n t;,ct.ic used in I.h e lakeover of 0 11 e culture b~· a 11o t he r . The exa111plP o f Pto le m a ic Egypl is carefull y a na ly zed by A. SA \t lJ EL. ,, The Plo lemies a11d l he ldPo log~' of l~ingship •> . llel/enislic llislory and Cu/lure (P. GHE EN ed. , forth coming). --ffi8 TH0\1A S G . PALAIMA [B C/-/ Suppl XXV ex ra Yalions 21 . T opony mic sludics prove Lhal Knossos was at least in conlacl wilh sites in lh C' western two-thirds o f the isla nd , even Lh o ugh scho la rs still d e bate Lhc d egree o f con Lro l Knossos exercised over sites beyond iLs i m m ediate territory a nd t he precise nalurr o f Knossia n extra-regiona l in terests 22 . The second reason why Lhe evidence provid ed by the Cretan Linea r B t exts should be different is chro 11 o logy. I accept J . Driessen 's recent mult i-disciplinary d emonstration t hat t he Room o f Lh c Chariot T ablets m ateria l is to be dated to Lhc end o f LM II , a nd I th ink t hat at lea sL som e o f Lh e re maining tablets must be assigned Lo Lh e destruction lha l is now daled L M 111 !\2 ea rl y 23 . This will be m y working assumptio n in exa mining 24 I hr oxen Lex Ls . S i nee Lh e rn a i n land ma Leri a I o f concern to us dates L M 11113 (Tiry ns), LM I I II3 l (Thebes) and before, at o r a ftcr Lh c e nd o f LM I I 1B (P y los), we ha vc Lo a ll ow for changes in system s o f control a nd adrninisL raL ivc practices over a peri od o f o ne Lo Lwo 24 centuries ". Of coursr, a clever advocalus diaboli will a lso point ouL Lh e inhcrc 11 L circulariL,v Lhal Lhi s chrono logica l spread revea ls in my discussion o f po int number o ne. IL rn ay we ll be that som e o f t he c hi e f features o f Mycenaean adminisil'alion were fi xed during the earli er peri od o f the Mycenaean takeove r o f Crete a nd then transferred Lo the g rowing pa latia l econom ies o n the m a inland . Still Lh e underl ying o rganization o f Messenian society a nd econom y and ils loca ll y d evelo ped political hi erarch y wo uld require som e different techniques of centralized con t rol. In a ny even t. the ch ronologica l s plit in t he I< nossos a rch i vcs p rcvrn ts us from having Lhc << frceze-fra m e» v iew o f oxen managem en t that we have aL Lh e indiv idua l mainla nd sites. 2. The Knossos oxen dossier A n exhaustive discussion of all the m ateri a l is beyond m y scope. I sha ll concentrate 111 this paper mainly on Lhc work of a sin g le scribe (Scri be 107) as a d emonsLra Li o n o f Lh e problem s inheren t in inlerprcL in g so het erogeneous a dossie r. I sha ll d ea l wilh o ther Lexts w hr n Lhey offer information t ha L is useful in in terpreting Lh e Scribe 107 texts. Such an ('.2 1) Es pecia l!~· b~· l he disconr~· of Linea r 13 lable l,; in ,; un,me r 1989 a nd 1990. KH Sq 1 li st s 10 + pairs o f cl1i1ri ol wheels: E. II ALLA GE n. M. V1.A SAi,; 1s & R . P. II ALI. AGER . «The first Linea r R T a hle t(s) fron, l~ha ni a», l,r, r/111 0~ 29 ( 1990), p . 2-4-:12 . SPP also now /{admos :3 1 ( l !J!J2), p. 6 1-87. (22) T lw m a jor iss11 Ps in the sc ho larly d e bate concerning l he contro l a nd o rga ni zation o f LM 111 Crr t r a rP discussed by Th. G. PALADtA. « Insc ribed Stirrup .J ars a nd Regio ,w li srn in Linea r R CreLP.», SME!I 25 ( 1~84), p. 18~J-20:I, a nd m ore recently a nd comprehe nsive ly by II . W. II As i,;ic:1.1. , ,, LM Ill l{nossos: E v id e ncfl Fl flyo nd the Palace,,. SME/1 27 ( 198~)) , p. 8 1- 110. I t hink t hat lhe discovery of Line.Jr R texts at 11:lrnn ia hy o ffe ring furl he r proof o f the a d mi 11i stn1 Li ve impo rt a nee of the s ite le nds add i t io na I s upport lo t h e view sh ared by ll a,ke ll and myself that. 11:n ossos had o nly selective inte rest s in te rrit ori es o ut.side its own cen tra l regio 11. On 11:h a nia 's inte rre la tio ns with 11:n ossos and it s st atus in the LM 11 IB pniod , see H .HLAGER , l 2.1. Scribe 107 : oxen tablets, find-spots, other tablets 25 Sc ribl:' 107 : - Co 903 / Co 904 + 8008 / Co 906 / Co 909 + 71 33 + 78:35 + fr. (Co 8347) / Co 910 (Co 7056) / C(l) 901 + 7661 + 8049 / C(l) 989 + 5744 + 7997 / C(l) 5544 / C(l) 5753 + 7046 + 7630 / Ma inl y fro m Area 13 (A rca of Rull Reli ef); C(l) 989 + 5744 + 7997 perhaps from 12 (S piral Co rnice Room). Scribe 107 is a lso responsible for two (?) personnel tablets [B 798 a nd 8(1) 809 (?)] a nd a new lablel fragment C(l) 9666. Scribe 107 is conside red by Shelmerdine a semi-specia lized scribe, beca use she correctl y sees the likely association o f the two B- seri es records of personal names with Lh e scribe 's C- and Co seri es Ii vesLock Lex Ls 26 . Th is ca utious in Lerpreta tion is fu rLh e r· supported by Killen 's suggestion that the long li sL B 798 constitutes a catalogue of co ll ectors 27 . The li vestock texts of Scribe l 07 Lh en are concerned wiLh a higher level (e it her co mple tely major-lopony mic or importa nt perso nnel) of adm inisLraLiv e activ ity. All the li vestock LexLs make re ference lo oxen . The Co l exts refer to small numbers o f male a nd female oxen (Lh e proportions a re 2:4 and 2:10 on the two tablets where Lh e fi gures a re exLanL) as fin a l enlries a fter la rger numbers o f both sexes of sheep, goals a nd pi gs are recorded in bookkee ping slots on each tablet. On Co 906 Lh e bookkeeping nature of e nlries induced the scribe Lo write a nd then erase the id eogram BOS"' whic h proved unnecessa ry for Lhis table t and iLs final entry of onl y 6 female oxen (ratio 0:6). The Loponyms ka-La-ra-i (Co 906) a nd o-Jdu-ru-wo (Co 910) are associated elsewhere on tablet V(2) 145 (w here the toponym is spe ll ed spell ed u-du-rn-wo) 28 from the Room of Lh e Cha riot T ablets by scribe Fred whose other Lexls a re of the Sc seri es. The anima ls on these Labl els a re designaled as a-ko-ra-j o afle r Lh e majuscul e heading words whic h are major Lo pony ms in western CreLe 29 . The four oxen tablets of class C(l) are more vari ed in nalure. Whal Lhe y have rn common is that they li st onl y oxen a nd Lh ey do so in the three preserved instances rn (25) In this section I a m rely in g on three trea tme nts o f the scribal orga nization of the l co nnection wiLh t he im porLant toponyms lw-do-ni-ja and ko- no-so-de and Lhe li krly (?) toponym e-wo-la-de 29". IL is importanL Lo observe the variaL ion beLw een Lh e a ll aL ive and non-a ll aL ive forms of Lhe Lopony ms because this va ri ation implies at least differenL aspecLs of the same record-kee ping La sk : management of animals al a particul ar locaLion 1Js. a ll oca tion of anima ls lo a particul ar loca Li on. The hi gh number on C(l) 5544 (a possibl e LoLa llin g documenL) reinforces Lh is impression of adm ini sLraLive variety. OLherwise Lhe enLri es vary signifi ca nLl y in numbers. BO S'" 9 1 alone is preserved on C(l) 5544, wh il e Lh e range of other enLr ies is Bo s' 5- 14-20 a nd BO S"' 8 Lo Lhe presumed LoLa llin g fi gure BO S"' \:J I. An unusua l id eographi c usage occurs in C(l) 901 + 7661 + 8049 where Lh e enLry 2 BO S' 20 is fo ll owed by la BO S l . The standard in terpretation (Documenls , p. 583) views la here as a descriptive designation : an a bbreviation of Lh e Gree k word lauros 30 . But Lh en Lhe use of the unse xed id eogram is very odd, unless Scribe 107 viewed Lh e sex-marks as redundanL after stipulaL in g t haL this a nima l wa s a bu ll . The use of t hi s specia l adjuncL re ference al least should im ply a difference between Lh e la animal and Lh e normal male oxen Ii sled on the Lex Ls, especia ll y if we group C(l) 901 + 7661 + 8049 LogeLh er wiLh C(l) 5753 + 7046 + 7630 based on Lh eir clea rly para ll el strucLures : TOPONYM in a ll a ti ve form / BO S' / BOS"'. Only Lh e annoyin gly different ratios of fema le oxen to Lh e ma le a nd la oxen (5 :8 vs. 20: I) preven L such an associaL ion from being ce rLa in , beca use Lh e differenL ratios mi ght imply different acLiviLi es or fun cL ions for t he animals. For example, such a harsh reversal of proporLi on is in consisLent with the es Labli shed proportional paLLe rns in the definiLely unified Co set. Return in g to t he adjuncL la, if it is co rrectl y interpreLed as lauros , such excepLional lrealmenL perhaps indica Les that th is sin gle anima l is a breeding bull bein g co nsigned along with Lh e 20 fema le oxen Lo e-wo-la, a siLe or << fesLiv a l •>. However, iL is remotely possible - and co mpletely unprovable given the paucit y of data - thaL Lh e la has Lh e sa me va lu e iL does on the mainland Co shee p Lab lets and LhaL it makes reference to a la-lo-mo anima l, i. e., one which is to be drawn from or assigned to a slead location rather t ha n from or Lo Lhe grazin g areas of the co ll ec tor fl ocks and sherds. Support in g t hi s lin e of interpretation is the difference in adm inisLrative staLus of Lh e Lopo nyms in volved : ku-do-ni-ja and ko-no-so bein g major ce nters, whil e e-wo-la occurs as a possibl e toponym onl y here 31 and t hus mi ght be an (29a) .J . T. l(illen in a leclure al PASP in April , 1!:J~)2 proposed to int.erpreL e-wo-la-de as <•t.o Lh e [esLiva l » (later Greek copT-iJ). This o[fers in triguing a lternatives Lo Lhe int erpretations of thP Knossos C(l) tablPls presented here. (30) The fad Llrnt. la has two reasona ble Greek interpretations is significa nt. For both here and in LhP Cn seri es, t he descriptive te rminology for these important a nimals is drawn from lhe la ng uage o f Lhe controlling administrators, Lh e Mycenaea n Greeks. One m igh t contrast Lhe situation in the major cloth produclio n industry wh ere some of the descriptive liga tures for cloth a re co mmon lo both Linear A a nd Linear Fl and have no probable Greek explanatio n. See, however, the seconda ry qua lif ication /a -ra-m e-/o whic h, a long with [• ]- mo, is recorded with e nt ri es o f wo rke r oxen on a n RCT tablet Ce 59. n ocumenls 2 , p. 438, proposes t hat la-ra-me-lo might be a ma n's na me, H reasonable suggesti on given the occurrence o f sin gle toponyms wit h each o f the fi ve we-ka-/a oxen e ntries on the t wo sid es of t he tablet. But sin ce /a -ra-m e-/o cannot be co r111 ecled with a clea r Greek name, it is possible that it a nd [• ]-mo a re desc riptive terms (perhaps Min oa n , consid ering the ea rl y da te of the RCT deposit : cf. supra n. 28 whe re Scribe Fred [rom the RCT preserves a <, Minoa n •> spelling of a lopony m) modifying t he a nima ls. (3 1) On 8 806 .3 , it is more probable, given the context , to restore ]-wo-/a as a personal name . In t he Sc series (Sc 8271 : e-wo[), t he exta nt entries on t he rectos are personal names rather t ha n topon yms. On Xd 7547.2a, t he latest reading is q-wo-la[. On Xd 119, the apparatus proposes eit her e-,pq( or e-/q[. 199:2] TH E K NOSSOS OXEN DOSS I F.H 47 1 otherwise obscure < I. Co a-ko-ra -ja/-jo tablets possibl y toget her with t he two 8 co ll ector li sts. 2. C(l) 901 + 7661 + 8049 a nd C(I) 5753 + 7046 + 7630, keepin g in mind t he above-mentioned provisos . 3 . C(l) 989 + 5744 + 7997 which has a slim cha nce of being a preliminary text for Co 904 + 8008, where t he number of sos"' (a nd nos') arc missing. IL wou ld not be an ident ica l preli m in ary text, but one which prov ided supplementa ry or partial information a nd represented the information-gathering process lhat lay behind the final figures in t he Co texts. 4. C(l) 5544 which is a possible totalling tablet. 5. C(l) 9666 possibl y preliminary a lso , dea ling with sus. The scribe remains semi-specia lized b y S helmerdine's defin it io n , a nd hi s assignme nLs a re g iven coherence by the genera l subject of <•co ll ecLor >> li vesLock a nd the fact LhaL Lhe adm inistrative level is toponymic where iL can be d et ermined . Aga in Lo avoid possible mista ke n assumptions a L Lh is prima ry level o f ana lysis, we m usL strike Driessen 's assertio n (RCTK, p. 338-339) LhaL o n C(I)5753 <• eight working ox en a re booked as being sent (fr om Khania ?) Lo Knossos,> [italics mine]. W e do noL know , even conjectura ll y, Lh e point o f ori g in of t hese a nimals : wa-lo , ka-la-ra, a-pa-la-wa, o- /u-du-ru-wo or even som e unspecifi ed site in the west ern (o r even the Knossia n : null re ference imply ing proximate location) dis Lri cL a re equa ll y like ly possibilities. There is a lso no expli cit or implic it indica tio n LhaL Lh ey a re we-ka-la a nima ls. H ere I sha ll permit myself a d igression Lo m odify anoLher point raised in Driessen 's discussio n o f a text by Scribe 107 : C(l) 5544, because it is crucia l to our general understa nding o f Knossian and Mycenaean Cretan interest in oxen . I take such pa ins (32) RCTI(, p. 106. (::13) 8(1) 809 mig ht prov ide a para ll el as a preliminary single-entry text from whic h the information o n B 798 is Lh en extra cled. ;t72 THOMA S G . PALAIMA [BCH Suppl XXV here because T beli eve that Driessen 's work in ils final published form will be the funda m enta l starling poinl for future work on Lh e Knossos ma te ri a l a nd on textual evidence for the Mycehaeanization of Crete . RCTK, p . 339 : << The same hand booked a reference to a t least 91 oxen on C 5544, perha ps a summa rizing record for all oxen under control o f Lh e pa la ce•>. His di scussion Lh e n makes a poinL of Lh e great difference betwee n Lh e P y los evide nce (a Lol a l of so me 20 m a le and 7 fem a le oxen being recorded) a nd the Cre ta n evidence (of Scribe 107 a nd olher Lexls such as Cedric's Ce 59 where 84 working ox en a re recorded , 50 a l ku-do-ni-ja) wilh iLs much la rger numbe rs of a nima ls. H e then cites with som e a pprobation H a lstead 's explana tion tha t Lhi s difference ca n be attributed to differences in natura l geographical conditions, i.e., << the genera l unsuita bility of southern Greece for the raising a nd keeping of tra ction animals•> vs. the ex cell ent conditions for these a nima ls in the m ajor agri cultura l a reas of Crete 34 . First , given the fa ct tha t one text (Ce 59) from a n LM II deposit li sts 84 working oxen with specia l secondary qua lifi cations of ta-ra-m e-lo and [•]-mo , whatever their meaning, a nd tha t ta bl ets from other (perha ps la ter) contexts li st co mpa ra bl y high numbers in single administrative tasks, e.g., the oxen-pa ir ta bl ets (Ch of Scribe 110 a nd C 7698 of unknown Scribe) whic h record 40 a nimals associa ted wiLh indiv idua ls, it is most likely tha t Lh e Lol a l on C 5544 also has Lo do with a specifi c administ rative assignment and , the refore, represents onl y a small portion o f ox en under Knossia n pala tia l control. As I have indicat ed in the introduction , the P y los texts a re extrem ely bi ased. They onl y dea l with a nima ls in reli gious contex ts. Why is this? Among severa l possible explana tions, besid es mere ha zards of preserva tion , we might con sid er the season of the year when the tablets were recorded . If Lh e destruction of the P a lace of Nestor took place in earl y spring (our best working hy pothesis) 35 , the texts would not ha ve been associa ted with the m a in seasons when ox en would ha ve been used for plowing, fertilizing, sowing a nd ha rvesting t he principal crops (August to December for whea t-ba rl ey a nd ba rl ey as fodder / June-July for wheat-ba rl ey ha rvest) or for Lh e culling, ba ling a nd irrigation of a lfa lfa (Ma y Lo early October). Nor would they have been written during the dry summer period when the a nima ls would ha ve Lo ha ve been brought collectively Lo wet lowla nd a reas simply to furnish Lh e rn with e nough wa ler to stay a live 36 . If on the other hand , one of the tablet-preserving desLru cLion s al Knossos 37 Look place in June , t he wheat-barley ha rvest a nd the drier season would provide id ea l (34) RCTI(. p. 339 a nd n. 28 ciling P. II ALS TEAD , ,, Co unting Sheep in "I eolithic and RronzP Age CrdP, » Pallern s of th e f'a s/ ( 1. ll o rrn ER el al. ed ., I\J8 1), p. 330-332. (35) See .J. CHADWI CK, The Mycenaean W orld ( 1976), p. 188- 192 fo r discussio n o f the Lime of year for lw Lh the Knossos a nd the P y los destructio ns . (36) See the convenient cha rt o f Lh e agricullural year in S . AscHENBRENNE R, « A Conlempo rary Cornrn unity,,, M M E , p. 5 1. (:37) This hy po thesis rest s partly o n Lit e numbers of 111 0 11Ll1 -11am es aLLesLed in Lit e l (:38) Ce 159 + 8256 li sts individua l e 11 l ri es o f equa l nurnbers o f Bos, ov1s , nnd CA P. These enlries mig ht rep resent s~~ rifi cia l combi,rntions. Cf. RCTF(, p. :177 and 11. 2 . (39) S t a ti slics here ~re l ,1ken from II . . J. VAN W E RSC H , ,, The Agricultura l Econo m y ,, , M i\!FE , p. 177- 188. (40) AsCHE NRRENN En , !\I/ME, p. 57. (4 1) In 1%3. there w pre fJ0,700 oxen in the W estern Pt'lo ponnese, dP fin cd as thP nom oi of Achaea. Arcadia. Ili a , Messeni a , a nd lhe Io ni a n islands of Cephalonia , It haca and Zaky nthos. Achaea , Ili a, Zaky nthos a nd Cepha lo nia conlain ed ha lf lhese ca llle, lea v in g ca. 25,000 to be d istri b ut ed a mong Messenia , Arcad ia , a nd ll ha ra. Our c,il cula tions t hen seem reasonably conservalive . S t.a l islics taken fro rn l he reports o f l he United \lations Specia l Fund Project in Greece, Final Repor·l on th e Economic S ur·vey of the W es /em f'eloponnesus ( 1966), vol. I, p. 1-2 ; vol. 3, pa rt II , p . 76. (42) W . A. Mc OoNA I.ll & R. llo PE S DI PSON, ,, A rchaeological Explo rat ion», MME, p . 14 1. (4 3) As J . Chad wi ck kindly reminded m e in ,\thens, the a nnual contributio n o f c,1. 2:34 ox-hides in the Ma seri es implies thP existence of al leas/ 1200 oxen in Lil 1118 Mcsseni a. C f. .J. C H ADWI C K , The MycenaNm World (1976), p. 127. THOMAS G. PALA!MA [BCH Suppl XXV plowings took some 50 days or labor by 23 plowing t ea m s made up o f Lhe 12 horses and 22 oxen ( l l teams) in the v illage (14 o f the oxen owned by si ng le fa milies which the n 44 pooled resources) . One ca n imagin e the utility of the oxen a nd the intensive la bor required Lo farm Lhe extensive lands which wou ld have been needed to support the ration-d e pendent labor employed by the mainland a nd Cret a n palatial economies. To bring us back Lo Crete, in 1948 when Lhe economy was recovering from the disturbances o f World War TT , 35,000-45,000 oxen provided the main source or farm power for ca . ;')2,3;')0 fa rms (ca. 10,000 fa rms owning pairs o f oxen) 45 . I think we must conclude that the Mycenaean administrations at both Pylos in Messenia and Knossos on Crete were dea ling with much larger numbers of a nimals than our extant texts re fl ect. Thomas G. PALAIMA. (44 ) Asc1-1ENBHENNE11, MJ\'1£, p. 57-58. Accord in g Lo Lhe Uniled \lalio11s Special P uncl Heporl. (s upra n. 4 1), 42 perce nt of mature oxen part.icipatl,d in fa rm work. (45) ALLBA UG H (wpm n. 17). p. 248-24\J. >. If la d oes stand for la-lo-mo vel sim ., Lh e o mission o f the sex-marks on RO S I mig hL Lhe n be a m ere in advertency, as iL m osL probably is o n tableL Ce 59.2b (the onl y table L assig ned Lo scribe Cedr ic in the RCT maLerial) 32 . C(I) 989 + 5744 + 7997 a dds to Lhi s impression of helerogene iL y. It starts wiLh a fragrn en Lary rn aj uscul e heading (perha ps non-toponym ic) ]-re-[• ]-ja and then inserts t he m ajo r Lopo n y m ku-do-ni-ja in sma ll er cha racters before Lh e entry nos' 14[. The lasL d eta il tha L we can in sert in to t hi s by now confused picture is Lh e new fragment C(I) 9666 Lhe LexL o f wh ich reads: ]sus' I [ with inf. miil. Co 909 + 71 33 + 7835 + fr·. d em on s LraLes LhaL Scribe 107 ca n be in t erested in such a small num ber of pigs (line 2: sus"' 3) even in t he a-ko-ra -ja/-j o g roups; but, according to the LranscripLion , the entry on C(I) 9666 occurs on the uppe r pa rL o f Lhe fra g m e nt, so it cannot belo ng Lo the Co sel. It m ig h L, however, be a pre liminary docu m e n L fo r Lh e Co seri es 33 or belong Lo yeL a no Lh er kind o f seL by Lhis scribe. Unless we ca n find a convinc ing way Lo e liminate t hese a mbigui t ies a nd varia tions in information o n the tablets, it is sa fest to proceed on the basis t hat the work o f Scribe 107 fa ll s inLo Lh e foll owing pote ntial adm inisLraLiv e sub-sets (a lthough I do not m ea n t o imply thaL Lh ey would necessa ril y fo rm distinct series) :