The Prepalatial Bronze Age of the Southern and Central Greek Mainland Author(S): Jeremy B
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Review of Aegean Prehistory II: The Prepalatial Bronze Age of the Southern and Central Greek Mainland Author(s): Jeremy B. Rutter Reviewed work(s): Source: American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 97, No. 4 (Oct., 1993), pp. 745-797 Published by: Archaeological Institute of America Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/506720 . Accessed: 07/05/2012 10:27 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Archaeological Institute of America is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to American Journal of Archaeology. http://www.jstor.org Review of Aegean PrehistoryII: The PrepalatialBronze Age of the Southern and Central Greek Mainland JEREMYB. RUTTER Dedicated to the memoryof Klaus Kilian INTRODUCTION discoveriesmade, questions addressed, and novelre- search strategiesemployed in the archaeologyof This review of a modest slice of mainland Greek roughlythe firstthree-quarters of the BronzeAge on prehistory is designed for twin audiences and has twin thesouthern and central Greek mainland. At the same goals. On the one hand, it is targeted at archaeologists, time, this reviewis addressedto specialistAegean ancient historians, Classicists, and others who, though prehistorians,not withthe aimof makingthem aware they take an interest in Aegean prehistory and may of discoveriesor intellectualcurrents about which even have some familiarity with it, hardly consider they may be ignorant,but ratherwith the intentof themselves specialists in this subdiscipline of Old encouragingthem, througha considerationof the World archaeology. For this audience, the purpose of currentstate of our field, to take whateverfuture what follows is to provide an outline, with helpful but actionthey mayfeel is appropriateto improveupon by no means exhaustive references, to the principal the presentstate of our knowledge.' The publicationof this review has been made possible son, James Wright, Eberhard Zangger, and Carol Zerner. in part by a generous subvention from the Institute for John Bennet, John Cherry, and Daniel Pullen were kind Aegean Prehistory.I am very grateful to Tracey Cullen and enough to read portions of the manuscriptin draft form Fred Kleiner for the invitation extended to me to write it, and suggested many improvements.I owe a special debt of and to Julia Pfaff for executing the drawingsthat accompany gratitude to Jack Davis for helpful references on a wide it. range of topics, for encouragement and sympathy,for a This summary,reflecting the prioritiesand choicesof just helpfully criticalreading, and above all for leading the way. one individual,is a highly personalone, with all the potential The following abbreviationsare used in this paper: for sins of both commission and omission that single au- ATMA S. Dietz, The Argolid at the Transition to thorshipof such a reviewentails. I apologizeto all colleagues the Mycenaean Age: Studies in the Chro- in advance for any and all unintentionaloffenses or slights nology and Cultural Development in the that such errors on my part may occasion. Shaft Grave Period (Copenhagen Withoutthe helpful response from numerousfriends and 1991). colleagues to my appeals for information, offprints, and BA Trade N.H. Gale ed., Bronze Age Trade in the preliminaryreports on their most recent research,the con- Mediterranean (SIMA 90, Jonsered tent of this review would have been much poorer. I would 1991). like to thank Susan Alcock, SebastiaanBommelj&, Shelby Celebrations R. Higg and N. Marinatos eds., Celebra- Brown, Hector Catling,William Cavanagh, Georgia Chatze- tions of Death and Divinity in the Bronze Speliopoulou,John Cherry,Elmar Christmann,John Cole- Age Argolid (Stockholm 1990). man, MichaelCosmopoulos, Joost Crouwel,Katie Demako- "Chronique" "Chroniquedes fouilles,"BCH. poulou, Oliver Dickinson,Soren Dietz, AngelikaDousougli- Chronology P.M. Warren and V. Hankey, Aegean Zachos,Jeannette and Bj6rn Forsen, John Fossey, Mihalis Bronze Age Chronology (Bristol 1989). Fotiadis,Elizabeth French, Noel Gale, GiampaoloGraziadio, Contributions N.C. Wilkie and W.D.E. Coulson eds., Robin HAgg, Paul Halstead, Stefan Hiller, the late Klaus Contributions to Aegean Archaeology: Kilian, to whose memory this review is dedicated, Imma Studies in Honor of William A. Mc- Kilian-Dirlmeier,Georgios Korres, Cynthia Kosso, Sturt Donald (Minneapolis1985). Manning, Josef Maran, Hartmut Matthius, Christopher EHAU R. Higg and D. Konsolaeds., EarlyHel- Mee, Penelope Mountjoy, Sylvie Muiller,William Murray, ladic Architecture and Urbanization Gull6g Nordquist, Thanasis Papadopoulos, Daniel Pullen, (SIMA 76, G6teborg 1986). Jorg Rambach,James Roy, Curtis Runnels, Efi Sakellaraki, Gazetteer R. Hope Simpson and O.T.P.K.Dickin- Zophia Stos-Gale, Gilles Touchais, Lucia Vagnetti, Karen son, A Gazetteer of Aegean Civilisation Vitelli,Joanita Vroom, GiselaWalberg, Peter Warren,Hans- in the Bronze Age 1: The Mainland and JoachimWeisshaar, Berit Wells,Martha Wiencke, David Wil- Islands (SIMA 52, G6teborg 1979). 745 American Journal of Archaeology 97 (1993) 746 JEREMY B. RUTTER [AJA 97 The spatial coverage undertaken for this review but the large island of Euboea, since it was covered includes those portions of the Greek mainland south thoroughly in last year's review,2 is not considered of a roughly east-west line connecting the mouth of here. the Spercheios River with the southeast corner of the The period of time surveyed encompasses the en- Gulf of Arta (see below, fig. 3). Epirus, Thessaly, tire Early and Middle Bronze Ages (EBA and MBA, Macedonia, and Thrace are thus omitted from con- respectively), known throughout the area in question sideration, but Akarnania, Aetolia, the southern half as the Early Helladic (EH) and Middle Helladic (MH) of Eurytania, and the Ionian islands from Lefkas periods, as well as the earlier part of the Late Bronze south are included. Also included, aside from the Age (LBA), variously termed the Late Helladic (LH) entire Peloponnese and the central Greek nomes of or Mycenaean period. The terminal date for my chro- Attica, Boiotia, Phocis, Locris, and the southern half nological coverage is provided by the construction, at of Phthiotis, are the islands of the Saronic Gulf (most some point during the LH IIB or LH IIIAl periods notably Aegina and Salamis), islands located just off in the 15th century B.C., of the first Mycenaean ar- the southeastern coast of the Argolid (such as Hydra chitectural complexes generally recognized by the and Spetses), and islands off the southwest coast of term "palaces" as the administrative seats of central- the Cape Malea peninsula (Elaphonisos and Kythera), ized kingdoms.3 Iconography R. Laffineur and J.L. Crowley eds., Periodicalswhose actualdate of publicationis considerably EIKi2N: Aegean Bronze Age Iconog- later than the date printed on the volume'sspine have been raphy: Shaping a Methodology (Ae- cited with both dates in order to stress when a given exca- gaeum 8, Liege 1992). vation report first became available.The UMI numbersfor L'habitat P. Darcqueand R. Treuil eds., L'habitat all doctoral dissertations completed at universities in the egeen prdhistorique (BCH Suppl. 19, United Stateshave been providedto facilitatethe acquisition Paris 1990). of these unadvertisedand ordinarilylittle-known works, in Nichoria W.A. McDonald and N.C. Wilkie eds., either microfilm or photocopied form, directly from the Excavations at Nichoria in Southwest publisher: University MicrofilmsInternational, 300 North Greece II: The Bronze Age Occupation Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan48106, U.S.A. (Minneapolis1992). 2 "RAP I" 713-21. Problems E.B. Frenchand K.A. Wardleeds., Prob- The only exception to the rule that the entire area lems in Greek Prehistory (Bristol 1988). under considerationhere falls within the Helladic cultural "RAPI" J.L. Davis, "Reviewof Aegean Prehis- orbit is the island of Kythera.Once an EH population had tory I: The Islands of the Aegean," either moved off the island on its own initiative or been AJA 96 (1992) 699-756. driven awayfrom it by Minoanfishermen or colonists,Kyth- Thalassocracy R. Higg and N. Marinatos eds., The Mi- era appears to have become culturallyMinoan through the noan Thalassocracy: Myth and Reality end of the period surveyed:J.N. Coldstreamand G.L. Hux- (Stockholm1984). ley eds., Kythera. Excavations and Studies Conducted by the Thanatos R. Laffineur ed., Thanatos: Les couthmes University of Pennsylvania Museum and the British School at funeraires en Egde d l'Age du Bronze Athens(London 1972) 272-303; Coldstream,"Kythera: The (Aegaeum1, Liege 1987). Changefrom EarlyHelladic to EarlyMinoan," in R.A.Cross- "Tierkopfge- H.-J. Weisshaar,"Friihhelladische Tier- land and A. Birchall eds., Bronze Age Migrations in the fAsse" kopfgefasse," in Gedenkschrift fiir Aegean (London 1973) 33-36; Gazetteer121-22, sites C50- Gero von Merhart zum 100. Geburts- C55; J.B. Rutter and C.W. Zerner, "EarlyHellado-Minoan tag (Marburger Studien zur Vor- und Contacts,"in Thalassocracy75-83, esp. 75-76 and ns. 4-8; Friihgeschichte 7, Marburg 1986) 327- G.L. Huxley, "Kytheraand the MinoanMaritime Economy," 35. in