From the Foundations to the Legacy of Minoan Archaeology

From the Foundations to the Legacy of Minoan Archaeology provides a range of new approaches to key issues in Minoan archaeology, inspired by Professor Keith Branigan’s long-standing contribution to the archaeology of Bronze Age Crete. From the way in which the developmental trajectory of a single site can offer insights into regional patterns, to the importance of integrating local survey information in reconstructing generalhistorical processes and the significance of temporal variability in the construction of space, contributors evaluate the general frameworks within which Minoan archaeology operates, assess the usefulness of chronological horizons in understanding continuity and change and provide a critical framework for the diachronic analysis of culture, how the study of settlement patterns can reveal structural continuity through time and the political reach of territorial states. Articles focus on the way the power bases of Minoan society were articulated through the interplay between individual and collective social strategies, further illustrated by in-depth considerations of the role and value of material culture from a social and technological perspective. The largest portion of discussion is devoted to mortuary practices, reassessing the significance of micropatterns in the articulation of mortuary behaviour, while also emphasizing broader temporal and spatial processes that affect practices of ostentatious display in burial, critically evaluated by recent osteoarchaeological studies throwing light on mortuary ritual and the constitution of the social units using the cemeteries. The volume is offered in honour of Professor Branigan, as a reflection of his influence in shaping our current understanding of Minoan society.

Overall, then, this book provides a fine introduction to the very lively and often innovative work that is being carried out in the study of the beginnings of Minoan civilisation. While strengthening the case for the communal nature of Minoan society, it also presents evidence for patterns of social differentiation deep into the Prepalatial past, and encourages the development of interpretations that allow for a considerable degree of regional variation, but also for the growing homogeneity detectable in the palatial periods.

Maria Relaki is Associate Lecturer in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the Open University, UK and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow at Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium. Her research and teaching interests focus on anthropology and social theory, material culture, technological practice, the emergence of complex societies, classics and gender studies. Yiannis Papadatos was born in Patras in 1972. He received his degree in Archaeology and History of Art from the University of Athens (1994), and his PhD in Prehistoric Archaeology from the University of Sheffield (1999). He has worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Sheffield (2001-2002) and as contract archaeologist for the Greek Archaeological Service (2002-2007).