The Aegean

2019 ◽  
pp. 491-503
Author(s):  
Nikos Stampolidis
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Short Introduction ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Eastern Aegean ◽  
Material Evidence ◽  
Written Sources

This chapter concerns the presence of the Phoenicians and Near Easterners in the Aegean, with a special focus on the Early Iron Age and dealing sporadically with later periods. Divided into two parts, the chapter discusses first the picture that emerges from the written sources in antiquity regarding the Phoenicians (or more generally, easterners) and what we can reconstruct through the tangible, archaeological data we have today. Especially in relation to the material evidence, definitions of exotica and Phoenician artifacts are offered in a short introduction and then the chapter discusses the possible direct or indirect presence of Phoenicians in the Aegean regions, starting from Crete, the eastern Aegean, and the Cyclades, Attica and Euboea, and ending in the northern Aegean. The picture suggested by excavations and the interpretation of the finds to date show that the dynamics of the circulation of Phoenicians in the Aegean, at least in the earliest stages, passed through Cyprus and the Cypriots, as well as through Euboeans and the Cycladians.

scholarly journals THE USE OF CANNABIS IN THE EARLY IRON AGE

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 381-387
Author(s):  
S. A. Gorbanenko
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Cannabis Sativa ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Natural Origin ◽  
Medicine Development ◽  
Spindle Whorls ◽  
High Level ◽  
Written Sources

In the article data on cannabis findings in the early Scythian sites are collected and ordered. Currently, there are several mutually complementary sources for studying the use of cannabis by the Scythians, These are written sources (Herodotus), as well as artifacts (incense burners) and paleoethnobotanical materials (cannabis seeds findings (Cannabis sativa L)). In recent years, archaeologists have new data obtained from chemical analyzes. The findings of cannabis are few. Now we know only eight sites where they were found (fig. 1). Written sources indicate the use of hemp for making clothes. The finds of spindle-whorls as well as still single prints of fabrics on clay products confirm the existence of weaving (fig. 2). Hygienic use of cannabis is confirmed by written sources and casually by archeological ones. The use of cannabis for fumigation is confirmed by the findings of incense burners, as well as by chemical analyzes. We believe that this does not exhaust the use of cannabis in the life of the Scythians. Archaeological and iconographic findings indicate a high level of medicine development including surgery among the Scythians. Taking this into account, we consider it possible to suggest that the Scythians also knew various methods of natural origin for the relief of pain. We do not exclude that they could also use cannabis for this purpose.

Flax seed production: evidence from the early Iron Age site of Tel Beth-Shean, Israel and from written sources

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 579-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mordechai E. Kislev ◽  
Orit Simchoni ◽  
Yoel Melamed ◽  
Lior Maroz
Keyword(s):  
Seed Production ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Flax Seed ◽  
Written Sources

Late Minoan III and Early Iron Age Cretan Cylindrical Terracotta Models: A Reconsideration

2006 ◽  
Vol 101 ◽  
pp. 183-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vassilis P. Petrakis
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Ancestor Worship ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Scale Models ◽  
Terracotta Figurines ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Theoretical Issues ◽  
Reduced Scale

The present study explores the possible interpretation of the terracotta cylindrical models found in Late Minoan to Early Iron Age contexts (generally known as “(circular) hut models”) as reduced-scale models of tholos tombs. Theoretical issues concerning the relationship of an ‘architectural model’ with the archaeological context in which it is found are examined in order to support the above-mentioned suggestion. Archaeological data concerning the morphology, chronology, distribution, use and significance of the Late Minoan and Early Iron Age tholos tombs are explored in order to contribute to the discussion. The possible connection between the presence of the LM III tomb models in domestic contexts and the absence of contemporary intramural burials allows us to expand on the possible significance of these artefacts for our knowledge of LM mortuary practices and beliefs, especially those concerning the possible practice of ‘ancestor worship’. The presence of terracotta figurines of the ‘Minoan Goddess with Upraised Arms’ type attached in the interior of two examples (from SM Knossos and PG B Archanes) is considered as a late development within the tradition of these models and linked with the practice of placing MGUA figures in Early Iron Age tholos tombs (Rhotasi, Kourtes).

The Iron Age Enclosures and Prehistoric Landscape of Sutton Common, South Yorkshire

1997 ◽  
Vol 63 ◽  
pp. 221-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Parker Pearson ◽  
R.E. Sydes ◽  
S. Boardman ◽  
B. Brayshay ◽  
P.C. Buckland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Plant Remains ◽  
Archaeological Materials ◽  
Middle Bronze Age

The Early Iron Age enclosures and associated sites on Sutton Common on the western edge of the Humberhead Levels contain an exceptional variety of archaeological data of importance not only to the region but for the study of later prehistory in the British Isles. Few other later prehistoric British sites outside the East Anglian fens and the Somerset Levels have thus far produced the quantity and quality of organically preserved archaeological materials that have been found, despite the small scale of the investigations to date. The excavations have provided an opportunity to integrate a variety of environmental analyses, of wood, pollen, beetles, waterlogged and carbonised plant remains, and of soil micromorphology, to address archaeological questions about the character, use, and environment of this Early Iron Age marsh fort. The site is comprised of a timber palisaded enclosure and a succeeding multivallate enclosure linked to a smaller enclosure by a timber alignment across a palaeochannel, with associated finds ranging in date from the Middle Bronze Age to the Roman and medieval periods. Among the four adjacent archaeological sites is an Early Mesolithic occupation site, also with organic preservation, and there is a Late Neolithic site beneath the large enclosure. Desiccation throughout the common is leading to the damage and loss of wooden and organic remains. It is hoped that the publication of these results, of investigations between 1987 and 1993, will lead to a fuller investigation taking place.

scholarly journals First Radiocarbon Chronology for the Early Iron Age Sites of Central Kazakhstan (Tasmola Culture and Korgantas Period)

Radiocarbon ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arman Z Beisenov ◽  
Svetlana V Svyatko ◽  
Aibar Е Kassenalin ◽  
Kairat А Zhambulatov ◽  
Daniyar Duisenbai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Accelerator Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Traditional Approach ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Scythian Period ◽  
Radiocarbon Chronology

AbstractWe present the first radiocarbon dates of Early Iron Age sites of central Kazakhstan (in total, 24 dates for 16 recently excavated sites). Archaeologically, the sites have been attributed to the Tasmola culture of the Saka period and later Korgantas phase of the early Hun period. The new accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dates suggest that the majority of analyzed Tasmola sites belong to the beginning of the 8th–5th century cal BC, while Korgantas dates to the 4th–2nd century cal BC. This corresponds with the latest archaeological data for the region; however, it is somewhat contrary to the traditional perception of the chronology of the Scythian period in central Kazakhstan. The new dates suggest the beginning of the Early Scythian period in the region in at least the late 9th or 8th century BC rather than 7th century BC according to the traditional approach.

Iron Age History and Archaeology in Zambia

1974 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. W. Phillipson
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Formation Process ◽  
Oral Traditions ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
The West ◽  
Eastern Province ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
First Time

Developments since 1968 in the study of the Zambian Early Iron Age are discussed, with emphasis both on the Lubusi site near Kaoma, which provides the first dated occurrence of Early Iron Age artefacts from western Zambia, and on material from the Eastern Province, which is closely related to contemporary finds from Malawi. Knowledge of the post-Early Iron Age archaeology of Zambia has hitherto been largely restricted to the Southern Province; here, for the first time, an archaeological evaluation of the later Iron Age of other regions has been attempted, and three major pottery traditions are described. In the northern and eastern areas the Luangwa tradition appears to have been established by the eleventh or twelfth century A.D., making a sharp typological break with the preceding Early Iron Age traditions. In the west, the Lungwebungu tradition shows a greater degree of continuity from the Early Iron Age, but in much of the Zambezi valley and adjacent areas it has been supplanted by the sharply-contrasting Linyanti tradition for which a Kololo origin is postulated. The inception of the Luangwa tradition is attributed to the arrival of a new population element ancestral to most of the peoples who inhabit northern and eastern Zambia today, but there is in the archaeological record of this region little discernible trace of later migrations associated with the state-formation process recalled in the extant oral traditions. The implications of these observations for the interpretation of both archaeological data and of oral traditions are discussed and tentative conclusions are proposed concerning the inter-relationship of these two methodologies.

Ancestral and chthonic cults at Tenos

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 305-329
Author(s):  
Nota Kourou
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Classical Period ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Sacred Places ◽  
Archaeological Evidence ◽  
Religious Evolution ◽  
Material Evidence

This paper presents the material evidence from two neighbouring Early Iron Age sites at Xobourgo on Tenos, identified as sacred places, and comments on their religious character and evolution. The first, conventionally named the Pro-Cyclopean Sanctuary, has a purely mortuary character. It starts in the Late Protogeometric period with an ancestral cult on a pebble platform over an empty grave, continues with a number of pyre pits inside enclosure walls, and ends up with a chthonic cult at an eschara in the Late Geometric period to be replaced by a small sacred oikos in the 7th century. The second starts as an open-air shrine, named the Pre-Thesmophorion Shrine, with an eschara and a protected place for storing pithoi, and it is turned into a Demeter sanctuary, a Thesmophorion, with a small temple in the Classical period. After considering the development and phases of both sites, it is claimed that they have similar, though not identical, cultic roles. Their different architectural and religious evolution is considered as largely dependent on social changes and historical conditions. They are compared and discussed against contemporary archaeological evidence for ancestral and chthonic cults focusing on such evidence from Tenos.

scholarly journals TYPOLOGY AND CHRONOLOGY OF THE DOLLKЕIM TYPE VESSELS

2021 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 170-177
Author(s):  
Vladimir I. Kulakov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Baltic Region ◽  
Close Attention ◽  
Archaeological Material ◽  
The Great Migration ◽  
B2 Phase ◽  
First Time ◽  
Burial Grounds ◽  
Written Sources

In the ceramic material of the Sambian-Natangian group of the Western Baltic culture, which occupied the southeastern Baltic region during the era of Roman influence, attachment vessels with a spheroid or biconical body with a narrow elongated neck have a prominent place. Despite the fact that the ceramic forms in general (and their important part — the attachment vessels) belong to the mass archaeological material, the ceramics of the Aestians have not attracted the close attention of European archaeologists so far. For the first time this type of vessels was isolated and named “Dollkeim type” in 1996 by V. Novakovski. In this article, 24 vessels from the burial grounds of Sambia were selected for internal typology and identification of chronology. It turned out that the predecessors of the Dollkeim type vessels are the Okulicz VIII type vessels of the III group, which preserved in the 1st century AD traditions of the early Iron Age. On the basis of these vessels, the Aestian ceramists at the B2 phase are developing vessels of the Dollkeim-1 and Dollkeim-2 subtypes, which serve as a reservoir of sacrificial liquids in the graves of their fellow tribesmen until phase D2. The main habitat of the Dollkeim type vessels in the Aestian burial complexes is located in the western part of the Sambia Peninsula, in the vicinity of the Amber Coast. The Dollkeim type vessels in phases B2 / C1-D1 were an important part of the burial complex of male warriors, possibly comparable to the optimates of written sources. In the burial antiquities of Sambia, vessels of the proto-Dollkeim and Dollkeim types coexist in various communities throughout the Roman period. Only the Dollkeim-2 subtype survives until the beginning of the Great migration period.

Sunlight, Divination, and the Dead in Aegean Ritual Tradition

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy Goodison
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Religious Belief ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Active Agent ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
The Sun ◽  
The Dead ◽  
Material Evidence ◽  
Ritual Practices

Study of orientation in Bronze Age Cretan buildings has revealed long-overlooked sunrise alignments at the Palace of Knossos; while the recording of dawn alignments at the Mesara-type tholos tombs has challenged previous ideas about religious belief, suggesting a new, somatic agenda for discourse about ritual practices at the tombs. This chapter highlights a long-standing Aegean tradition from the Early Iron Age until late antiquity in which the sun was perceived as an active agent facilitating processes of prophecy and communication with the dead. Taking issue with disembodied visions of knowledge and presentist templates of religion centred on worship of abstract deities, it revisits material evidence from the Mesara-type tombs, and considers whether it is possible to trace in the prehistoric era early formulations of this tradition linking sunlight with divination and the dead.

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