Different Shades of Grey Minyan: Dissecting an “Iconic” Ceramic Class of Middle Bronze Age, Mainland Greece

The Middle Helladic Grey Minyan ware is usually assigned with archetypical features, including the systematic use of the potter’s wheel. However, because of the significant variation observed, terms such as “True Grey Minyan” and “Imitations of Grey Minyan” were commonly applied in order to emphasise the differences, which, nonetheless were never systematically analysed. The main subject of the present paper is to highlight the differences existing in the potting traditions of Grey Minyan in two nearby regions, namely the Argolid and Attica, which seem to belong to different cultural spheres, given the divergence observed especially in the shape repertoire. The identification of different production and consumption practices is obviously related to different cultural phenomena, as evidenced through (a) the production of similar wheel-fashioned and hand-built Grey Minyan shapes in Attica, and (b) the introduction of foreign potting traditions, namely wheel-fashioned Grey Minyan pots, which are completely alien to the local, handmade ceramics of the Argolid.

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Symbolic connotations of animals at early Middle Helladic Asine. A comparative study of the animal bones from the settlement and its graves

Opuscula Annual of the Swedish Institutes at Athens and Rome ◽

10.30549/opathrom-10-06 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 10 ◽

pp. 128-152 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Stella Macheridis

Keyword(s):

Species Composition ◽

Comparative Study ◽

Everyday Life ◽

Bronze Age ◽

Body Part ◽

High Status ◽

Wild Mammals ◽

Animal Bones ◽

Middle Bronze Age ◽

Middle Helladic

This paper is a contribution to the zooarchaeological research on animals or animal parts found in human graves during the Middle Bronze Age in Greece. The animal bones from the early Middle Helladic settlement (MH I-II, c. 2100–1800 BC) and contemporary burials at Asine are presented. The goal is to compare the animal bones from the settlement with those from the burials, in terms of species composition and body part distribution. Through this comparison, this paper aims to discuss any symbolic connotations of bone waste from everyday-life practices. The results show that the most common domesticates from settlement contexts, pig, sheep/goat and cattle, also appear to be the most abundant animals deposited in the early MH graves at Asine. This is consistent with mortuary data from other sites on the Peloponnese, especially Lerna. The pig was most abundant in both settlement and graves at Asine. The similarities between wild and domestic pigs might be important, and are discussed as a possible inspiration for the pig symbolism in MH I-II Asine. I also propose a regional change in the later Bronze Age of how animals were deposited in graves, in which period the presence of wild mammals, dogs, and horses in high status graves increases. Throughout, pig, sheep/goats and cattle remained the most important animals for ritually connoted events such as funerary meals or feasts.

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A MIDDLE HELLADIC TOMB IN THE ATHENIAN KERAMEIKOS AND SOME THOUGHTS ON THE EARLY CONNECTIONS OF ATTICA

The Annual of the British School at Athens ◽

10.1017/s0068245419000054 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 114 ◽

pp. 119-143

Author(s):

Anthi Balitsari ◽

John K. Papadopoulos

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Aegean Islands ◽

Middle Bronze Age ◽

Minoan Crete ◽

Middle Helladic

This paper focuses on a presentation and discussion of the solitary Middle Helladic tomb found in the Athenian Kerameikos. Our purpose is twofold: first of all, to present in detail the tomb offerings that we were able to relocate, and to suggest a MH I date for the burial. Secondly, given the significant presence of ceramic imports from various Aegean islands, we outline the connectedness that Attica enjoyed at the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age. This is a story that involves not just Athens, but Aigina, the Argolid, and Minoan Crete, as well as the much sought-after metal ores of Laurion.

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Chalcolithic and Middle Bronze Age obsidian industries at Karmir Sar: A mountain view on the lithic economies of the Southern Caucasus

Journal of Lithic Studies ◽

10.2218/jls.2520 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Christoph Purschwitz

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Raw Materials ◽

High Ratio ◽

Raw Material ◽

Primary Data ◽

Secondary Source ◽

Multiple Use ◽

Production Environment ◽

Production And Consumption ◽

Middle Bronze Age

The high-altitude site of Karmir Sar is located around 2850 m a.s.l. on the southern slopes of Mt. Aragats (Armenia). Numerous stone structures (including vishaps, cromlechs, stone enclosures) are found all over the 40 ha-sized meadow, out of which three vishaps, four cromlechs and one circular stone structure have been investigated since 2012. According to 14C-dates, pottery and diagnostic lithic artefacts, human presence at Karmir Sar started as early as the Chalcolithic Period and continued (with gaps) until modern times; whereby the Middle Bronze Age (MBA) and the Medieval era represent the most intensive periods of occupation. This contribution presents primary data on the typology and technology of 1129 chipped lithic artefacts that have been excavated in four trenches at Karmir Sar (operations KS A, KS C, KS D, and KS E). This study of the lithic industries of Karmir Sar will be embedded within the framework of lithic economy, which considers lithic artefacts as part of a comprehensive interaction between lithic production and consumption. The lithic economy includes strategies of raw material procurement, blanks production and its transformation into tools, tool use, as well as the circulation of raw materials or products. Due to multiple use episodes and a general lack of clear stratigraphical horizons, the assemblages of Karmir Sar are not suitable to define the lithic industry for specific periods (such as the Chalcolithic or MBA periods). However, the data allows for general conclusions on lithic production and consumption at Karmir Sar, which appears to be quite similar during both periods. The Chalcolithic and MBA lithic economies at Karmir Sar are characterized by an ad hoc tool production environment, which well matches the needs of semi-mobile herder societies. The majority of raw materials appear to be procured from secondary source areas (such as riverbeds) which is indicated by a high ratio of battered and rolled surfaces. Tools are predominantly produced on-site, and according to daily demands by simple flake core technology. This allowed for a flexible, spontaneous blank and tool production without being dependent on specialized blade producers.

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Tracking Proto-Porcelain Production and Consumption in the Dongjiang Valley of Bronze Age Lingnan

Cambridge Archaeological Journal ◽

10.1017/s0959774319000246 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 29 (4) ◽

pp. 671-689

Author(s):

Michèle H.S. Demandt

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Value Creation ◽

Holistic Approach ◽

Local Production ◽

Social Perspectives ◽

Porcelain Production ◽

Production And Consumption ◽

Economic Strategies ◽

Middle Bronze Age ◽

Political Conditions

During the Early-Middle Bronze Age, a new package of technological knowledge, including high-fired ‘proto-porcelain’ products and specialized ‘dragon’ kilns, entered Lingnan in South China from neighbouring cultures. This enabled the first local production of proto-porcelain in Bronze Age communities of Guangdong province that later became concentrated in ceramic workshops in the Dongjiang valley. Through a holistic approach towards ceramic production and consumption that integrates elements of functionalist and social perspectives, this study will explore the technological and socio-political conditions underlying the value creation and consequent social usage of proto-porcelain. It will be argued that proto-porcelain was a suitable medium for the simultaneous expression of different social roles that might have included its use as serving ware in community rituals as well as its involvement in politico-economic strategies of elite groups.

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