A 3D Digital Approach to the Stylistic and Typo-Technological Study of Small Figurines from Ayia Irini, Cyprus

The thesis aims to develop a 3D digital approach to the stylistic and typo-technological study of coroplastic, focusing on small figurines. The case study to test the method is a sample of terracotta statuettes from an assemblage of approximately 2000 statues and figurines found at the beginning of the 20th century in a rural open-air sanctuary at Ayia Irini (Cyprus) by the archaeologists of the Swedish Cyprus Expedition. The excavators identified continuity of worship at the sanctuary from the Late Cypriot III (circa 1200 BC) to the end of the Cypro-Archaic II period (ca. 475 BC). They attributed the small figurines to the Cypro-Archaic I-II. Although the excavation was one of the first performed through the newly established stratigraphic method, the archaeologists studied the site and its material following a traditional, merely qualitative approach. Theanalysis of the published results identified a classification of the material with no-clear-cut criteria, and their overlap between types highlights ambiguities in creating groups and classes. Similarly, stratigraphic arguments and different opinions among archaeologists highlight the need for revising. Moreover, pastlegislation allowed the excavators to export half of the excavated antiquities, creating a dispersion of the assemblage. Today, the assemblage is still partly exhibited at the Cyprus Museum in Nicosia and in four different museums in Sweden. Such a setting prevents to study, analyse and interpret the assemblageholistically. This research proposes a 3D chaîne opératoire methodology to study the collection’s small terracotta figurines, aiming to understand the context’s function and social role as reflected by the classification obtained with the 3D digital approach. The integration proposed in this research of traditional archaeological studies, and computer-assisted investigation based on quantitative criteria, identified and defined with 3D measurements and analytical investigations, is adopted as a solution to the biases of a solely qualitative approach. The 3D geometric analysis of the figurines focuses on the objects’ shape and components, mode of manufacture, level of expertise, specialisation or skills of the craftsman and production techniques. The analysis leads to the creation of classes of artefacts which allow archaeologists to formulate hypotheses on the production process, identify a common production (e.g., same hand, same workshop) and establish a relative chronological sequence. 3D reconstruction of the excavation’s area contributes to the virtual re-unification of the assemblage for its holistic study, the relative chronological dating of the figurines and the interpretation of their social and ritual purposes. The results obtained from the selected sample prove the efficacy of the proposed 3D approach and support the expansion of the analysis to the whole assemblage, and possibly initiate quantitative and systematic studies on Cypriot coroplastic production

A Framework for the Semantics-aware Modelling of Objects

The evolution of 3D visual content calls for innovative methods for modelling shapes based on their intended usage, function and role in a complex scenario. Even if different attempts have been done in this direction, shape modelling still mainly focuses on geometry. However, 3D models have a structure, given by the arrangement of salient parts, and shape and structure are deeply related to semantics and functionality. Changing geometry without semantic clues may invalidate such functionalities or the meaning of objects or their parts. We approach the problem by considering semantics as the formalised knowledge related to a category of objects; the geometry can vary provided that the semantics is preserved. We represent the semantics and the variable geometry of a class of shapes through the parametric template: an annotated 3D model whose geometry can be deformed provided that some semantic constraints remain satisfied. In this work, we design and develop a framework for the semantics-aware modelling of shapes, offering the user a single application environment where the whole workflow of defining the parametric template and applying semantics-aware deformations can take place. In particular, the system provides tools for the selection and annotation of geometry based on a formalised contextual knowledge; shape analysis methods to derive new knowledge implicitly encoded in the geometry, and possibly enrich the given semantics; a set of constraints that the user can apply to salient parts and a deformation operation that takes into account the semantic constraints and provides an optimal solution. The framework is modular so that new tools can be continuously added. While producing some innovative results in specific areas, the goal of this work is the development of a comprehensive framework combining state of the art techniques and new algorithms, thus enabling the user to conceptualise her/his knowledge and model geometric shapes. The original contributions regard the formalisation of the concept of annotation, with attached properties, and of the relations between significant parts of objects; a new technique for guaranteeing the persistence of annotations after significant changes in shape's resolution; the exploitation of shape descriptors for the extraction of quantitative information and the assessment of shape variability within a class; and the extension of the popular cage-based deformation techniques to include constraints on the allowed displacement of vertices. In this thesis, we report the design and development of the framework as well as results in two application scenarios, namely product design and archaeological reconstruction

Infectious disease in the ancient Aegean: Intestinal parasitic worms in the Neolithic to Roman Period inhabitants of Kea, Greece

Little is known about infectious disease and parasites in the prehistoric inhabitants of the islands of the Aegean, in contrast to later time periods. It is only with the development of Greek medical texts in the 5th and 4th centuries BC we start to find evidence for the diseases that affected the population of region. Foremost amongst these authors was the medical practitioner Hippocrates, who lived on the island of Kos. The descriptions of the many diseases he and his students encountered were recorded in their medical texts in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, known as the Hippocratic Corpus. These important texts provided the core philosophy underpinning medical theories in Europe and the Arab world for the following 2,000 years. Past research to determine which species of intestinal parasitic worms were described in the Hippocratic Corpus has suggested they indicate roundworm, pinworm and Taenia tapeworm. However, until now, there has been no archaeological evidence for which species of helminths were present in ancient Greece. In this study, we analysed soil sediment adherent to the sacrum and iliac bones of the pelvis of 25 burials dating from the Neolithic to Byzantine period on the Greek island of Kea, not far from Kos. Four individuals (16%) were positive for the eggs of intestinal helminths, dating from the Neolithic (4th millennium BC), Late Bronze Age, and the Roman Period. The species identified were whipworm (Trichuris trichiura) and roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides). We consider reasons as to why fewer species of parasite appear to have been present on Kea than was the case for northern Europe at the same time period. This study of ancient parasites shows how we can combine archaeology with history of medicine to better understand the discoveries of key early scientists and medical practitioners

THE COMING OF THE ANATOLIANS: MOBILITY, CONFLICT, AND PIRACY IN THE EARLY BRONZE AGE AEGEAN

This thesis explores the possibility that piracy was practiced in the Aegean Sea region in the Early Bronze Age (c. 3000-2000 BCE), by utilizing archaeological evidence to examine the prevalence and nature of violence in this region in this period. Piracy was most likely an aspect of the great surge in mobility, wealth, and conflict that characterized the extension of the Anatolian Trade Network (ATN) from the eastern Aegean into the central and western Aegean around 2550/2500-2100 BCE. I will trace the movement and examine the impact of tangible materials such as Anatolian architecture, metals, ceramics, and ships, and their concomitant new technologies, while considering the intangible concepts, beliefs, and innovations they likely accompanied. These tangible materials and practices, and intangible ideas, travelling from western coastal Anatolia and its adjacent islands to the Cyclades, Sporades, and Greek mainland and nearby islands, permanently changed the trajectory of cultural, social, and political development in the Aegean. This thesis aims to demonstrate that this movement of material culture was accompanied by a movement of people coming from Anatolia, and that the wealth introduced along the ATN brought a sharp increase in violence in this period. The intensification of sea-based violence that occurred between 2550-2100 BCE in the Aegean likely included acts of piracy, which probably was always a part of the development of the Aegean sea region

Re-evaluation of contacts between Cyprus and Crete from the Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age

This article argues that it is possible to distinguish certain stages of development of the contact between Cyprus and Crete, from Early Bronze Age up to the LBA/EIA transition period. To thoroughly do that, areas in which the connections are most clearly expressed: written sources, pottery, copper trade and cult practice influences are discussed. Possible sea routes between two islands, direct and as a part of a major route between Aegean, Levant and Egypt are described. Discussed written sources include possible place-names connected with Cyprus/Alasia in linear scripts and usage of the so-called ‘Cypro-Minoan’writing. Examples of pots and sherds both Cypriot found in Crete and Cretan found in Cyprus are examined and possible copper trade (including lead isotope analysis) is considered. Further, alleged Minoan cult practice influences are thoroughly discussed. Finally all the above are chronologically reviewed and a course of development of contacts between Crete and Cyprus is proposed

Review of Aegean Prehistory VII: Neopalatial, Final Palatial, and Postpalatial Crete

This study, part of a series of articles that appeared in the American Journal of Archaeology in the middle to late 1990s, summarizes the history and archaeology of Crete in the Late Bronze Age