Human management and landscape changes at Palaikastro (Eastern Crete) from the Late Neolithic to the Early Minoan period

On the east Mediterranean island of Crete, a hierarchical society centred on large palatial complexes emerges during the Bronze Age. The economic basis for this significant social change has long been debated, particularly concerning the role of olive cultivation in the island's agricultural system. With the aim of studying vegetation changes and human management to understand the landscape history from Late Neolithic to Bronze Age, two palaeoenvironmental records have been studied at Kouremenos marsh, near the site of Palaikastro (Eastern Crete). Pollen, NPP and charcoal particles analyses evidenced seven phases of landscape change, resulting from different agricultural and pastoral practices and the use of fire probably to manage vegetation. Moreover, the Kouremenos records show the importance of the olive tree in the area. They reflect a clear trend for its increasing use and exploitation from 3600 cal yr BC (Final Neolithic) to the Early Minoan period, that is coeval with an opening of the landscape. The increase of Olea pollen was due to the expansion of the tree and its management using pruning and mechanical cleaning. The onset of olive expansion at c. 3600 cal yr BC places Crete among the first locales in the eastern Mediterranean in the management of this tree. Between c. 2780 and 2525 cal yr BC the landscape was largely occupied by olive and grasslands, coinciding with an increase in grazing practices. The high Olea pollen percentages (40-45%) suggest an intensive and large-scale exploitation of the olive tree. The results suggest that a complex and organized landscape with complementary land uses and activities was already in place since the Final Neolithic. The notable expansion of olive trees suggests the relevance of olive exploitation in the socio-economic development of Minoan towns of eastern Crete. Other crops, such as cereals and vine, and activities such as grazing have also played an important role in the configuration of the past landscape

The rough and the smooth

In this paper I explore tensions between the perceived instantaneity of human intentionality, and the slowness of material agency. When archaeologists describe ‘intentional destruction’ or ‘ritual killing’, they imply human actions directed at materials that are instantaneous: the smashing of a figurine, the burning of a building. These are instances in which even in prehistory one might have some notion of the intentionality underlying human agency. But what of more gradual processes of change, when the agency of materials is more prominent, as houses collapse ‘by themselves’, or artefacts ‘simply’ disintegrate? Do such situations really imply an absence of intentionality? If abandonment or disintegration results from a lack of investment in materialities – a kind of carelessness, or even negligence – then is this not also a form of (passive) intentionality? Allowing materialities to take their course can amount to an absence of care – and such absence can be just as willful as active destruction. I will develop these ideas by drawing on recent work in architectural theory, and archaeological and ethnoarchaeological observations from the Aegean on the temporality of buildings. Some buildings are forgotten or grow old with care, others without. The aim, then, is to raise questions concerning the loci of agency and intentionality that are of relevance more broadly for studies of material culture and society

Minoan Pottery: From Materials to Materiality

Since the early 20th century, Minoan pottery has often been treated as art. Open to criticism for its subjectivity and indistinct methodology, this perspective does hold one distinct advantage: it encourages a synoptic viewpoint by connecting pottery with other artistic categories, such as wall paintings, metal and stone vases, faience and ivory figurines, and seals. Curiously, the anthropological and archaeometric approaches to Minoan pottery that are seen in many quarters as superseding art..

The Provenance of Red Lustrous Wheel-Made Ware: Cyprus, Syria, or Anatolia?

This paper on Red Lustrous Wheel-Made Ware, which is found over an extraordinarily wide area of the Near East, is an initial attempt to address the problem of its source. Using recently excavated pottery from Kilise Tepe in south-central Anatolia, a study of the typology and petrography of this pottery has been undertaken to compare the possible sources of Red Lustrous Wheel-Made Ware, which include Cyprus, Syria and Anatolia

Avant-propos

Je suis très reconnaissant à Caroline Sauvage et à Ariane de Saxcé pour leur assistance pour la traduction. Le thème des interactions est devenu un point clef des sciences humaines et sociales. Les concepts anglo-saxons d’entanglement (Thomas 1991; Barad 2007; Bynum 2009), enchainment (Strathern 1988), social interaction (Cerulo 2009), ecology of materials (Ingold 2012), ou relational sociology (Emirbayer 1997) mettent en valeur des relations plutôt que des entités. L’archéologie n’a pas écha..