Quantitative WD-XRF calibration for small ceramic samples and their source material

A wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WD-XRF) calibration is developed for small powdered samples (300mg) with the purpose of analyzing ceramic artifacts that might be available only in limited quantity. This is compared to a conventional calibration using a larger sample mass (2g). The comparison of elemental intensities obtained in both calibrations shows that the decrease in analyzed sample mass results in a linear decrease in measured intensity for the analyzed elements. This indicates that the small- and large-sample calibrations are comparable. Moreover, the elemental contents of four ceramic sherds and two potential clay sources fall well within the range of the certified reference materials that are the basis of the calibration curves. The advantage with the analytical method presented here is that it is rapid and requires only a small amount of sample that can easily be re-used for further analyses. This method has great potential in ceramic provenance studies

The Sea Peoples, from Cuneiform Tablets to Carbon Dating

The 13th century BC witnessed the zenith of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean civilizations which declined at the end of the Bronze Age, ∼3200 years ago. Weakening of this ancient flourishing Mediterranean world shifted the political and economic centres of gravity away from the Levant towards Classical Greece and Rome, and led, in the long term, to the emergence of the modern western civilizations. Textual evidence from cuneiform tablets and Egyptian reliefs from the New Kingdom relate that seafaring tribes, the Sea Peoples, were the final catalyst that put the fall of cities and states in motion. However, the lack of a stratified radiocarbon-based archaeology for the Sea People event has led to a floating historical chronology derived from a variety of sources spanning dispersed areas. Here, we report a stratified radiocarbon-based archaeology with anchor points in ancient epigraphic-literary sources, Hittite-Levantine-Egyptian kings and astronomical observations to precisely date the Sea People event. By confronting historical and science-based archaeology, we establish an absolute age range of 1192–1190 BC for terminal destructions and cultural collapse in the northern Levant. This radiocarbon-based archaeology has far-reaching implications for the wider Mediterranean, where an elaborate network of international relations and commercial activities are intertwined with the history of civilizations

Paul Åström (Ed.), Acta Cypria. Acts of an International Congress on Cypriot Archaeology held in Göteborg on 22-24 August 1991

Nys Karin. Paul Åström (Ed.), Acta Cypria. Acts of an International Congress on Cypriot Archaeology held in Göteborg on 22-24 August 1991. In: L'antiquité classique, Tome 64, 1995. pp. 517-519

Frieda Vandenabeele et Robert Laffineur (Ed.), Cypriote Stone Sculpture. Proceedings of the Second International Conference of Cypriote Studies. Brussels- Liège 17-19 May, 1993.

Nys Karin. Frieda Vandenabeele et Robert Laffineur (Ed.), Cypriote Stone Sculpture. Proceedings of the Second International Conference of Cypriote Studies. Brussels- Liège 17-19 May, 1993. . In: L'antiquité classique, Tome 65, 1996. pp. 564-565

Frieda Vandenabeele et Robert Laffineur (Ed.), Cypriote Stone Sculpture. Proceedings of the Second International Conference of Cypriote Studies. Brussels- Liège 17-19 May, 1993.

Nys Karin. Frieda Vandenabeele et Robert Laffineur (Ed.), Cypriote Stone Sculpture. Proceedings of the Second International Conference of Cypriote Studies. Brussels- Liège 17-19 May, 1993. . In: L'antiquité classique, Tome 65, 1996. pp. 564-565

Craftsmanship and the cultural/political identity of the Cypriote kingdoms : the case of Idalion and Tamassos

Dans cette contribution, nous examinons les rapports entre les entités politiques chypriotes de l'Âge du Fer et leur production artistique. Les données disponibles provenant d'Idalion et de Tamassos nous permettent de chercher si les styles régionaux étaient dictés et contrôlés par les élites du pouvoir. Nous examinons aussi ce que cela implique sur les interactions entre ces deux royaumes à l'Âge du Fer.Epigraphic documents attest that the two neighbouring, inland sites, Idalion and Tamassos, were kingdoms during the Cypro-Archaic period, and that-within an interval of nearly a century - they were both incorporated by the kingdom of Kition during the Cypro-Classical period, thereby losing their independent status. The geographical position of Idalion and Tamassos must have been both a blessing and a curse: while the two polities could thrive on the exploitation of the nearby copper mines, they also had to withstand the economic interest of other Cypriote polities in these natural resources. In addition, we may assume that, because of their inland position, Idalion and Tamassos were forced to seek economic collaboration with polities that had direct access to the sea for the export and exchange of commodities beyond the island. We may further expect that the control of ore-mining and forestry activities must have been a potential source of territorial strife between the two inland kingdoms. Therefore, the geo-economic reality likely induced Idalion and Tamassos to a dualistic relationship of being both allies and competitors. ..

Craftsmanship and the cultural / political identity of the Cypriote kingdoms. The case of Idalion and Tamassos

Dans cette contribution, nous examinons les rapports entre les entités politiques chypriotes de l'Âge du Fer et leur production artistique. Les données disponibles provenant d'Idalion et de Tamassos nous permettent de chercher si les styles régionaux étaient dictés et contrôlés par les élites du pouvoir. Nous examinons aussi ce que cela implique sur les interactions entre ces deux royaumes à l'Âge du Fer.Nys Karin, Recke Matthias. Craftsmanship and the cultural / political identity of the Cypriote kingdoms. The case of Idalion and Tamassos. In: Cahiers du Centre d'Etudes Chypriotes. Volume 34, 2004. pp. 211-222

18. A Picture is Worth a Thousands Words: Pictorial Pottery as a Marker for Socio-Economic Entanglements between the Coast and Hinterland

An in-depth analysis of Late Bronze Age bull protome imagery in the Tremithos river valley in south-east Cyprus can shed light on the socio-economic entanglements between sites with different positions within the local site ranking. The material assemblage and the topographical position of Klavdhia, a hinterland site, reveal a less hierarchical relationship with its coastal centre at Hala Sultan Tekke. Our aim is to provide insights in the complexity of their socio-economic relations and thei..