The Neopalatial Pottery From The Ceramic Workshop At ZominthosAnd Its Implications for Minoan Relative Chronology

Abstract Die begrenzte Zahl sicher datierbarer Befunde stellt eines der wichtigsten Probleme der Neupalastzeitlichen Relativen Chronologie des Minoischen Kreta dar. Zominthos aber scheint die Ausnahme dieser Regel zu sein. Die Keramikgruppe aus der Töpferwerkstatt stammt aus einem geschlossenen Befund und ist somit von höchster chronologischer Bedeutung. Alle, oder zumindest die Mehrzahl der Gefäße gehören wohl zur letzten Produktionsserie des lokalen Töpfers, was eine sehr genau Datierbarkeit der endgültigen Zerstörung des ‘Zentralgebäudes’ ermöglich sollte und einen Fixpunkt für den Gebrauch von SM IA Keramik liefern kann. Die vorliegende Studie dient jedoch zuerst der Präsentation des bearbeiteten keramischen Materials. Die genaue Untersuchung der Keramikgruppe, ihrer Gefäßformen und Dekorationsschemata, warf aber auch Fragen die gesamte Relative Chronologie des Neupalastzeitlichen Kreta betreffend auf, insbesondere zur Verbindung bzw. Trennung der stilistischen Phasen MM IIIB bis SM IB. Demnach kann das Material aus Zominthos einen wertvollen Beitrag zur andauernden Diskussion und der Verfeinerung chronologischer Schemata liefern, ebenso wie zum Verständnis interregionaler Keramik-Charakteristika und inselweiter Beziehungen im Spätminoischen Kreta. Während dieser Untersuchung wurde die Notwendigkeit lokaler relativer Sequenzen deutlich, um weitreichendere Chronologien erstellen zu können, genauso wie die Fehlerquellen und Probleme bei der Datierung keramischen Materials in der Ägäis und darüber hinaus. Dennoch versuchte der Autor die Zerstörung des ‚Zentralgebäudes‘ mit einem auf Kreta weit verbreiteten Katastrophenhorizont zu korrelieren, der in einer fortgeschrittenen Phase des SM IA Keramikstils anzusetzen ist und wahrscheinlich mit der sog. ‚Minoischen Eruption‘ des Vulkans auf Thera in Zusammenhang steht. Diese chronologischen Überlegungen bilden den Kern und die Hauptaussage der vorliegenden Dissertationsschrift. Der einzigartige Erhaltungszustand des Fundortes erlaubt zudem interessante Erkentnisse über das Töpferhandwerk in der Ägäischen Bronzezeit und bietet nützliche Anhaltspunkte zur Identifikation von Werkstätten und ihrer diagnostischen Elemente. Die durchgeführte Untersuchung der Keramikgruppe fand im Rahmen des übergeordneten Projektes ‘Zominthos 2004-2008. Reconstructing a Minoan Landscape’ unter der Ägide der Archäologischen Gesellschaft Athens in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Institut für Klassische Archäologie der Universität Heidelberg statt und wurde von der Gerda-Henkel-Stiftung gefördert. Das Projekt wurde von Prof. Iannis Sakellarakis und Prof. Diamantis Panagiotopoulos geleitet, denen Ich das mir für diese Dissertation überlassene Material verdanke. Zeiskam, 24.10.200

A New Fixed Point in Minoan Relative Chronology? The Pottery Assemblage from the Ceramic Workshop at Zominthos and Its Implications for Neopalatial Chronology

The small number of securely datable pottery deposits on Minoan Crete poses one of the crucial problems of Neopalatial chronology. Zominthos, however, seems to be the exception to that rule. The ceramic assemblage found in the area of the pottery workshop derives from a sealed deposit par excellence and is thus of paramount chronological significance. All, or at least most of the vases under consideration probably belong to the final series of pottery production at Zominthos, which facilitates the exact dating of the destruction of the ›Central Building‹ and may offer a chronologically fixed point for the use of LM I style pottery. The studies on the material raised theoretical questions on how to date pottery in general, and Neopalatial vases in particular, taking into account taphonomic conditions, the character of decorative styles and vessel shapes, and their chronological significance. This article tries to formulate and discuss these questions by establishing a relative date for the destruction of the ›Central Building‹ and underline its chronological significance for Neopalatial Crete.The small number of securely datable pottery deposits on Minoan Crete poses one of the crucial problems of Neopalatial chronology. Zominthos, however, seems to be the exception to that rule. The ceramic assemblage found in the area of the pottery workshop derives from a sealed deposit par excellence and is thus of paramount chronological significance. All, or at least most of the vases under consideration probably belong to the final series of pottery production at Zominthos, which facilitates the exact dating of the destruction of the ›Central Building‹ and may offer a chronologically fixed point for the use of LM I style pottery. The studies on the material raised theoretical questions on how to date pottery in general, and Neopalatial vases in particular, taking into account taphonomic conditions, the character of decorative styles and vessel shapes, and their chronological significance. This article tries to formulate and discuss these questions by establishing a relative date for the destruction of the ›Central Building‹ and underline its chronological significance for Neopalatial Crete

Synaptic Orb2A Bridges Memory Acquisition and Late Memory Consolidation in Drosophila

To adapt to an ever-changing environment, animals consolidate some, but not all, learning experiences to long-term memory. In mammals, long-term memory consolidation often involves neural pathway reactivation hours after memory acquisition. It is not known whether this delayed-reactivation schema is common across the animal kingdom or how information is stored during the delay period. Here, we show that, during courtship suppression learning, Drosophila exhibits delayed long-term memory consolidation. We also show that the same class of dopaminergic neurons engaged earlier in memory acquisition is also both necessary and sufficient for delayed long-term memory consolidation. Furthermore, we present evidence that, during learning, the translational regulator Orb2A tags specific synapses of mushroom body neurons for later consolidation. Consolidation involves the subsequent recruitment of Orb2B and the activity-dependent synthesis of CaMKII. Thus, our results provide evidence for the role of a neuromodulated, synapse-restricted molecule bridging memory acquisition and long-term memory consolidation in a learning animal

Minoan Archaeology

More than 100 years ago Sir Arthur Evans' spade made the first cut into the earth above the now well-known Palace at Knossos. His research at the Kephala hill as well as contemporary fieldwork at further sites on Crete saw the birth of a new discipline: Minoan Archaeology. Since these beginnings in the first decades of the 20th century, the investigation of Bronze Age Crete has experienced fundamental progress. The impressive wealth of new data relating to the sites and material culture of this Bronze Age society and its impact beyond the island's shores, the refinement of its chronology, the constant development of hermeneutical approaches to social, religious or political issues, and new methods and instruments employed for the exploration and conservation of the archaeological remains have shaped the dynamic trajectory of this discipline for more than a century. In March 2011 - exactly 111 years after the beginning of Evans' work at Knossos - a conference on Minoan Archaeology took place at Heidelberg with the aim to outline current trends and prospects of this scientific field, by setting up an open dialogue between renowned scholars and the young generation of researchers. The present volume brings together most of the papers presented during the conference. They are subsumed under six chapters highlighting current key issues in the study of Bronze Age Crete with a pronounced focus on the broad subject of society

Minoan Archaeology

More than 100 years ago Sir Arthur Evans' spade made the first cut into the earth above the now well-known Palace at Knossos. His research at the Kephala hill as well as contemporary fieldwork at further sites on Crete saw the birth of a new discipline: Minoan Archaeology. Since these beginnings in the first decades of the 20th century, the investigation of Bronze Age Crete has experienced fundamental progress. The impressive wealth of new data relating to the sites and material culture of this Bronze Age society and its impact beyond the island's shores, the refinement of its chronology, the constant development of hermeneutical approaches to social, religious or political issues, and new methods and instruments employed for the exploration and conservation of the archaeological remains have shaped the dynamic trajectory of this discipline for more than a century. In March 2011 - exactly 111 years after the beginning of Evans' work at Knossos - a conference on Minoan Archaeology took place at Heidelberg with the aim to outline current trends and prospects of this scientific field, by setting up an open dialogue between renowned scholars and the young generation of researchers. The present volume brings together most of the papers presented during the conference. They are subsumed under six chapters highlighting current key issues in the study of Bronze Age Crete with a pronounced focus on the broad subject of society