The years c. 1250 to 1150 BC in Greece and the Aegean are often characterised as a time of crisis and collapse. A critical period in the long history of the region and its people and culture, they witnessed the end of the Mycenaean kingdoms, with their palaces and Linear B records, and, through the Postpalatial period, the transition into the Early Iron Age. But, on closer examination, it has become increasingly clear that the period as a whole, across the region, defies simple characterisation there was success and splendour, resilience and continuity, and novelty and innovation, actively driven by the people of these lands through this transformative century.
The story of the Aegean at this time has frequently been incorporated into narratives focused on the wider eastern Mediterranean, and most infamously the 'Sea Peoples' of the Egyptian texts. In twenty-four chapters written by specialists, Collapse and Transformation instead offers a tight focus on the Aegean itself, providing an up-to date picture of the archaeology 'before' and 'after' 'the collapse' of c. 1200 BC. It will be essential reading for students and scholars of the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean regions, as well as providing data and a range of interpretations to those studying collapse and resilience more widely and engaging in comparative studies.
Introductory chapters discuss notions of collapse, and provide an overview the Mycenaean collapse. These are followed by twelve chapters, which review the evidence from the major regions of the Aegean, including the Argolid, Messenia, and Boeotia, Crete, and the Aegean islands. Six chapters then address key themes: the economy, funerary practices, the Mycenaean pottery of the mainland and the wider Aegean and eastern Mediterranean region, religion, and the extent to which later Greek myth can be drawn upon as evidence or taken to reflect any historical reality. The final four chapters provide a wider context for the Aegean story, surveying the eastern Mediterranean, including Cyprus and the Levant, and the themes of subsistence and warfare.
AUTHOR: Guy D. Middleton is a Senior Researcher in the Czech Institute of Egyptology, Charles University, Prague, and a Visiting Fellow in the School of History, Classics and Archaeology at Newcastle University. His PhD on the Mycenaean collapse c. 1200 BC was completed at Durham University; he has a BA (Hons) in Ancient History and Archaeology and an MA in Museum Studies from Newcastle University.
Edited by:
Guy D. Middleton
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 280mm,
Width: 216mm,
ISBN: 9781789254259
ISBN 10: 1789254256
Pages: 280
Publication Date: 01 April 2020
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Unspecified
" Preface Contributors Note on terms and chronology Map of the Aegean Introducing collapse Guy D. Middleton 2. Mycenaean collapse(s) c. 1200 BC Guy D. Middleton 3. The destruction of Mycenaean centres in eastern Thessaly Vasiliki Adrymi-Sismani 4. Mycenaean Achaea before and after the collapse Emiliano Arena 5. Chaos is a ladder: First Corinthians climbing - The end of the Mycenaean Age at Corinthia Eleni Balomenou 6. LH IIIC and Submycenaean Laconia Chrysanthi Gallou 7. Collapse at the end of the Late Bronze Age in the Aegean Mercourios Georgiadis 8. Messenia Julie A. Hruby 9. The Euboean Gulf Margaretha Kramer-Hajos 10. Growth and turmoil in the thirteenth century in Crete Charlotte Langohr 11. East Lokris-Phokis Antonia Livieratou 12. Glas and Boeotia Christofilis Maggidis 13. The Argolid Tobias Mühlenbruch 14. Collapse and transformation in Athens and Attica Robin Osborne 15. Continuities and changes in Mycenaean burial practices after the collapse of the palace system Peta Bulmer 16. The Irrelevance of Greek ""Tradition"" Oliver Dickinson 17. Continuity and change in religious practice from the Late Bronze Age to the Iron Age Susan Lupack 18. LHIIIC pottery and destruction in the East Aegean-West Anatolian Interface, Cilicia, Cyprus and coastal Levant Penelope A. Mountjoy 19. The changing economy Sarah C. Murray 20. Late Palatial vs. Early Post-Palatial Mycenaean pottery (c. 1250-1150 BCE): Ceramic change during an episode of cultural collapse and regeneration Jeremy B. Rutter 21. Beyond the Aegean: Consideration of the LBA collapse in the eastern Mediterranean Eric H. Cline 22. Catastrophe revisited Robert Drews 23. Cyprus: Bronze Age demise, Iron Age regeneration A. Bernard Knapp and Nathan Meyer 24. Economies in crisis: Subsistence and landscape technology in the Aegean and east Mediterranean after c. 1200 BC Saro Wallace"
Guy D. Middleton is a Senior Researcher in the Czech Institute of Egyptology, Charles University, Prague, and a Visiting Fellow in the School of History, Classics and Archaeology at Newcastle University. His PhD on the Mycenaean collapse c. 1200 BC was completed at Durham University; he has a BA (Hons) in Ancient History and Archaeology and an MA in Museum Studies from Newcastle University.
Reviews for Collapse and Transformation: The Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age in the Aegean
...reading this book from beginning to end is an intellectually rewarding experience for anyone looking for sociopolitical, economic and cultural history in material remains. * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
