Unit:
Specialty Greek and Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology: From the Bronze Age Palaces to the Hellenistic KingdomsLibrary of the School of Philosophy
Author:
Hitchcock Jocelyn McKenzie
Supervisors info:
Yiannis Papadatos
Original Title:
Crisis Averted: How the collapse of the palatial centers provided the perfect storm for prosperity and growth in the 12th/11th centuries BCE in the Central Mediterranean
Translated title:
Crisis Averted: How the collapse of the palatial centers provided the perfect storm for prosperity and growth in the 12th/11th centuries BCE in the Central Mediterranean
Summary:
Though the Late Bronze Age collapse of palatial centers throughout the eastern Mediterranean spelled out a significant shrinking of social, political, and economic relationships for most of the main administrative centers, certain areas of the Mediterranean were left to prosper in the aftermath. In particular, peripheral regions of Mycenaean Greece, such as Achaea, not only survived the so-called collapse of their neighbors, but continued and strengthened relationships with southeastern Italy, another area of the Mediterranean that did not witness a major socio-political contraction. This post-palatial relationship reached its zenith in the 12th and 11th centuries BCE and is evidenced by shared ceramic styles and techniques, burial contexts and processes, and changes in settlement patterns after the Mycenaean administrative center disappeared. By looking at the nature of the relationship between Italy and the western Peloponnese we are able to correct and nuance our understanding of three distinct areas of research: (1) the system of Mycenaean palatial control in peripheral regions; (2) the varied nature of the Bronze Age collapse; and (3) the ability of certain areas to flourish in the Post-palatial period, despite the aforementioned crisis.
Main subject category:
Archaeology
Keywords:
Bronze Age Prehistory, central Mediterranean, trade, palatial system, Mycenaean palaces, Aegean prehistory, Bronze Age collapse, Bronze Age Italy
