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Reconsidering a Cultural Crossroads: A Diachronic Analysis of Ceramic Production, Consumption, and Exchange Patterns at Bronze Age Ayia Irini, Kea, Greece

Abell, Natalie D.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1396531428

Abstract Details

2014, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences: Classics.
Although studies of exchange and interaction in the prehistoric Cyclades have become increasingly theoretically sophisticated, the mechanisms through which exchange occurred are still not fully understood, and diachronic analyses that emphasize variability between Cycladic communities are rare. This dissertation provides a new perspective, employing a micro-level approach that is focused on the details of stratigraphy, architecture, ceramics, and other objects in Area B at Ayia Irini on Kea, in order to reconsider published deposits and assess detailed questions related to changing production, consumption, and exchange patterns in this island community over time. I argue that the distinctive, multicultural nature of the ceramic assemblage at Ayia Irini is more than the result of its position as a hub between networks, connecting culturally distinct regions to each other and the metal deposits of Lavrion in Attica. Ayia Irini was also a physical locus of exchange, where people of different cultural backgrounds interacted with each other and with local residents, and where non-local people, including craftspeople, were integrated into the local community. Although participation in exotic or elite drinking or eating practices may have formed part of internal negotiations over status, it is also probable that diverse ceramic shapes in circulation at Ayia Irini were used in drinking or eating activities that connected locals and non-locals in shared practices, familiar to both groups. Participation in such activities would have reinforced social bonds between local and non-local people and enabled the development and strengthening of personal relationships, an important precondition for most types of preindustrial exchange. At Ayia Irini, a community whose entire existence seems to have been predicated on participation in exchange networks, creating and maintaining such social bonds was vital, and key to the longevity and prosperity of the settlement.
Jack Davis, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Eleni Hatzaki, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Gisela Walberg, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
942 p.
Archaeology
Aegean Bronze Age; Archaeological ceramics; Ancient exchange; Interaction networks; Prehistoric craft production

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Abell, N. D. (2014). Reconsidering a Cultural Crossroads: A Diachronic Analysis of Ceramic Production, Consumption, and Exchange Patterns at Bronze Age Ayia Irini, Kea, Greece [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1396531428

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Abell, Natalie. Reconsidering a Cultural Crossroads: A Diachronic Analysis of Ceramic Production, Consumption, and Exchange Patterns at Bronze Age Ayia Irini, Kea, Greece. 2014. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1396531428.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Abell, Natalie. "Reconsidering a Cultural Crossroads: A Diachronic Analysis of Ceramic Production, Consumption, and Exchange Patterns at Bronze Age Ayia Irini, Kea, Greece." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1396531428

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.