Showing papers in "Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology in 1992"

Systems of Exchange and Organization of Production in Neolithic Greece

Abstract: Neolithic exchange systems are currently approached either from the standpoint of production and distribution of a specific trade item, or by an overview of all goods known to circulate in a given archaeological context. I argue that neither approach is sufficient,and that one must ultimately analyse and compare systematically all parameters of the production, site consumption and regional distribution of each category of goods. In the context of the Greek Neolithic, this clearly reveals the co-existence of three distinct systems of production and distribution, which can be interpreted in different socioeconomic terms. The first system is mainly economic in purpose and concerns utilitarian goods, widely distributed geographically and socially. The second corresponds mainly to inter-group alliances and involves goods of high stylistic visibility and social function; it has a much more restricted geographic scope. The third is the well known trade in 'prestige goods', which is wide ranging but limited in terms of social access. The results shed new light on the socio-economic organization of Greek Neolithic societies, but also on their regional contrasts, since it can be shown that each main region participates deferentially in each production and exchange system.

Hunters-Gatherers of the Levantine Epipalaeolithic: The Socioecological Origins of Sedentism

Abstract: The archaeological record of the Levantine Epipalaeolithic has generally been interpreted as showing an abrupt and marked change from a system of simple, mobile hunter-gathering to one of sedentary complex foraging. Thus the Natufian is seen to represent a revolutionary break from its immediate predecessors, the Kebaran and Geometric Kebaran are shown not to conform to the small, simple and mobile paradigm and it is possible to document processual change leading to the Natufian. While the Natufian did emerge within a setting of palaeoenvironmental change, it is argued that the origins of this archaeological culture are best explained within a framework of evolving socioecological relationships.

The Neolithic Labyrinth: Social Change at Knossos before the Bronze Age

Abstract: Neolithic Crete has long been portrayed as a slow-moving backwater. Analysis of data from the large tell site at Knossos challenges this view by demonstrating that the Neolithic settlement underwent a period of rapid growth and sudden cultural change during the earlier fifth millennium. These phenomena are most convincingly interpreted as indicators of an internal transformation in Knossos's social structure, and they suggest the emergence of a Neolithic community of some complexity. The methods and conclusions of this study may have implications for approaches to later social change in Bronze Age Crete.

Environmental Exploitation and Social Structure in Prehistoric Southeast Spain

Abstract: Our main concern is not only to understand past environments and societies, but also to consider the present dramatic aridification process which threatens large parts of the southeast of the Iberian peninsula and North Africa. The introduction of a more technical 'archaeology' in recent years has produced a growing body of palaeo-environmental data. Its interpretation proceeds in a rather mechanical and isolated way, producing monolithic 'histories' of different aspects of the same reality. Our proposal for an archaeological theory is based on three factors which interact to form a totality (termed the socioecological system): the socioeconomic formation, the social exploitation of natural resources and the natural environment. The dialectical relationship between the socioeconomic formation and the natural environment takes place by means of social exploitation. As the empirical evidence in the archaeological record is the result of the interaction of these three factors, we analyse as a case study the eco-archaeological implications of the material record from Gatas, a Bronze Age settlement in southeast Spain.

Early Holocene Extinctions on Crete: The Search for the Cause

Abstract: Archaeological and paleontological studies in the Mediterranean Islands have produced a growing body of data indicating a co-occurrence of endemic island taxa and initial human inhabitants. Many of these Pleistocene species persisted beyond the close of the Pleistocene, only to become extinct during the Holocene. On Crete paleontologists have studied the endemic taxa in terms of the means and timings of their arrival, their morphology and their taxonomy, but have generally avoided discussing the causes of their demise, while archaeologists have yet to undertake research projects which specifically attempt to illuminate the period of initial Neolithic colonization. This paper attempts to bridge the gap; its goal is to determine when the endemic taxa of the island became extinct. By exploring three competing models (climatic change, overkill, and habitat destruction/resource competition), the authors conclude that the available data for Crete point to faunal extinction being the indirect result of human activities of land clearance and the introduction of domestic animals.