This book is a comprehensive up-to-date survey of the Aegean Bronze Age, from its beginnings to the period following the collapse of the Mycenaean palace system. In essays by leading authorities commissioned especially for this volume, it covers the history and the material culture of Crete, Greece, and the Aegean Islands from c. 3000-1100 BCE, as well as topics such as trade, religions, and economic administration. Intended as a reliable, readable introduction for university students, it will also be useful to scholars in related fields within and outside classics. The contents of this book are arranged chronologically and geographically, facilitating comparison between the different cultures. Within this framework, the cultures of the Aegean Bronze Age are assessed thematically and combine both material culture and social history.

Table of Contents

1. Background, sources, and methods Cynthia Shelmerdine; 2. The early bronze age in Greece Daniel Pullen; 3. The early bronze age in the Cyclades Cyprian Broodbank; 4. Early prepalatial Crete David Wilson; 5. Protopalatial Crete: a. Formation of the palaces Sturt W. Manning; b. The material culture Carl Knappett; 6. The material culture of neopalatial Crete John Younger and Paul Rehak; 7. Minoan culture: religion, burial customs, administration John Younger and Paul Rehak; 8. Minoan Crete and the Aegean Islands Jack L. Davis; 9. Minoan trade Philip P. Betancourt; 10. Early Mycenaean Greece James Clinton Wright; 11. Mycenaean art and architecture Janice L. Crowley; 12. Mycenaean states: A. Economy and administration Cynthia W. Shelmerdine and John Bennet; B. LM II-IIIB Laura Preston; 13. Burial customs: A. Death and the Mycenaeans William Cavanagh; B. Mycenaean religion Thomas G. Palaima; 14. Mycenaean Greece, the Aegean and Beyond Christopher Mee; 15. Decline, destruction, aftermath Sigrid Deger-Jalkotzy.

About the Author

Cynthia Shelmerdine is the Robert M. Armstrong Centennial Professor of Classics at the University of Texas, Austin. A scholar of Aegean Bronze Age archaeology and Mycenaean Greek language, history, and society, she has worked in the field with the University of Minnesota Messenia Expedition, the Pylos Regional Archaeological Project, and currently the Iklaina Archaeological Project. She is the author of many publications on Mycenaean culture.

Reviews

'This book, written by well-known experts who are good at explaining, is almost as up-to-date as any such book can be and will meet most needs, while suggesting where to read further.' The Anglo-Hellenic Review '... one of the best regional accounts of the origins of complex societies worldwide.' Nature