The Shaft Grave Period and the Rise of the Mycenaeans
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Transcript of The Shaft Grave Period and the Rise of the Mycenaeans
The Shaft Grave Period and the
Rise of the Mycenaeans
BA Chronology
Crete Minoan (Minos - mythical king) Cyclades Cycladic (Aegean island chain) Mainland Helladic (Hellas = Greece)
• EarlyEBA EM EC EH (3100-2000)• Middle MBA MM MC MH (2000-
1650)• Late LBA LM LC LH (1650-1050)
MH Burial Types
• Pithos (jar) burial• Built Grave or
Warrior Grave (Kollonna, Aegina; Thebes)
• Pit Burial• Cist Grave
• Intramural or Extramural
Cist Grave
• Most Common MH Burial Practice
• Single Burials• Fetal Position• Return to
mother earth?• No, smaller
hole!
Mycenae• Grave Circle A
• “Mycenae Rich in Gold”
• Schliemann
Shaft Grave: Grave Circle A
Shaft Grave Ware: Mainland Polychrome
Shaft GraveStructure
enlarged cist grave entered from above through a shaft several feet deep
dug from the contemporary ground surface
Inside the Shaft Grave
• Extended body• Multiple burials
over time possible
• Older Remains pushed to side
Marking the Grave
• Slabs, waterproof clay cover
• Shaft filled • Rectangular border of
stones may mark spot• Stele (1st large-scale
relief sculptures on Greek Mainland)
Shaft Grave Sites
Mycenae(Intact)
Lerna (robbed out)
Ayios Stephanos, Lakonia (bare bones)
Argos
Lavish Grave Goods• Rhyton, Rhyta
The Dead
• Bigger, sturdier than earlier MH corpses or contemporary burials in other sorts of graves
• Why bigger?
Big Eaters or Big Invaders?
• Better nutrition for elite group?
• Different racial group?
Who are they?
Mycenae: Grave Circles A & B
Grave Circle B
• Earlier than Grave Circle A
• John Papademetriou & Greek Archaeological Society
• 14 Shaft Graves out of 24 tombs
Grave Circle Origins
• MH Tumulus at Vrana
• Plural Tumuli
The Shaft Graves and Myth
• 2 Heroic Periodsa) Late MH to LHI-IIShaft Grave period & laterb) LHIII
• Danaos & the Shaft Grave Period
• Trojan War & LHIII
FAMILY TREE OF DANAOS
POSEIDON_____________LIBYA I
________I________ I I AGENOR BELUS
________I______ I I AEGYPTUS DANAOS I I I I 50 SONS 50 DAUGHTERS
The Danaids• Danaos & daughters
flee Egypt, but sons of Aegyptos follow
• Danaids marry, then kill sons of Aegyptos
• Mercy of Hypermestra• Purified by gods• “Widows” have
difficulty attracting new husbands
• No dowry, daughters as sports prizes!
• Danaans (Greeks), children of Danaids
Danaids Historical?
Danaids = Hyksos?
• heka khasewet "rulers of foreign lands")
• Semitic, Hurrian, Indo-Aryan people?
• Migrants/Invaders?
Theories from Archaeological
Evidence?
Shaft Grave Dead as Cretan Conquerors?
• Minoan style artifacts
• Un-Minoan style burials
Nomadic Tribe of Central or Northern Europe?
• Chariots• Grave steles• New Art Style• “Aegeanized” by
more advanced local culture
• BUT no chariots in N or C Europe. Only in Near East, a MORE sophisticated culture
Locals looted Crete?
• Lots of Minoan style treasures
• BUT wealth gradually accumulated
• No evidence of destruction on Crete
• Minoan naval strength
Mercenaries Rewarded by Egypt against Hyksos?
• But Hyksos BETWEEN Mycenae and Egyptian Thebes
Mycenaean Control of
Trade Route for Valuable Commodity?• Tin (for bronze)?• Disruption of Near
Eastern trade for tin by Hyksos, Hittites, Hurrians, et al.
• Evidence for Mycenaean trade with Northern Europe (pottery, amber)
Gold (& Amber) from Transylvania (Romania)
• Mycenaeans: lavish use of gold
• Minoans: economical use
• Gold traded for Early Mycenaean daggers
Identity, Origins & Source of Wealth Still Matters of Debate
Readings for Next Class: Iliad 9, Rutter 20
(Mycenaean Residential Architecture)