IISEMG · Investigating Intermediate Structures in the Economy of Mycenaean Greece (c. 1400 - 1200 BC) Through Archaeological and Textual Data

Investigating Intermediate Structures in the Economy of Mycenaean Greece (c. 1400 - 1200 BC) Through Archaeological and Textual Data

PROJECT IISEMG - Investigating Intermediate Structures in the Economy of Mycenaean Greece (c. 1400 - 1200 BC) Through Archaeological and Textual Data (http://myciisemg.wix.com/iisemg) INTRODUCTION The IISEMG project was carried out in the Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield (UK) from 1 October 2012 to 8 December 2014. The aim of project was to advance the ongoing debate on the Mycenaean political economy by developing a more thorough understanding of the nature and economic organisation of two important palatial settlements in Mycenaean Greece (c. 1400 – 1200 BC) – Mycenae (Argolid) and Thebes (Boeotia) – with a particular focus on the articulation between central palatial functions and economic activity in the wider polities. Two research questions were at the heart of the project: - Were the main Mycenaean settlements large, but essentially normal towns comprising common dwellings or specialised palatial organisms focused on the administration of a wider territory? - What was the rôle of the 'Intermediate' units, a class of buildings identified in the recent research literature as intermediate in function between palaces and ordinary households? The core research objectives were: - A critical review of the major current debates within scholarship on the Mycenaean political economies, in particular in relation to the organisation of production and production relationships. - An integrated contextual analysis of the archaeological and textual evidence within the excavated structures of the palatial sites of Mycenae and Thebes. - Finally, a reassessment of the types and functions of the buildings in the two sites and of the general functional and economic organisation within the two settlements. The main methodological decision was to combine the evidence from both archaeological materials and textual sources (Linear B clay documents), to bridge the traditional divide between archaeological and textual studies. The project’s training element was closely linked to this section in order to develop the researcher’s competencies in Linear B and Mycenaean studies. RESULTS The Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield formed an ideal environment in which to ensure the full achievement of the core objectives. Intense training in Linear B and Aegean studies has provided the researcher with the necessary tools to implement the project towards completion and the overall research environment proved stimulating for testing and discussion of hypotheses. - The complexity of the economic organisation of Mycenaean society was investigated thoroughly: the highly diversified and interconnected production relationships attested in the textual sources suggested that a similarly complex situation should pertain among the structures in the archaeological record. - An integrated contextual analysis proved very fruitful: uniform criteria to identify archaeological indicators of various activities and functions were established, in order to compare evidence from different buildings and sites. Particular attention was devoted to the indicators of various types of storage (of staples, raw materials and finished products), ‘palatial’ prestige crafts and administration. - The types and probable functions of the excavated buildings of Mycenae and Thebes in the Mycenaean period were established. The main types of structures within the excavated settlements proved to be: palaces, large / small ‘Intermediate’ units, work-areas, and large / small ‘Household’ units. Of particular relevance is the separation identified between ‘Intermediate’ units and ‘Household’ units: the first were devoted to mixed storage (food, drink, ceramics, raw materials, or craft products), administration (Linear B clay documents, sealings) and, in some cases, craft production or assembling activities; the second seem to have had a more ‘residential’ character (much less storage and fewer ‘prestige’ items), but they too were also somehow implicated in palatial operations, as implied by the presence of sealings and ‘palatial’ crafts. - The combination of textual and archaeological evidence enabled the provisional identification of parallels between the economic units attested physically in the archaeological record and those attested in the documentary sources. Not only do they share some basic characteristics (‘internal’ / ‘palatial’ vs ‘external’ / ‘non-palatial’, and large vs small), but they also share some basic activities, especially the distribution of food, drink and raw materials, plus the storage of ceramics for cooking and serving food and drink and, in addition, the production of textiles and other ‘palatial’ craft goods. CONCLUSIONS The general organisation of the two settlements and their nature are now clear. Thebes and Mycenae seem to have been organised on a similar basis: the proliferation of multi-storage and administrative units (‘Intermediate’ units), mainly large-scale, but also perhaps small-scale. The main concerns of these structures were: the distribution / consumption of food / drink and of related ceramics (storage, cooking, drinking and eating vessels); hoarding / assembling of weapons and other bronze items, high-status furniture and ornaments, and some involvement in ‘palatial’ prestige crafts, including textiles. The same range of concerns are reflected in the Linear B documents found in these buildings, with the addition of personnel management (presumably related to their activities), organisation of banquets, and flock management (related to textile manufacture). In general terms, palatial interests and production seem to be present in most of the examined structures, both ‘internal’ (‘Intermediate’ units, possibly to be seen as downscaled versions of the ‘palace’s’ functional range) and ‘external’ (attested in sealings and traces of ‘prestige’ craft activity). Both settlements thus contained many ‘palatial’ or palace-linked buildings: in this sense, the sites as a whole can be considered a palatial organism, a sort of ‘Palace-Town’. IMPACT Within the European research area, the project has had an academic impact in presentations in several universities (Italy, Sweden and UK) and the researcher’s participation in other international academic meetings (Belgium, Cyprus, France, Italy, Sweden and UK). A broader impact will follow shortly, as anticipated publications appear, with important consequences for the international debate about the nature of Mycenaean society, economy and the relationships between town and territory in that period of prehistory. The potential exists to generate further problem-oriented field research projects (especially archaeological surveys), to be undertaken by research-focused and state-funded archaeologists, as well as to encourage re-study and re-evaluation of data from earlier excavations. In a cross-disciplinary context, it will stimulate further productive dialogue with scholars researching similar ‘palatial’ societies in the Near and Far East and Central and Southern America. The project also represents an example of the use of particular methodologies (integration of archaeological and textual studies, contextual analysis) that will influence future research programmes in these areas. LINKS memalberti@gmail.com http://myciisemg.wix.com/iisemg http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/archaeology/people/alberti https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/archaeology/research/iisemg http://usheffield.academia.edu/MariaEmanuelaAlberti http://www.facebook.com/iisemg.mycenaeanintermediatestructures

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