During the Chalcolithic period (ca. 4000 – 2400 BCE) Cyprus was home to several highly distinctive styles of anthropomorphic figurines. These figurines were produced using clay and different types...Show moreDuring the Chalcolithic period (ca. 4000 – 2400 BCE) Cyprus was home to several highly distinctive styles of anthropomorphic figurines. These figurines were produced using clay and different types of stone. Picrolite, was the most common type of stone used for figurines. The figurines feature carved or painted figurative elements which are thought to represent concepts such as dress, hairdo, jewelry, tattoos, and body paint. There is no way to study the dress, hairdo, tattoos, and body paint worn by the Chalcolithic inhabitants of Cyprus directly. As such, these concepts can be studied within the confines of figurine studies, not necessarily in relation with the dress of the Chalcolithic population of Cyprus. In order to analyze the relationship between carved and painted figurative elements on picrolite and ceramic figurines and Chalcolithic bodies and their dress, jewelry, tattoos, or face and body painting, the following research question was established: “Do painted and carved elements on pottery and picrolite figurines from Chalcolithic Cyprus represent dress, hairdo, jewelry, tattoos, and body paint?” To answer this question, a database was established, using Winkelmann’s (2020) extensive catalog of Cypriot figurines, as well as the catalog of the Souskiou Project (Peltenburg et al., 2019). All painted and carved figurative elements, as well as their locations on the figurines were entered in the database. The figurative elements were analyzed and compared using charts and tables and results were compared with previous works on the topic. This thesis illustrates that certain figurative elements, such as hair and decoration on the neck, occur on both ceramic and picrolite figurines. However, their occurrence rates may differ between ceramic and picrolite. Most figurative elements occur in standard locations on the body, suggesting these elements represent concepts in relation to this location (e.g., tassels, clothing, and body paint). While many suggest ceramic and picrolite figurines represent the same concept, figurative elements rarely overlap between the two materials. Certain figurative elements appear to correspond to body adornments known from the archaeological record, while some painted figurative elements resemble common RW ware motifs, suggesting a purely decorative function. It is very likely that painted and carved figurative elements represent dress, hairdo, jewelry, tattoos, and body paint.Show less
The Chalcolithic on Cyprus (ca. 3900-2400 BCE) is an important period for the research of key developments taking place on the island, such as social differentiation, craft specialisation and long...Show moreThe Chalcolithic on Cyprus (ca. 3900-2400 BCE) is an important period for the research of key developments taking place on the island, such as social differentiation, craft specialisation and long-distance trade. With extensive excavations at the sites of Lemba-Lakkous, Kissonerga-Mosphilia and Kissonerga-Mylouthkia, the Chalcolithic is generally well investigated (see Peltenburg, 1985; 1998; 2003). The poorly investigated transition between the Middle (ca. 3400-2900 BCE) and the Late Chalcolithic (ca. 2800-2400 BCE), on the other hand, still leaves a research gap. The currently ongoing excavations at the site of Chlorakas-Palloures revealed remains of both the Middle and Late Chalcolithic and, therefore, have great potential to close this gap. This research involves analysing the ceramic assemblage of trench BU13 at Chlorakas-Palloures by investigating how this assemblage changes from the Middle to Late Chalcolithic. This leads to the following research question: How does the pottery assemblage of Chlorakas-Palloures change over time from the Middle to Late Chalcolithic and how does this improve our understanding of this transition? The analysis is conducted on the basis of four categories: ware, shape, fabric and surface and the results will be displayed using seriation diagrams. For this, a diagnostic selection was made consisting of 116 sherds, which was studied during the summer of 2021. This selection is placed alongside the stratigraphy of trench BU13 to create a chronological overview of the ceramic material. In this thesis, I show that the use of seriation to create a chronological overview of how pottery changes over time is a success. The ceramic assemblage of case study BU13 changes as expected. Moving from the Middle to the Late Chalcolithic, earlier wares get replaced by later ones and pottery becomes harder and more refined in texture. However, this research also importantly reveals an anomaly in the trench. Material belonging to one of the earliest units of BU13 actually matches the characteristics of that of Late Chalcolithic pottery, while Middle Chalcolithic pottery would be expected. It indicates that the trench needs to be investigated further and current interpretations perhaps need to be re-evaluated. This not only merits the ongoing excavations at Chlorakas-Palloures but the method can also be applied to other trenches and sites on the island to improve the knowledge of Cypriot Prehistory.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
open access
This research attempts to investigate the degree of contact between different Late Chalcolithic sites of the island, as well as the possibility of extra-insular interactions at the time, by looking...Show moreThis research attempts to investigate the degree of contact between different Late Chalcolithic sites of the island, as well as the possibility of extra-insular interactions at the time, by looking at similarities and differences between red and/or black burnished pottery wares that appear across the island simultaneously. Moreover, the possibility of contacts is being examined, with the inclusion of a Red Black Burnished Ware dataset from Tepecik, Anatolia. Therefore, the main research question is: What can a comparative study of red and/or black burnished wares from various sites across and outside Cyprus tell us about regionalism, connectivity and transfer of craft in the Late Chalcolithic? These research questions are investigated by examining the relevant existing publications as well as available datasets of pottery assemblages. Red and/or black burnished wares from five sites across the island are re-examined, namely: • Red and Black Stroke Burnished Wares (RB/B) from Lemba-Lakkous, Kissonerga-Mosphilia and Chlorakas-Palloures along the west coast • Red Lustrous and Red and Black Lustrous Wares (RL and RBL) from Ambelikou-Agios Georghios in the northern part of the island • Fabric A and Fabric E form Politiko-Kokkinorotsos in the central lowlands A comparative study of the aforementioned assemblages is conducted, comparing them in terms of materials, materials, technology (vessel forming and firing, surface treatment and decoration) and vessel shapes. Following the same methodology, an assemblage of Red Black Burnished Ware (RBBW) from Tepecik, Anatolia is incorporated in the dataset and compared with the Cypriot assemblages on the same aspects (materials, technology (vessel forming, surface treatment and decoration) and vessel shapes. However, one needs to keep in mind that the inclusion of an assemblage from Anatolia does not aim to give a definitive answer to the possibility of relations between the pottery traditions in question. It functions merely as a pilot project, to see whether this hypothesis is indeed plausible and worthy of further investigation.Show less
The scarce evidence of copper daggers from the third millennium BC in the Alpine region clashes with the numerous representation of metal daggers on anthropomorphic statue-menhirs and other forms...Show moreThe scarce evidence of copper daggers from the third millennium BC in the Alpine region clashes with the numerous representation of metal daggers on anthropomorphic statue-menhirs and other forms of megalithic art. The identification of a particular recurring type of copper daggers in these representations has led to their attribution to those produced in the context of the Remedello Culture in the central area of the Po’ plain, Italy. How was it possible that this type of dagger appeared over such a vast region during the considerable time-span comprised from 3000 and 2500 BCE? Why was the Remedello-dagger specifically employed? In order to tackle these questions a framework based on branding has been theorised. Following the steps of David Wengrow (2008) and Samuel Becker (2015), the concept of branding has been used to explain the repetition of standardised design conveying some underlying information and its application in different contexts. The establishment of a prototype of the Remedello-dagger brand has been followed by its identification in the archaeological record of the Alpine region. The analysis of the evidence comprised statue-menhirs alignments in Trentino, Lunigiana and Valle Camonica and Valtellina. The evidence of funerary megalithic sites at Saint-Martin-de-Corléans (Aosta) and Petit-Chassuer (Sion), together with the rock-art complexes of Chastel- Arnaud and Mont Bégo. These contexts have been seen as representative of different employments of the Remedellian brand, which marked human (male) bodies, funerary contexts and the landscapes of rock-art complexes. The reason behind this long-lasting form of religious branding has been connected to its link to the newly introduced technology of metallurgy. Copper metalwork through the Remedellian brand was the base of a shared, cross-cultural identity in the Alpine region in the first half of the third millennium BCE.Show less
For the past thirty years excavations in western Cyprus have taken place and uncovered substantial settlements from the Chalcolithic period (ca. 3800-2300 BC). One of the most recent excavations is...Show moreFor the past thirty years excavations in western Cyprus have taken place and uncovered substantial settlements from the Chalcolithic period (ca. 3800-2300 BC). One of the most recent excavations is the project of Chlorakas-Palloures, which first started during the summer of 2015. The project is a rescue excavation before the plot of land will be occupied by hotels or villas. During the past two years, architecture, burials and many artefacts were recovered from the sites and proved that this site is a valuable asset to Chalcolithic archaeology. The specific topic of this thesis is ground stone. The ground stone category consists of most stone artefacts, except for those that can be identified as chipped stone. The aim of this thesis was to identify the materials used for the object classes of this material and determine why these materials were used. The results of Palloures were then compared to those of the nearby sites of Kissonerga-Mosphilia, Kissonerga-Mylouthkia and Lemba-Lakkous, all of which have yielded large amounts of ground stone artefacts and quite well documented. Despite the close proximity of all sites, there turned out to be quite a degree of local variance, although this was more noticeable in some classes than others. Artefact stone selection could be explained by a couple of factors: Local availability, functionality and sometimes aesthetics, and convenience. Objects require a certain material to be used in order to be effective, which has to be available in order to be used. Objects with multiple forms of use-wear appear to have been used either sequentially or concomitantly. The former are particularly suitable for the convenience model, since the original purpose of the object is no longer in use, and the tool has been reshaped, most likely to avoid the unnecessary wasting of material. A large amount of materials were used for multiple tool classes and several object classes have been used simultaneously for two different functions and have the use-wear matching these functions. It would be convenient to be able to use one object for multiple purposes and not having to carry around more tools than necessary. Although many theories can be come up with to explain material selection, it is not without problems. Differences in detail of excavation reports, dated approaches to the material and the lack of experimental archaeology to explore the possibilities of rock types increase the difficulty significantly. I suspect that employing experimental archaeology actively within the field of ground stone could increase our understanding of the material and therefore the Chalcolithic community as a whole.Show less
