MYCENAEAN TOMBS AS EVIDENCE FOR SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANISATION.¹

Abstract

A chronological and spatial analysis of Mycenaean tomb types is presented in the belief that burial practices reflect the social and political changes which occurred during the Late Helladic period. Interpretation of the evidence is complicated by the degree of regional diversity. However, it is suggested that the practices of the Middle Helladic period were not as simple as has been supposed and foreshadow the innovations of the early Mycenaean period which were inspired by political motives. The increasing standardisation in tomb types in LHIIl was conditioned by the emergence of the Mycenaean palace system, the collapse of which engendered the changes seen in ~ L HIIIC. -

Late Mycenaean Warrior Tombs

“…The cultural, sociological and political background of Mycenaean warrior tombs in general has been studied so frequently that there is no need to raise a general discussion in the present context (see, for instance, Mee and Cavanagh 1984;Wright 1987;Cavanagh 1998;Voutsaki 1998;Voutsaki 1999;Cavanagh and Mee, Private Place). Confining ourselves to the warrior tombs of the post-palatial period, it is evident that they reflected the deep-rooted change in social organisation and economy caused by the demise of the palatial system (on the following see Deger-Jalkotzy 1994.…”

The Mycenaean palatial economy: Making the most of the gaps in the evidence

“…It is unclear where perfume was produced at Mycenae - Shelmerdine 1985, 53-5. For the argument that chamber tombs catered for more than the upper echelons of Mycenaean society, see Mee and Cavanagh 1984. 83. Demakopoulou 1990;House of Kadmos -Keramopoullos 1930; Kordatzis and Koropoulis plots - Demakopoulou and Konsola 1981, 24, 50, 56;Tournavitou 1988.…”

I Will Follow You into the Dark: Death and Emotion in a Mycenaean Royal Funeral

“…Because of the nature of the archaeological record for Late Bronze Age or Mycenaean Greece, there has inevitably been a strong focus on funerary practices, especially with regard to how burials reflect (and in part enabled) the development of hierarchical society and political change (Boyd ; Mee and Cavanagh ; Preston ; Voutsaki and ; Wright ). Recent trends have pushed research further into the study of agency, materiality and performance, in which the experience and spectacle of death and burial are explored (e.g.…”