“Nature”, the Minoans and Embodied Spiritualities

Like a Duck to Water – Birds and Liquids in the Aegean Bronze Age

“…In recent years, ontologies/worldviews in general and human–animal relationships in particular have increasingly been discussed by scholars studying the Aegean Bronze Age. The topic has been approached from various different angles, focusing either on iconography (Herva 2006a; 2006b; Shapland 2009; 2010; 2013; Goodison 2012; Tully and Crooks 2015), animal remains in funerary contexts (Goodison 2011), or studying both iconographical sources and material remains such as figurines (Morris and Peatfield 2004; 2012; Crooks, Tully and Hitchcock 2016). Most studies have concentrated on the evidence from Minoan Crete, and scholars have identified a strong animist element in Cretan ontology.…”

“…Some scholars have also emphasised the importance of performance, action and movement observable in Minoan iconography, both in scenes involving humans and non-humans (Herva 2006b, 224; Goodison 2012, 218–19). In this context, Shapland's (2009, 230) observation about the way naturalism in Minoan art often aims to make an animal directly present during ritual performance is revealing.…”

Archaeology of Spiritualities

“…Traditions of sacred trees and tree worship are known from various cultures and since ancient times. Frazer ( 1922Frazer ( /1993 , for instance, wrote at length about the veneration of trees and various later scholars have similarly addressed the special relationship between people and trees (e.g., Cloke and Jones 2002 ;Goodison 2010 ;Rival 1998 ) . The Finnish tradition of sacred trees probably dates from prehistoric times and continued well into the modern period.…”

“…Acknowledgements I sincerely thank Christine Morris and Alan A.D. Peat fi eld for inviting me to contribute to their 2008 WAC-6 session entitled "Archaeology and the Goddess: Creating Dialogue", for providing Morris and Peat fi eld 2004 and for drawing my attention to Goodison 2010 . I also thank Christine Morris, Alan A.D. Peat fi eld and Kathryn Rountree for subsequently inviting me to participate in this volume and for their very fruitful dialogue.…”

Senses of Place, Senses of the Past: Making Experiential Maps as Part of Community Heritage Fieldwork

“…He argued that the drive behind the construction of the Cursus and other such monuments was an attempt to encase or to enhance visible symbolic landmarks in a more permanent way (see De Nardi 2013). In addition, his inventory of landmarks included significant natural topographical elements on his maps living 'organically' alongside humanly created features such as megaliths (see Goodison 2012).…”