The Archaeology of Cyprus: From Earliest Prehistory through the Bronze Age

Description

Situated between the worlds of the Near East, Europe and Africa, the archaeology and culture of Cyprus are central to an understanding of the ancient Mediterranean world. This book treats the archaeology of Cyprus from the first-known human presence during the Late Epipalaeolithic (c.11,000 BC) through the end of the Bronze Age (c.1000 BC). A. Bernard Knapp examines the archaeological and documentary records of prehistoric Cyprus within their regional context, paying special attention to the Levant and the Aegean. The appendix (compiled by Sturt W. Manning) analyses all published radiocarbon dates from the island, providing for the first time a comprehensive chronological framework for all of Cypriot prehistory. Focusing on key themes such as identity, insularity and connectivity, and society, community and polity throughout, this book provides a remarkably up-to-date and integrated synthesis of human activity on the Mediterranean's third-largest island.

A. Bernard Knapp is Emeritus Professor of Mediterranean Archaeology in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Glasgow and Honorary Research Fellow at the Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute. He co-edits the Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology with John F. Cherry and Peter van Dommelen and is the general editor of the series Monographs in Mediterranean Archaeology. He is the author and editor of several books including, most recently, Material Connections in the Ancient Mediterranean: Mobility, Materiality, and Mediterranean Identities (co-edited with Peter van Dommelen) and Prehistoric and Protohistoric Cyprus: Identity, Insularity, and Connectivity.

'... a very accessible text for students of Cypriot archaeology at all levels of study. The detail of coverage likewise ensures that this will be an invaluable reference tool for scholars.' Landscape History 'This blockbuster book must now be the standard source on the prehistory of Cyprus. For those of us engaged in comparative studies on the later prehistory of the Mediterranean or on island archaeology more broadly, the book is a mine of information.' Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 'Knapp's volume is an excellent contribution to our understanding of the idiosyncratic archaeology of Cyprus; it presents up-to-date research and meticulously describes and discusses the evidence for each period down to the Bronze Age ... This book is a welcome addition to the Cambridge World Archaeology series and I do not hesitate to recommend it ... to students and professional archaeologists, and to academics in related disciplines.' Antiquity '... an indispensable synthesis of the current state of Cypriot archaeology prior to the Early Iron Age. It represents fundamental reading for graduate students and belongs on the library shelf of anyone interested in the development of ancient Cyprus, as well as all scholars working on the pre- or protohistory of the eastern Mediterranean, Near East, and/or Aegean.' Nicholas G. Blackwell, Journal of Near Eastern Studies '... a monumental achievement in marshalling and presenting the disparate evidence for the earliest history of Cyprus - a huge task - together with the core issues of the scholarly debates about it ... The Archaeology of Cyprus can be warmly recommended to all who wish to grapple with the fundamentals of Cypriot archaeology, while Knapp deserves many congratulations for his fantastic labour.' The Anglo-Hellenic Review 'Bernard Knapp's massive book ... is a monumental achievement in marshalling and presenting the disparate evidence for the earliest history of Cyprus - a huge task - together with the core issues of the scholarly debates about it ... The Archaeology of Cyprus can be warmly recommended to all who wish to grapple with the fundamentals of Cypriot archaeology, while Knapp deserves many congratulations for his fantastic labour.' The Anglo-Hellenic Review