The Cambridge Companion to the Aegean Bronze Age

Description

This book is a comprehensive up-to-date survey of the Aegean Bronze Age, from its beginnings to the period following the collapse of the Mycenaean palace system. In essays by leading authorities commissioned especially for this volume, it covers the history and the material culture of Crete, Greece, and the Aegean Islands from c.3000-1100 BCE, as well as topics such as trade, religions, and economic administration. Intended as a reliable, readable introduction for university students, it will also be useful to scholars in related fields within and outside classics. The contents of this book are arranged chronologically and geographically, facilitating comparison between the different cultures. Within this framework, the cultures of the Aegean Bronze Age are assessed thematically and combine both material culture and social history.

Cynthia Shelmerdine is the Robert M. Armstrong Centennial Professor of Classics at the University of Texas, Austin. A scholar of Aegean Bronze Age archaeology and Mycenaean Greek language, history, and society, she has worked in the field with the University of Minnesota Messenia Expedition, the Pylos Regional Archaeological Project, and currently the Iklaina Archaeological Project. She is the author of many publications on Mycenaean culture.

'This book, written by well-known experts who are good at explaining, is almost as up-to-date as any such book can be and will meet most needs, while suggesting where to read further.' The Anglo-Hellenic Review '... one of the best regional accounts of the origins of complex societies worldwide.' Nature