David Frankel

Problems in constructing a prehistoric regional sequence: Holocene southeast Australia

Abstract Chronological sequences are as much a product of overall concepts as of data or techniques of dating. This is illustrated by a critical assessment of the foundations of a prehistoric regional sequence in Victoria and South Australia. Taphonomic and research biases structure the data and limit the potential for demonstrating long‐term or cumulative change. Recent attempts to see a cumulative or unified progression in the area cannot be sustained. The short‐term and local may be the more appropriate scales at which to identify and understand variation in hunter‐gatherer societies.

Characterizing the Philia facies : material culture, chronology, and the origin of the Bronze Age in Cyprus

Major changes mark the transition from the Chalcolithic to the Bronze Age in mid-third millennium Cyprus. Philia material has long been recognized as a crucial element in this transition, but analysis has been hampered by patchy discovery and reporting and the lack of stratified deposits. Pottery and other finds from recent excavations at Marki-Alonia provide the basis for a substantial reassessment of the Philia facies and its chronological and cultural relationships to both Chalcolithic and Bronze Age material. An explanatory model is developed incorporating an initial intrusion into Cyprus of autonomous groups from Anatolia ; the development of a distinct, identifiable Philia cultural system ; the acculturation of both migrant and indigenous populations ; and the subsequent evolution of the widespread culture of the Early Cypriot Bronze Age.

The Australian transition : real and perceived boundaries

The Pleistocene to Holocene transition is both a reality of climate history, and a notion of the prehistorian. A century of approaches to Australian archaeology guides the frameworks of the issue today.

Population, Households, and Ceramic Consumption in a Prehistoric Cypriot Village

Abstract Evidence from excavations at the Early and Middle Bronze Age site of Marki-Alonia (ca. 2400–1900 B.C.) in central Cyprus provides the base for estimates of evolving population size, community structure, and the scale of ceramic consumption in a prehistoric village. We explore factors such as the regions carrying capacity, tombs associated with the site, average household size, and domestic and funerary ceramic discard. Despite the unavoidable crudeness of any such measures, acceptable order-of magnitude figures can be developed with significant implications for understanding the size and structure of households, kinship relationships, and social reproduction, as well as the degree of craft specialization and the context of skills acquisition and learning.

Color Variation on Prehistoric Cypriot Red Polished Pottery

Abstract Archaeologists in the field and laboratory commonly record colors of pottery using Munsell or other standard codes. These data are seldom used for more than primary documentation of individual items or to summarize common colors of a defined type or ware. Despite the many factors affecting pottery color it is possible to use this information to investigate patterns of variation within ceramic traditions and between contemporary sites, and to establish the degree of standardization or quality control achieved by ancient potters. Significant trends can be identified in the range and proportional occurrence of colors on assemblages of Red Polished Ware, the common pottery of the Early and Middle Cypriot Bronze Age (ca. 2300–1650 B.C.). These have implications for establishing the degree of control exercised over the process of manufacture and are relevant to discussions of the context of pottery production technology transfer, and inter-site relationships.

Inter- and Intrasite Variability and Social Interaction in Prehistoric Bronze Age Cyprus: Types, Ranges, and Trends

Any study of social complexity must place the individual site within broader structures of relationship with others. Having accepted that considerable regional diversity existed in the earlier Bronze Age of Cyprus, we can now concentrate on measuring the intensity or nature of social interaction, or defining social boundaries. Until now we have lacked a common, appropriate system of ceramic description suitable for assessing variability within and between sites, and between regions. Conventional classifications usually force material into discrete types, which mask or exaggerate differences. In addition, scholars often compare individual artifacts, rather than total assemblages. Where pottery is described at an assemblage level, analyses can look beyond designated types toward a definition of ranges and trends. Such indications of comparative variability should provide better bases for defining location and form of boundaries, and for assessing the technological and idiographic transfer across them. Preliminary analyses of data from current excavations at the large Early to Middle Cypriot Bronze Age settlement of Marki Alonia are used to demonstrate aspects of this approach.

Exploiting a damaged and diminishing resource: survey, sampling and society at a Bronze Age cemetery complex in Cyprus

Is a cemetery that has been robbed and pillaged for generations worthy of systematic research? It certainly is, given the application of a well conceived and executed project design. The authors show that the precise investigation of tomb architecture and identification of residual pottery can allow the detailed mapping of funerary practice over large areas of space and periods of time. Here they develop a narrative of increasing population and funerary investment through the Bronze Age in central north Cyprus. And having recorded 1286 pillaged tombs they call attention to the value of what still remains and the dangers that such monuments still face. The fact that a cemetery has been damaged is no reason to sacrifice it to the bulldozer.

From the moat to the Murray: Teaching practical archaeology at La Trobe University, Australia

Abstract This paper presents two current approaches to teaching practical aspects of archaeology at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. One makes use of a simulated site constructed on the university campus where senior undergraduates are introduced to the complexities of excavation and project management from planning through to publication in a ‘safe’, artificial environment. The second is a field school for fourth year Honours students where the focus is on survey and documentation of Indigenous sites in a ‘real world’ situation, where the data gathered over several years will eventually be used to develop a cultural heritage management plan for the study area. These initiatives are considered in the context of current concerns regarding the training of students as professionals.

Encounters and Enclosures: Archaeological Approaches to Social Identities in the Past and Present

These two collections may seem to be worlds apart. One self-consciously explores the nature of archaeology and its role in modern constructions of “Europe.” The other has no qualms about archaeology as a discipline; its scientific and social values are taken for granted. What they do have in common, however, is a concern with issues of identity. At the heart of these two books is the concept of the “archaeological culture.” These patterned distributions and clusters of material culture traits, whether real or created by selection and emphasis, remain the building

Seasonality and Site Function in Chalcolithic Cyprus

Excavations at the small Chalcolithic site of Politiko-Kokkinorotsos in central Cyprus show that it was occupied around 2880–2670 cal bc. Fallow deer (Dama mesopotamica) form the major component of the substantial faunal assemblage. The structure of the animal population suggests a seasonal hunting site, an interpretation consistent with the lack of formal architecture and the range of stone tools. In this study, independent odontochronological analyses of deer and caprine are used to test and confirm the model of seasonal culling in spring and summer based on more general indicators. The results suggest a pattern of varied, specialized site-types and activities in different parts of the island and in different ecological zones, and add considerably to our understanding of cultural systems on the island in the early third millennium bc.