John G. Younger

Bronze Age Representations of Aegean Bull-Leaping

There were three main systems for depicting Aegean bull-leaping in the Late Bronze Age. Type I was described by Evans, Type II by Mrs. Sakellariou, while Type III is here presented for the first time. Though Types I and III seem to reflect several aesthetic considerations, Type II may illustrate the sport more accurately. All three types include several examples that come with known proveniences and from dated contexts. These examples suggest that Type I was a Cretan schema with a floruit in LM I, Type III a Mycenaean schema with a floruit in LH IIIB, and Type II a Cretan and Mycenaean schema dating primarily before the beginning of LB IIIB. If Type II depicts bull-leaping accurately then the sport may not have been practiced after LB IIIA:2.

Non-sphragistic Uses of Minoan-Mycenaean Sealstones and Rings

The use of Late Bronze Age seals and rings in the Aegean has always stirred discussion, but pubÜshed versions concerned with solid evidence have attempted little more than to point to the various representations of human figures who wear sealstones, and often only to the Cup Bearer fresco from Knossos (PL ... fig. 2). This article will try to bring together the archaeological data that bear on the other uses for sealstones and rings than for (sphragistic) sealing or stamping. It should be noted at the outset that the archaeological evidence here assembled is not meant to be exhaustive. The documentation for the uses discussed is, however, füll to the extent that it well Supports the conclusions drawn. Special attention has been given to seals and rings from dated contexts. In addition, the iconography of the seals and rings is not accepted äs the sole determining factor for any of the uses discussed;

Minoan Culture: Religion, Burial Customs, and Administration

Religion and Cult Practice In the modern world, Western societies tend to separate religion and ritual from other aspects of society in a way that ancient or “primitive” societies did not. In ancient cultures religion was an integral part of daily life, including the treatment of the deceased after death. For a heavily agrarian society, cult practice centered on daily and seasonal activities and on human involvement with a perceived supernatural world. Although it is difficult to reconstruct belief systems without documentary evidence (below, pp. 173-82), the archaeological record preserves much evidence for ritual equipment and activities. What makes Minoan society interesting, as well as difficult for us to understand, is the apparent overlap between religion, society, and politics. Some of these issues have been addressed in detail, but no consensus has emerged among scholars - an impossibility, perhaps, in any discussion of religion! We assume that the foundations of Neopalatial religion were laid in the Protopalatial period, and probably much earlier, in the form of cults at caves (some at quite remote locations), at sanctuaries on mountain peaks throughout the island where offerings were made of terracotta human and animal figures, and at communal tombs, often deliberately situated to provide easy access from the homes of the living (Ch. 4, p. 93).

Aegean Seals of the Late Bronze Age: Stylistic Groups VII. Concordance

This article is the final contribution to the series which attributes Aegean seals of the Late Bronze Age to stylistic groups; the entire project now consists of an introductory article, five articles of attributions, and this concordance. Since 1982 this series has undergone significant shifts in terminology, method, and even authors. I am greatly indebted to John Betts, William Brice, and Ingo Pini for their support, advice, and gentle criticism. I also wish to thank the Duke University Research Council for financial assistance and Steven Cerutti for checking the citations in the present concordance.

Eight Sealstones and a Sealing from the Stratigraphical Museum at Knossos

In the summer of 1972, while participating in the excavation of the Royal Road South at Knossos under the direction of Professor Peter Warren now at Bristol University, I undertook a limited examination of certain boxes in the Stratigraphical Museum in the reasonable hope of supplementing John Bettss earlier discovery of five sealstones and sixty-six sealings that could be related to the Palace. The boxes I examined all carry the label of ‘Evanss Personal Property’, and contain an extraordinary number of faience, clay, and stone objects, all with provenance unknown, but many, if not all, surely from Evanss own excavations. The box containing the seals was marked ‘Box 1878, Evanss Material’.

A GLYPTIC SKETCH FROM ISOPATA, HM 908

Damage: obverse, a deep chip above the string hole near the center of the sealface; from the chip a fracture travels left across the stone around to the reverse, where it joins another fracture and a second deep chip above the string hole. Design: goat regardant Standing right. Above her back is a kid couchant right. Below the goat appear many short, separated strokes which form the outlines of a kid kneeling left in a suckling position; its flank is slightly modeled.