The theatrics of technology: Consuming obsidian in the early cycladic burial arena

Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association

Volumn 17, Issue 1, 2007, Pages 88-107

  Carter, Tristan ^a  

^a STANFORD UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Cyclades; Early bronze age; Obsidian; Performance; Technology

Indexed keywords

EID: 85040429160     PISSN: 1551823X     EISSN: 15518248     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1525/ap3a.2007.17.1.88     Document Type: Article

References (95)

1. Appadurai, Arjun 1986 Introduction: Commodities and the Politics of Value. In The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspectives. Arjun Appadurai, ed. Pp. 3–63. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
2. Barraud, Cécile, Daniel De Coppet, André Iteneau, and Raymond Jamous 1994 Of Relations and the Dead: Four Societies Viewed from the Angle of Their Exchanges. Providence, RI: Berg.
3. Barrett, John C. 2001 Agency, the Duality of Structure, and the Problem of the Archaeological Record. In Archaeological Theory Today. Ian Hodder, ed. Pp. 141–164. Cambridge: Polity Press.
4. Best, Elsdon 1974 [1909] The Stone Implements of the Maori. 2nd edition. Wellington, New Zealand: A. R. Shearer.
5. Bosanquet, R. C. 1904 The Obsidian Trade. In Excavations at Phylakopi in Melos. T. D. Atkinson, R. C. Bosanquet, C. C. Edgar, A. J. Evans, D. G. Hogarth, D. Mackenzie, C. Smith, and F. B. Welch, eds. Pp. 216–232. Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies, Supplementary Volume 4. London: Macmillan.
6. Bossert, E.-M., and S. Erhardt 1965 Zwei fruhbronzezeitliche Graber von Zoumbari auf Despotikon (Kykladen). In Festschrift Gustav Riek. Gustav Riek, Franz Fischer, and Wolfgang Kimmin, eds. Pp. 112–125. Fundberichte aus Schwaben Neue Folge 17. Stuttgart: Schweizerbart.
7. Bourdieu, Pierre 1977 [1972] Outline of a Theory of Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
8. Branigan, Keith 1977 Metal Objects and Metal Technology of the Cy-cladic Culture. In Artand Culture ofthe Cyclades in the Third Millennium B.C. Jürgen Thimme, ed. Pp. 117–122. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
9. Broodbank, Cyprian 1989 The Longboat and Society in the Cyclades in the Keros-Syros Culture. American Journal of Archaeology 93:319–337.
10. 1992 The Spirit Is Willing. Antiquity 66(251): 542–546.
11. 1993 Ulysses without Sails: Trade, Distance Knowledge and Power in the Early Cyclades. World Archaeology 24(3): 315–331.
12. 2000 An Island Archaeology of the Early Cyclades. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
13. Campbell, Shirley F. 2002 The Art of Kula. Oxford: Berg.
14. Carter, Tristan 1994 Southern Aegean Fashion Victims: An Overlooked Aspect of Early Bronze Age Burial Practices. In Stories in Stone. Nick Ashton and Andrew David, eds. Pp. 127–144. Occasional Paper 4. London: Lithics Society.
15. 1997 Blood and Tears: A Cycladic Case Study in Microwear Analysis. The Use of Obsidian Blades from Graves as Razors? In Silicious Rocks and Culture. Proceedings of the Sixth International Flint Symposium, Madrid 1991. M. A. Bustillo and A. Ramos-Millán, eds. Pp. 537–551. Granada: Monográfica Arte y Aequeologia, Universidad de Granada.
16. 1998 Reverberations of the ‘International Spirit’: Thoughts upon ‘Cycladica’ in the Mesara. In Cemetery and Society in the Aegean Bronze Age. Keith Branigan, ed. Pp. 59–77. Sheffield Studies in Aegean Archaeology 1. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.
17. 1999 Through a Glass Darkly: Obsidian and Society in the Southern Aegean Early Bronze Age. Ph.D. dissertation, Institute of Archaeology, University of London.
18. 2004a Transformative Processes in Liminal Spaces: Craft as Ritual Action in the Throne Room Area. In Knossos: Palace, City, State. Gerald Cadogan, Eleni Hatzaki, and Adonis Vasilakis, eds. Pp. 273–282. BSA Studies 12. London: British School at Athens.
19. 2004b Mochlos and Melos: A Special Relationship? Creating Identity and Status in Minoan Crete. In Crete beyond the Palaces: Proceedings of the Crete 2000 Conference. Leslie P. Day, Margaret S. Mook, and James D. Muhly, eds. Pp. 291–308. Prehistory.
20. Monographs 10, INSTAP. Philadelphia: Academic Press.
21. In press a Cinnabar and the Cyclades: Body Modification and Political Ideology in the Late EBI Aegean. In The Aegean in the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age. Proceedings of the Urla Symposium. Hayat Erkanal, ed.
22. In press b The Social Status of Phylakopi: The Early Bronze Age Community in Its Melian and Early Cycladic Context. In The Early Bronze Age Cyclades in the Light of Recent Research at Settlement Sites. Marissa E. Marthari, ed. Pp. 61–75. Athens: Ministry of Culture, 21st Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities.
23. Carter, Tristan, and Mark Ydo 1996 The Chipped and Ground Stone. In Continuity and Change in a Greek Rural Landscape: The Laconia Survey, vol. 2: Archaeological Data. William G. Cavanagh, Joost H. Crouwel, R.W. V. Catling, and Graham Shipley, eds. Pp. 141–182. Supplementary Volume 27. Athens: British School at Athens.
24. Clark, John E. 1978 Contemporary Obsidian Use at Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico. Lithic Technology 7(3):44.
25. 1982 Manufacture of Mesoamerican Prismatic Blades: An Alternative Technique. American Antiquity 47(2): 355–376.
26. 1985 Platforms, Bits, Punches and Vises: A Potpourri of Mesoamerican Blade Technology. Lithic Technology 14(1): 1–15.
27. Clark, John E., and William J. Parry 1990 Craft Specialization and Cultural Complexity. Research in Economic Anthropology 12:289–346.
28. Coleman, John E. 1985 Frying Pans" of the Early Bronze Age Aegean. American Journal of Archaeology 89:191–219.
29. Crabtree, Don E. 1968 Mesoamerican Polyhedral Cores and Prismatic Blades. American Antiquity 33(4): 446–478.
30. Damon, Frederick H., and Roy Wagner, eds. 1989 Death Rituals and Life in Societies of the Kula Ring. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press.
31. Day, Peter M., David E. Wilson, and Evangelia Kiriatzi 1998 Pots, Labels and People: Burying Ethnicity in the Cemetery atAghia Photia, Siteias. In Cemeteryand Society in the Aegean Bronze Age. Keith Branigan, ed. Pp. 133–149. Sheffield Studies in Aegean Archaeology 1. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.
32. Dietler, Michael, and Ingrid Herbich 1998 Habitus, Techniques, Style: An Integrated Approach to the Social Understanding of Material Culture and Boundaries. In The Archaeology of Social Boundaries. Miriam T. Stark, ed. Pp. 232–263. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.
33. Dobres, Marcia-Anne 2000 Technology and Social Agency: Outlining a Practice Framework for Archaeology. Oxford: Blackwell.
34. Dobres, Marcia-Anne, and Christopher R. Hoffman 1994 Social Agency and the Dynamics of Prehistoric Technology. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 1(3): 211–258.
35. Doumas, Christos 1977 Early Bronze Age Burial Habits in the Cyclades. Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology, vol. 48. Göteborg: Paul Åströms Förlag.
36. Ekschmitt, Werner 1986 Kunst und Kultur der Kykladen. TeilI:Neolithikum und Bronzezeit. Mainz am Rhein: Philipp von Zabern.
37. Firth, Raymond W. 1959 Economics of the New Zealand Maori. Wellington: Owen.
38. Gallagher, James P. 1977 Contemporary Stone Tools in Ethiopia: Implications for Archaeology. Journal of Field Archaeology 3(4): 407–414.
39. Gero, Joan M. 1989 Assessing Social Information in Material Objects: How Well Do Lithics Measure Up? In Time, Energy and Stone Tools. Robin Torrence, ed. Pp. 92–105. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
40. 1991 Genderlithics: Women's Roles in Stone Tool Production. In Engendering Archaeology: Women and Prehistory. Joan M. Gero and Margaret W. Conkey, eds. Pp. 163–193. Oxford: Blackwell.
41. Giddens, Anthony 1984 The Constitution of Society. Berkeley: University of California Press.
42. Gill, David W. J., and Christopher Chippindale 1993 Material and Intellectual Consequences of Esteem for Cycladic Figures. American Journal of Archaeology 97:601–659.
43. Hamilakis, Yannis 1998 Eating the Dead: MortuaryFeasting and the Politics of Memory in the Aegean Bronze Age Societies. In Cemetery and Society in the Aegean Bronze Age. Keith Branigan, ed. Pp. 115–132. Sheffield Studies in Aegean Archaeology 1. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.
44. Hampton, O. W. “Bud” 1999 Culture of Stone: Sacred and Profane Uses of Stone among the Dani. College Station: Texas A & M University Press.
45. Hayden, Brian 1977 Stone Tool Functions in the Western Desert. In Stone Tools as Cultural Markers. Change, Evolution, Complexity. R. V. S. Wright, ed. Pp. 178–188. Canberra: Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies.
46. Helms, Mary W. 1988 Ulysses' Sail: An Ethnographic Odyssey of Power, Knowledge, and Geographical Distance. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
47. 1993 Craft and the Kingly Ideal: Art, Trade, and Power. Austin: University of Texas Press.
48. Hendrix, Elizabeth 1997--1998 Painted Ladies of the Early Bronze Age. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 55(Winter):4–15.
49. Hoffman, Gail L. 2002 Painted Ladies: Early Cycladic II Mourning Figures. American Journal of Archaeology 106:525–550.
50. Hommon, Robert J. 1986 Social Evolution in Ancient Hawai'i. In Island Societies: Archaeological Approaches to Evolution and Transformation. Patrick V. Kirch, ed. Pp. 55–68. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
51. Inizan, Marie-Louise, Hélène Roche, and Jacques Tixier 1992 Technology of Knapped Stone. Meudon: Cercle dé Recherches et d' Etudes Préhistoriques.
52. Joyce, Rosemary 2000 Girling the Girl and Boying the Boy: The Production of Adulthood in Ancient Mesoamerica. World Archaeology 31(3): 473–483.
53. Junker, Laura L. 1999 Raiding, Trading and Feasting: The Political Economy of Philippine Chiefdoms. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press.
54. Kirch, Patrick V. 1986 Exchange Systems and Inter-island Contact in the Transformation of an Island Society: The Tikopia Case. In Island Societies: Archaeological Approaches to Evolution and Transformation. Patrick V. Kirch, ed. Pp. 33–41. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
55. Kontoleon, N. M. 1970 Anaskaphe Naxou: Nekrotapheion Aplomaton. Praktika tes en Athenais Archaiologikes Etaireias. Pp. 146–152.
56. 1971 Anaskaphai Naxou: Nekropolis Aplomaton. Prak-tika tes en Athenais Archaiologikes Etaireias. Pp. 175–180.
57. 1972 Anaskaphai Naxou: Nekropolis ton Aplomaton. Praktika tes en Athenais Archaiologikes Etaireias. Pp. 145–154.
58. Kopytoff, Igor 1986 The Cultural Biography of Things: Commoditiza-tion as Process. In The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspectives. Arjun Appadurai, ed. Pp. 64–91. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
59. Küchler, Suzanne 1987 Malangan: Art and Memory in a Melanesian Society. Man, n.s., 22(2): 238–255.
60. 2002 Malanggan: Art, Memory and Sacrifice. Oxford: Berg.
61. Lambrinoudakis, Vasileios K. 1976 Anaskaphe Naxou: Aplomata. Praktika tes en Athenais Archaiologikes Etaireias. Pp. 295–299.
62. 1990 Archaeological Research in the Early Cycladic Period in Naxos. In Cycladic Culture: Naxos in the Third Millennium B. C. Lila I. Marangou, ed. Pp. 25–26. Athens: Nicholas P. Goulandris Foundation--Museum of Cycladic Art.
63. Leach, Jerry W. 1983 Introduction. In The Kula: New Perspectives on Massim Exchange. Jerry W. Leach and Edmund Leach, eds. Pp. 1–26. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
64. Leroi-Gourhan, André 1964 Le geste et la parole I--technique et langage. Paris: A. Michel.
65. Lightfoot, Kent G., Antoinette Martinez, and Anne M. Schiff 1998 Daily Practice and Material Culture in Pluralistic Social Settings: An Archaeological Study of Culture Change and Persistence from Fort Ross, California. American Antiquity 63:199–222.
66. Macintyre, Martha 1983 Kune on Tubetube and in the Bwanabwana Region of the Southern Massim. In The Kula: New Perspectives on Massim Exchange. Jerry W. Leach and Edmund Leach, eds. Pp. 369–379. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
67. Malinowski, Bronislaw 1934 Stone Implements in Eastern New Guinea. In Essays Presented to C. G. Seligman. E. E. Evans-Pritchard, Raymond Firth, Bronislaw Malinowski, and Isaac Schapera, eds. Pp. 189–196. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner.
68. Manning, Sturt W. 1995 The Absolute Chronology of the Aegean Early Bronze Age. Monographs in Mediterranean Archaeology 1. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.
69. Mauss, Marcel 1941 Les techniques et la technologie. Journal de Psy-chologie 41:71–78.
70. Molleson, Theya 1994 The Eloquent Bones of Abu Hureyra. Scientific American 271(2): 70–75.
71. Mylonas, George E. 1959 Agios Kosmas, an Early Bronze Age Settlement and Cemetery in Attica. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
72. Nakou, Georgia 1995 The Cutting Edge: A New Look at Early Aegean Metallurgy. Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 8(2): 1–32.
73. Pauketat, Timothy R. 2001 Practice and History in Archaeology: An Emerging Paradigm. Anthropological Theory 1:73–98.
74. Pearson, Mike, and Michael Shanks 2001 Theatre/Archaeology. London: Routledge.
75. Pelegrin, Jacques 1988 Débitage experimental par pression, “du plus petit au plus grand.” In Technologie prehistorique. Notes et monographies techniques No. 25. Pp. 37–53. Paris: Éditions du CNRS.
76. Perlès, Catherine 1989 From Stone Procurement to Neolithic Society in Greece. David Skomp Distinguished Lectures in Anthropology, February 1989, Indiana University, Bloomington.
77. Renfrew, Colin 1972 The Emergence of Civilisation. London: Methuen.
78. 1984 From Pelos to Syros: Kapros Grave D and the Kampos Group. In The Prehistoric Cyclades. J. A. MacGillivray and R. L. N. Barber, eds. Pp. 41–53. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
79. 1991 The Cycladic Spirit. London: Thames and Hudson.
80. Schlanger, Nathan 1990 Technique as Human Action: Two Perspectives. Archaeological Review from Cambridge 9(1): 18–26.
81. Shelford, Peter, Frank R. Hodson, Michael E. Cosgrove, S. Edward Warren, and Colin Renfrew 1982 The Sources and Characterisation ofMelian Obsidian. In An Island Polity: The Archaeology of Exploitation on Melos. Colin Renfrew and Malcolm Wagstaff, eds. Pp. 182–191. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
82. Sherratt, Susan 2000 Catalogue of Cycladic Antiquities in the Ash-molean Museum. The Captive Spirit, vol. 1: Text. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
83. Sollberger, J. B., and Leland W. Patterson 1976 Prismatic Blade Replication. American Antiquity 41(4): 517–531.
84. Spriggs, Matthew 1986 Landscape, Land Use and Political Transformation in Southern Melanesia. In Island Societies: Archaeological Approaches to Evolution and Transformation. Patrick V. Kirch, ed. Pp. 6–19. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
85. Taçon, Paul S. C. 1991 The Power of Stone: Symbolic Aspects of Stone Use and Tool Development in Western Arnhem Land, Australia. Antiquity 65:192–207.
86. Torrence, Robin 1982 The Obsidian Quarries and Their Use. In An Island Polity: The Archaeology of Exploitation on Melos. Colin Renfrew and Malcolm Wagstaff, eds. Pp. 193–221. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
87. 1986 Production and Exchange of Stone Tools. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
88. Tsountas, Christos 1898 Kukladika. Archaiologike Ephemeris. Pp. 137–212.
89. Van Horn, David M. 1980 Observations Relating to Bronze Age Blade-Core Production in the Argolid of Greece. Journal of Field Archaeology 7:487–492.
90. Weiner, Annette B. 1976 Women of Value, Men of Renown. Austin: University of Texas Press.
91. Weiner, Annette B., and D. Wason 1991 The Trobriand Islanders of Papua New Guinea. Chicago: Granada Television International, Films Incorporated Video.
92. Wilson, David E. 1999 Keos IX. Ayia Irini: PeriodsI--III, The Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Settlements. Part 1: The Pottery and Small Finds. Mainz on Rhine: Verlag Philipp von Zabern.
93. Zachos, K. L. 1996 Metallurgy. In Neolithic Culture in Greece. George A. Papathanassopoulos, ed. Pp. 140–143. Athens: Museum of Cycladic Art, Nicholas P. Goulandris Foundation.
94. Zapheiropoulou, Ph. 1970 Chronika. Archaiologikon Deltion 25(B'2):423–430.
95. 1984 The Chronology of the Kampos Group. In The Prehistoric Cyclades. J. A. MacGillivray and R. L. N. Barber, eds. Pp. 31–40. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.