Constructing Collapse: A Technological Analysis of Early-Middle Bronze Age Domestic Architecture in Mainland Greece and its Social Implications

Summary

In this paper, I present a technological analysis of stone-built, domestic architecture from the transition of the Early Bronze Age to Middle Bronze Age (ca. 2200-1800 BCE) in mainland Greece. Specifically, I analyze the degree of correspondence of 180 unique aspects of architectural construction and spatial organization between contemporary structures. Because domestic architecture was most likely built by the local inhabitants and used for their daily activities, the network of correspondence can help to suggest patterns of interaction and integration based on daily practice and the chaîne opératoire of construction.

This case study helps to determine more precisely the social networks of interaction during a period of great collapse in social complexity in mainland Greece. At this time, many settlement sites are destroyed or abandoned and a new building form, apsidal structures, coexists with the earlier, rectilinear architecture. Although the precise source of this change and destruction is still under debate, my analysis reveals that the disparity between the two structure types is more than superficial; there are essential differences in the construction techniques related to each building form. This suggests the presence of two or more social groups cohabitating many sites during this crisis.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage