The "Cracking the Code" Project: Markers of Culture and Networks in Early Iron Age Stamna, Greece

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In Stamna, Greece, ceramic art is the focal point of investigation. This research reveals questions about the symbolism on the decorated surfaces of 709 Protogeometric funerary vessels discovered in 500 graves excavated in the 1990s. Our objective is to show how different theoretical perspectives on ceramic interpretation can be explored through both qualitative and quantitative analyses, employing modern digital methods. The distribution of decorative motifs across the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean are mapped with GIS. Correlation and density calculations of the motifs focus on their related positions and statistical significance. A network analysis attempts to reconstruct travel routes and social connections, shedding light on both overland and overseas movements. However, successful digital applications require well-organized databases, not available when studying old excavations. In this paper, we present the challenging steps in digitizing analogue datasets. Interesting gaps are revealed in the transition from descriptive excavation diaries to fully quantifiable records. By assigning new temporal and spatial categories of our datasets we establish connections and we test intra- and inter-site similarities. Then, through GIS, we attempt to rewrite the narrative of the people who produced this material culture.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39415.0