Papers by Jan Paul Crielaard
in: E. Koparal & Y. Ersoy (eds.), Ionians: The Sages of the Aegean Shore, Istanbul, 98-113, 2022
Cahiers « Mondes anciens » Histoire et anthropologie des mondes anciens, 2021
This paper is based on the notion that the sea is a knowable, textured place that through senses,... more This paper is based on the notion that the sea is a knowable, textured place that through senses, observations, skill, myths and narratives can be described and mapped. Anthropological research shows that stories and myths are crucial to give meaning to and make sense of the seascape. In ancient Greece, this type of information formed keystones in building narrative maps that could be passed on verbally to seafarers, including those who had not visited the area before. In this paper I intend to show that ancient Greek stories and myths connected to seas and coasts contained spatial information and elements of cognitive mapping that could have served practical purposes when it came to spatial orientation and wayfinding across the seascape.
in: S. Gimatzidis & R. Jung (eds.), The critique of archaeological economy, Springer International Publishing, 183-204, 2021
This contribution deals with the recent paradigm shift in thinking about Mediterranean connectedn... more This contribution deals with the recent paradigm shift in thinking about Mediterranean connectedness and how this affected prevalent ideas about the functioning of the ancient economy. It sketches the intellectual, cultural and academic contexts in which connectivity thinking has developed over the last 50 years and discusses some of its basic tenets, notably the notion of unlimited, Mediterranean-wide connectedness and individual economic agency. A blind spot in the current vision of a connected Mediterranean concerns the evidence of regional differentiality in connectivity and the ways and means that connectedness and networks were manipulated to create or reinforce power relations – a point which is illustrated with the help of a long-term study of seaborne and terrestrial connections in the southern part of the Greek island of Euboia.
in: T.E. Cinquantaquattro & M. D'Acunto (eds.), Euboica II. Pithekoussai and Euboea between East and West. Proceedings of the Conference, Lacco Ameno (Ischia, Napoli), 14-17 May 2018 (AION Archeologia e Storia Antica n.s. 27), 119-133., 2020
BABESCH. Annual Papers on Classical Archaeology 95, 1-46, 2020
In this article we reconstruct the religious landscape between the sanctuaries of Plakari and Kar... more In this article we reconstruct the religious landscape between the sanctuaries of Plakari and Karababa in southern Euboia. During the Classical period, these cult places were connected by a fragmentarily preserved road system. To map this procession road and the layout of the rural sanctuary on the Karababa hill slope we developed a three-staged methodology for targeted surveys. This comprises a desk-top study of the target area using remotely sensed and spatial data, mapping the target area by making orthophotos from a drone, and ground-truthing by means of pedestrian surveys and revisiting and reassessing known archaeological find places. As a next phase of our research we reconstruct the road system and offer an interpretation of the road, sanctuary and other constituent elements of the religious landscape, emphasizing the importance of movement and landscape perception. In this final, interpretative part we also discuss two horos inscriptions probably demarcating the temenos, which included several platforms, a threshing floor and possible altars, and a large boundary wall that probably encompassed the agricultural area belonging to the sanctuary, which we argue was dedicated to Demeter.
in: C.O. Pache (ed.), The Cambridge Guide to Homer, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge etc., 227-244., 2020
in: Ł. Niesiołowski-Spanò & M. Węcowski (eds.), Change, Continuity, and Connectivity. North-Eastern Mediterranean at the Turn of the Bronze Age and in the early Iron Age, Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden, 196-220.
Introduction: The point of departure for this paper is a number of tombs found in locations scatt... more Introduction: The point of departure for this paper is a number of tombs found in locations scattered over the central and eastern Mediterranean. Together they cover a period that encompasses the outgoing Bronze Age and the Iron Age. Although dispersed in time and space, these tombs have in common that each of them has features that are definitely of a non-local nature and is different or unusual in comparison to the graves that accompany them. The ambiguity of these tombs and the individuals buried in them has confused archaeologists, which is another element that these burials share. Scholars are divided over the question how to evaluate these individuals and, more in particular, what kind of ethnic identity they had. In this contribution I take a closer look at these tombs with two main aims in mind. First, I wish to offer a different perspective on these ambiguous individuals. I will treat them not in isolation but consider them as manifestations of a more widely occurring phenomenon. I will argue that these individuals had hybrid or multiple identities, and compare them to other individuals attested in the archaeological and textual records who seem to have possessed comparable positions in intercultural or transcultural situations of increasing interconnectivity. In many recent studies on culture contact, the focus is on larger collectives, such as migrants or colonists. In this paper, however, I will highlight the possible role of individuals in culture contacts and explore the phenomenon of cultural hybrids, which constitutes the second aim of my paper.
in: A. Mazarakis Ainian, A. Alexandridou & X. Charalambidou (eds), Regional Stories. Towards a New Perception of the Early Greek World. Acts of an International Symposium in honour of Professor Jan Bouzek, Volos 18-21 June 2015, University of Thessaly Press, Volos, 127-144.
In this paper I present some preliminary results of the multidisciplinary research carried out b... more In this paper I present some preliminary results of the multidisciplinary research carried out between 2010 and 2015 at the site of Plakari, near Karystos in southern Euboea. In the 11th or 10th century BC a cult place was established on the Plakari hilltop. Cultic activity that included animal sacrifices and sacrificial feasting peaked during the 8th and 7th centuries BC. While discussing the main find categories, I will address questions related to the spatial and architectural setting of the cult, the character of the cult activities and rituals, the divinity venerated, the groups of people involved in the ceremonies, and the local, regional and inter-regional networks in which the sanctuary operated.
English title and abstract: Ambiguous persons, places and practices. Culture contacts in the prot... more English title and abstract: Ambiguous persons, places and practices. Culture contacts in the protohistoric Mediterranean
Between ca. 1100 - 700 BC the Mediterranean went through a phase of radical changes. From this period we have a number of wealthy graves in Kourion-Kaloriziki in Cyprus, Lefkandi in Greece and in Cumae in Italy which have in common that they figure in disputes among archaeologists about the ethnic identity of the individuals buried in these tombs. A way-out of this discussion is that these persons are not one or the other, but were part of several worlds at the same time, and that their ambiguous nature formed an essential characteristic of these individuals. What follows is a search for examples of similar, ambiguous persons, not only in Antiquity but also in later periods. History turns out to be full of 'culture swappers', who managed to switch between cultures – sometimes in one direction, in other cases back and forth. As intermediaries in intercultural contacts, ambiguous persons are crucial for processes of cultural transfer. In ancient times, ambiguity was also consciously created in certain places and through specific practices. The Greek symposion is an example of an ambiguous space where foreign objects and rituals related with them were transferred from one world to another. Naukratis in Egypt may be mentioned as an ambiguous place where Greeks and Egyptians for a longer or shorter period could switch between two worlds and experience each other’s cultures. The long line of history shows that the monoculture of the nation state is not the natural state of affairs, but that again and again multiculturalism and cultural exchange is sought and found in order to keep up in dynamic times.
Nederlandse samenvatting:
Tussen ca. 1100 – 700 v.Chr. maakt het Middellandse Zeegbied ingrijpende veranderingen door. Uit deze periode kennen we rijke graven in Cyprus, Griekenland en Italië, waarvan archeologen de etnische identiteit betwisten. Een oplossing is dat deze personen niet het een of het ander zijn, maar juist van meerdere werelden tegelijk deel uitmaakten, waarbij ambiguïteit het wezenskenmerk van deze personen vormde. Wat volgt is een zoektocht naar voorbeelden van vergelijkbare, ambigue personen, niet alleen in de Oudheid maar ook in de latere perioden. De geschiedenis blijkt vol te zitten met ‘culture swappers’, die tussen culturen schakelen – soms in een richting, in andere gevallen heen en terug. Als ‘makelaars’ in interculturele contacten zijn ambigue personen cruciaal voor processen van cultuuroverdracht. In de Oudheid wordt ambiguïteit zelfs bewust gecreëerd op bepaalde plaatsen en via specifieke praktijken. De lange lijn van de geschiedenis toont dat de monocultuur van de natiestaat niet de natuurlijke stand van zaken is, maar dat multiculturaliteit en cultuuruitwisseling gezocht en gevonden wordt om mee te kunnen komen in dynamische tijden.
Interpreting the Seventh Century BC. Tradition and Innovation (X. Charalambidou & C. Morgan eds.), Archaeolopress, Oxford, 2017, 382-392.
In this contribution I discuss what lyric poetry can contribute to our knowledge of the 7th centu... more In this contribution I discuss what lyric poetry can contribute to our knowledge of the 7th century BC. After making some general remarks about its value as an historical source, I focus on what lyric poetry tells us about various forms of group identity related to, for instance, the polis community, gender, age, social class and supralocal collectives. Lyric poetry is generally thought to provide testimony to the ‘rise of the individual’, but I intend to show that ‘the rise of the community’ is a theme that is no less significant for lyric poets and their audiences, suggesting that the 7th century was instrumental for the conceptualization of these forms of shared identities.
Since 2010 systematic archaeological investigations are carried out at the site of Plakari near K... more Since 2010 systematic archaeological investigations are carried out at the site of Plakari near Karystos in southern Euboea. The project is a collaboration of VU University Amsterdam and the Ephorate of Antiquities for Euboea. The Plakari hilltop housed a cult place that was founded in the Sub-Mycenaean or Early Protogeometric period. Cult activity intensified during the Middle Geometric II and Late Geometric phases. A second important stage in the life of the cult place dates to the Classical period—especially the 4th century BC—when a small building for sacrificial feasting (Building A) was constructed one of its terraces.
In this contribution we will present an overview of the results of the work done thus far at Plakari, and attempt to set them in a wider geographical and historical framework. We will focus on what the findings can tell us about Plakari’s functioning at different scales (local, regional and supra-regional) and how its position changed through time. During the Early Iron Age Plakari was well connected to central Euboea, the Attic mainland and the insular world, including the west coast of Asia Minor. Historical sources suggest that during the 5th century Karystia suffered much from its proximity to its powerful neighbour Athens. When in the 4th century a period of recuperation began, the cult place on Plakari hilltop was reconstructed, but various aspects of its design suggest that the Karystians using the place were more interested in the past than in the world around them.
The aim of this contribution is to understand more about the world of Homer by looking in detail ... more The aim of this contribution is to understand more about the world of Homer by looking in detail at a group of individuals who had been buried in ‘Homeric’ or, rather, ‘heroic’ style. After they died their bodies were burnt on a pyre; their cremated remains were subsequently collected from the ashes, and stored in a bronze vessel. The questions that I wish to address are: who were these individuals, what can we learn about them and about their worlds? What did they have in common? And do they tell us something about the development and circulation of epic poetry? One of the things I wish to draw attention to is the hybrid character of the burials and the deceased. Perhaps this is an indication of the multicultural milieu in which these ‘living heroes’ and perhaps epic poetry, too, operated.
Conceptualising Early Colonisation, 225-238.
The paper discusses two concepts fundamental
to recent studies on ancient colonisation.
The first... more The paper discusses two concepts fundamental
to recent studies on ancient colonisation.
The first concerns a shift away from
approaching this phenomenon in terms of
single events to a point of view that considers
it in terms of processes. The second notion
diverges from common conceptions of ancient
colonial encounters, that interpret these
encounters in strongly oppositional, ethnic
terms of Greeks versus natives. In contrast,
the authors emphasise the complexity of colonial
encounters, questioning the idea that
cultures can be readily identified from
archaeological remains and associated with
ethnic groups, either Greek or indigenous. In
line with this, they insist on studying the
dynamic and situational nature of identity,
and to investigate how material culture and
settlement organisation were used as media
to negotiate social relations. Both notions are
discussed with regard to southeast Italy and
in particular the Taranto region, relating theory
to fresh archaeological data.
Sanctuaries and the Power of Consumption. Networking and the Formation of Elites in the Archaic Western Mediterranean World. Proceedings of the International Conference in Innsbruck, 20th–23rd March 2012, Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden, 351-372.
During the second half of the eighth century BC, we witness a strong growth in the dedication of ... more During the second half of the eighth century BC, we witness a strong growth in the dedication of foreign objects in Greek sanctuaries. Until now no satisfactory answers have been given to the question how and why these foreign objects arrived in these cult places. In this paper I aim explore a new approach to these foreign dedications by focusing my attention on two categories of goods made in the Near East, namely metal basins and their supports, and horse trappings. I make a reconstruction of their social lives by examining these objects’ context of production, circulation and consumption, as well as their meaning, symbolism and functioning at specific social levels and in specific cultural contexts before they were dedicated as votives. A comparison of the use of these categories of objects during distinct stages of their social lives makes it possible to reconstruct processes of adoption and adaptation (including reinterpretation and recontextualization), by which objects or categories thereof are given new meanings according to local value systems. Such a comparison can also tell us more about the different kinds of agents involved in transactions and dedications, as well as about their motives, which may be related to religious piousness but also to socio-political strategies, self-realization and self-advertisement.
in: Alle origini della Magna Grecia. Mobilità, migrazioni, fondazioni. Atti del 50° Convegno di Studi sulla Magna Grecia, Taranto, 1-4 ottobre 2010, Taranto (2013), 135-157., 2013
135 hygrA keleuThA. marItIme matters and the Ideology of seafarIng In the greek ePIc tradItIon 1 ... more 135 hygrA keleuThA. marItIme matters and the Ideology of seafarIng In the greek ePIc tradItIon 1 Πόθεν πλεῖθ' ὑγρὰ κέλευθα; From where do you come sailing over the wet pathways? Od., iii. 71
in: Alle origini della Magna Grecia. Mobilità, migrazioni, fondazioni. Atti del 50° Convegno di Studi sulla Magna Grecia, Taranto, 1-4 ottobre 2010, Taranto (2013), 525-548.
Zagora in context. Settlements and Intercommunal Links in the Geometric period (900–700 BC). Proceedings of the Conference held by The Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens and The Athens Archaeological Society, Athens, 20-22 May. 2012 – Special Issue Mediterranean Archaeology 25, 191-200
BABESCH. Annual Papers on Classical Archaeology 87, 69-106, 2012
This article represents a second preliminary report on the fieldwork conducted between 2005 and 2... more This article represents a second preliminary report on the fieldwork conducted between 2005 and 2010 in and around the Archaic site of L'Amastuola (Apulia) by VU University Amsterdam. The activities included excavations on the site's south terrace, the use of surface surveys and satellite images to study landscape and settlement patterns around L'Amastuola, and excavations in the necropolis area. The excavations brought to light more evidence to support our thesis of Greek-indigenous cohabitation at the site, as well as some invaluable information about the post-abandonment phase at the site, when a cult of the Dioskouroi was installed, presumably by the Tarentines who were occupying L'Amastuola. A tomb-like cult structure associated with this cult was erased during the early 3 rd century BC, possibly in the wake of the Roman conquest of southern Italy.*
in: A. Mazarakis Ainian (ed.), “The ‘Dark Ages’ Revisited. Acts of an international symposium in memory of William D.E. Coulson, University of Thessaly, Volos, 14 -17 June 2007, Volos, 83-111., 2011
"This paper starts with a critical assessment of the ‘wanax to basileus model’. I demonstrate th... more "This paper starts with a critical assessment of the ‘wanax to basileus model’. I demonstrate that it contains certain internal inconsistencies, and present material and literary evidence that contradict the validity of the model. I then introduce and discuss archaeological data in order to substantiate my claim that the model has prevented us from appreciating two important aspects of the post-palatial period and the Early Iron Age, namely the diversity in local or regional responses to the collapse of the palatial societies in both the short and the long term, and the considerable degree of continuity in socio-economic complexity and socio-politicalstructures in certain regions."
in: M. Gleba & H.W. Horsnæs (eds.), Communicating Identity in Italic Iron Age Communities, Oxbow, Oxford (2011), 73-89., 2011
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Papers by Jan Paul Crielaard
Between ca. 1100 - 700 BC the Mediterranean went through a phase of radical changes. From this period we have a number of wealthy graves in Kourion-Kaloriziki in Cyprus, Lefkandi in Greece and in Cumae in Italy which have in common that they figure in disputes among archaeologists about the ethnic identity of the individuals buried in these tombs. A way-out of this discussion is that these persons are not one or the other, but were part of several worlds at the same time, and that their ambiguous nature formed an essential characteristic of these individuals. What follows is a search for examples of similar, ambiguous persons, not only in Antiquity but also in later periods. History turns out to be full of 'culture swappers', who managed to switch between cultures – sometimes in one direction, in other cases back and forth. As intermediaries in intercultural contacts, ambiguous persons are crucial for processes of cultural transfer. In ancient times, ambiguity was also consciously created in certain places and through specific practices. The Greek symposion is an example of an ambiguous space where foreign objects and rituals related with them were transferred from one world to another. Naukratis in Egypt may be mentioned as an ambiguous place where Greeks and Egyptians for a longer or shorter period could switch between two worlds and experience each other’s cultures. The long line of history shows that the monoculture of the nation state is not the natural state of affairs, but that again and again multiculturalism and cultural exchange is sought and found in order to keep up in dynamic times.
Nederlandse samenvatting:
Tussen ca. 1100 – 700 v.Chr. maakt het Middellandse Zeegbied ingrijpende veranderingen door. Uit deze periode kennen we rijke graven in Cyprus, Griekenland en Italië, waarvan archeologen de etnische identiteit betwisten. Een oplossing is dat deze personen niet het een of het ander zijn, maar juist van meerdere werelden tegelijk deel uitmaakten, waarbij ambiguïteit het wezenskenmerk van deze personen vormde. Wat volgt is een zoektocht naar voorbeelden van vergelijkbare, ambigue personen, niet alleen in de Oudheid maar ook in de latere perioden. De geschiedenis blijkt vol te zitten met ‘culture swappers’, die tussen culturen schakelen – soms in een richting, in andere gevallen heen en terug. Als ‘makelaars’ in interculturele contacten zijn ambigue personen cruciaal voor processen van cultuuroverdracht. In de Oudheid wordt ambiguïteit zelfs bewust gecreëerd op bepaalde plaatsen en via specifieke praktijken. De lange lijn van de geschiedenis toont dat de monocultuur van de natiestaat niet de natuurlijke stand van zaken is, maar dat multiculturaliteit en cultuuruitwisseling gezocht en gevonden wordt om mee te kunnen komen in dynamische tijden.
In this contribution we will present an overview of the results of the work done thus far at Plakari, and attempt to set them in a wider geographical and historical framework. We will focus on what the findings can tell us about Plakari’s functioning at different scales (local, regional and supra-regional) and how its position changed through time. During the Early Iron Age Plakari was well connected to central Euboea, the Attic mainland and the insular world, including the west coast of Asia Minor. Historical sources suggest that during the 5th century Karystia suffered much from its proximity to its powerful neighbour Athens. When in the 4th century a period of recuperation began, the cult place on Plakari hilltop was reconstructed, but various aspects of its design suggest that the Karystians using the place were more interested in the past than in the world around them.
to recent studies on ancient colonisation.
The first concerns a shift away from
approaching this phenomenon in terms of
single events to a point of view that considers
it in terms of processes. The second notion
diverges from common conceptions of ancient
colonial encounters, that interpret these
encounters in strongly oppositional, ethnic
terms of Greeks versus natives. In contrast,
the authors emphasise the complexity of colonial
encounters, questioning the idea that
cultures can be readily identified from
archaeological remains and associated with
ethnic groups, either Greek or indigenous. In
line with this, they insist on studying the
dynamic and situational nature of identity,
and to investigate how material culture and
settlement organisation were used as media
to negotiate social relations. Both notions are
discussed with regard to southeast Italy and
in particular the Taranto region, relating theory
to fresh archaeological data.
Between ca. 1100 - 700 BC the Mediterranean went through a phase of radical changes. From this period we have a number of wealthy graves in Kourion-Kaloriziki in Cyprus, Lefkandi in Greece and in Cumae in Italy which have in common that they figure in disputes among archaeologists about the ethnic identity of the individuals buried in these tombs. A way-out of this discussion is that these persons are not one or the other, but were part of several worlds at the same time, and that their ambiguous nature formed an essential characteristic of these individuals. What follows is a search for examples of similar, ambiguous persons, not only in Antiquity but also in later periods. History turns out to be full of 'culture swappers', who managed to switch between cultures – sometimes in one direction, in other cases back and forth. As intermediaries in intercultural contacts, ambiguous persons are crucial for processes of cultural transfer. In ancient times, ambiguity was also consciously created in certain places and through specific practices. The Greek symposion is an example of an ambiguous space where foreign objects and rituals related with them were transferred from one world to another. Naukratis in Egypt may be mentioned as an ambiguous place where Greeks and Egyptians for a longer or shorter period could switch between two worlds and experience each other’s cultures. The long line of history shows that the monoculture of the nation state is not the natural state of affairs, but that again and again multiculturalism and cultural exchange is sought and found in order to keep up in dynamic times.
Nederlandse samenvatting:
Tussen ca. 1100 – 700 v.Chr. maakt het Middellandse Zeegbied ingrijpende veranderingen door. Uit deze periode kennen we rijke graven in Cyprus, Griekenland en Italië, waarvan archeologen de etnische identiteit betwisten. Een oplossing is dat deze personen niet het een of het ander zijn, maar juist van meerdere werelden tegelijk deel uitmaakten, waarbij ambiguïteit het wezenskenmerk van deze personen vormde. Wat volgt is een zoektocht naar voorbeelden van vergelijkbare, ambigue personen, niet alleen in de Oudheid maar ook in de latere perioden. De geschiedenis blijkt vol te zitten met ‘culture swappers’, die tussen culturen schakelen – soms in een richting, in andere gevallen heen en terug. Als ‘makelaars’ in interculturele contacten zijn ambigue personen cruciaal voor processen van cultuuroverdracht. In de Oudheid wordt ambiguïteit zelfs bewust gecreëerd op bepaalde plaatsen en via specifieke praktijken. De lange lijn van de geschiedenis toont dat de monocultuur van de natiestaat niet de natuurlijke stand van zaken is, maar dat multiculturaliteit en cultuuruitwisseling gezocht en gevonden wordt om mee te kunnen komen in dynamische tijden.
In this contribution we will present an overview of the results of the work done thus far at Plakari, and attempt to set them in a wider geographical and historical framework. We will focus on what the findings can tell us about Plakari’s functioning at different scales (local, regional and supra-regional) and how its position changed through time. During the Early Iron Age Plakari was well connected to central Euboea, the Attic mainland and the insular world, including the west coast of Asia Minor. Historical sources suggest that during the 5th century Karystia suffered much from its proximity to its powerful neighbour Athens. When in the 4th century a period of recuperation began, the cult place on Plakari hilltop was reconstructed, but various aspects of its design suggest that the Karystians using the place were more interested in the past than in the world around them.
to recent studies on ancient colonisation.
The first concerns a shift away from
approaching this phenomenon in terms of
single events to a point of view that considers
it in terms of processes. The second notion
diverges from common conceptions of ancient
colonial encounters, that interpret these
encounters in strongly oppositional, ethnic
terms of Greeks versus natives. In contrast,
the authors emphasise the complexity of colonial
encounters, questioning the idea that
cultures can be readily identified from
archaeological remains and associated with
ethnic groups, either Greek or indigenous. In
line with this, they insist on studying the
dynamic and situational nature of identity,
and to investigate how material culture and
settlement organisation were used as media
to negotiate social relations. Both notions are
discussed with regard to southeast Italy and
in particular the Taranto region, relating theory
to fresh archaeological data.