Barry Molloy (editor) - Of Odysseys and Oddities: Scales and Modes of Interaction Between Prehistoric Aegean Societies and their Neighbours (Sheffield Studies in Aegean Archaeology)

Published in the United Kingdom in 2016 by

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Oxbow Books and the individual contributors 2016

Paperback Edition: ISBN 978-1-78570-231-0

Digital Edition: ISBN 978-1-78570-232-7 (epub)

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Molloy, Barry.

Title: Of odysseys and oddities: scales and modes of interaction between prehistoric Aegean societies and their neighbours/edited by B.P.C. Molloy.

Description: Oxford; Philadelphia: Oxbow Books, 2016. | Series: Sheffield studies in Aegean archaeology | Papers from the 2013 Sheffield Aegean Round Table. | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016007208 (print) | LCCN 2016008303 (ebook) | ISBN 9781785702310 (paperback) | ISBN 9781785702327 (digital) | ISBN 9781785702327 (epub) | ISBN 9781785702334 (mobi) | ISBN 9781785702341 (pdf)

Subjects: LCSH: Aegean Sea RegionAntiquitiesCongresses. | Prehistoric peoplesAegean Sea RegionCongresses. | Social interactionAegean Sea RegionHistoryTo 1500Congresses. | Intercultural communicationAegean Sea RegionHistoryTo 1500Congresses. | Spatial behaviorSocial aspectsAegean Sea RegionHistoryTo 1500Congresses. | Material cultureAegean Sea RegionHistoryTo 1500Congresses. | Aegean Sea RegionRelationsCongresses. | Neolithic periodAegean Sea RegionCongresses. | Excavations (Archaeology)Aegean Sea RegionCongresses. | Social archaeologyAegean Sea RegionCongresses.

Classification: LCC GN776.22.A35 O34 2016 (print) | LCC GN776.22.A35 (ebook) | DDC 551.46/1388dc23

LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016007208

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Front cover: The MBA village of Punta Milazzese on Panarea. Photograph by Helen Dawson.

SHEFFIELD STUDIES IN AEGEAN ARCHAEOLOGY

ADVISORY EDITORIAL PANEL

Professor Stelios ANDREOU, University of Thessaloniki, Greece

Professor John BARRETT, University of Sheffield, England

Professor John BENNET, University of Sheffield, England

Professor Keith BRANIGAN, University of Sheffield, England

Professor Jack DAVIS, American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Greece

Dr Peter DAY, University of Sheffield, England

Dr Roger DOONAN, University of Sheffield, England

Dr Paul HALSTEAD, University of Sheffield, England

Dr Caroline JACKSON, University of Sheffield, England

Dr Jane REMPEL, University of Sheffield, England

Dr Susan SHERRATT, University of Sheffield, England

B ARRY P.C. M OLLOY

B ORJA L EGARRA H ERRERO

P AUL H ALSTEAD

ILER ILINGIROLU

M ARINA M ILI

D USHKA U REM -K OTSOU

B ARBARA H OREJS

V OLKER H EYD , ENGL A YDINGN AND E MRE G LDOAN

O URANIA K OUKA

L ORENZ R AHMSTORF

M ARIA E MANUELA A LBERTI

H ELEN D AWSON

B ARRY P.C. M OLLOY

M ICHAEL J. B OYD

N AOSE M AC S WEENEY

J OHN K. P APADOPOULOS

The 2013 Sheffield Aegean Round Table took place during a rather frigid January with snowfalls threatening to cut our plans short. Thankfully, we had a very fruitful meeting and a lively discussion over the course of three days. Most of those who engaged in the Round Table have been able to publish their papers in the volume, though the event was much enhanced by the oral contributions of John Bennet, Sue Sherratt, Sara Strack and Roger Doonan. We were also fortunate to have Kristian Kristiansen deliver a thought (and discussion) provoking keynote address and our meeting concluded with an eloquent final discussion by John Barrett.

The event took place during a Marie Curie Fellowship that the editor held at the University of Sheffield 20112013. I was very fortunate to work with and learn from Roger Doonan during this period. Along with acting as mentor for the fellowship, he co-organised the Round Table event with me and played a key role in designing the research agenda for the event and this publication. Thank you also to all of the student helpers who made the event run so smoothly. The Round Table is generously supported by the Institute for Aegean Prehistory, to whom we are most grateful.

The Sheffield Aegean Round Table is a type of event that is relatively rare these days, as it takes place in a relaxed atmosphere where people freely speak their minds. This is really made possible through the welcoming environment that is created by Debi Harlan, Valasia Isaakidou and John Bennet. The home baked fare that they so kindly made on the opening night (thanks also to Vuka Mili) set the guests up for a very comfortable and enjoyable event. Debi and John also hosted all of the guests at their home the next evening, making a very memorable climax to the convivial environment that makes the Round Tables such unique events.

The panel of reviewers, including many of the contributors, provided invaluable advice that was vital in bringing this volume to publication, for which we are grateful. I would finally wish to express my gratitude to the participants at the event and contributors to this volume who made the entire process so stimulating. It was indeed testimony to our aspiration to work across political and traditional boundaries that have influenced Aegean archaeology that we had participants representing eleven nationalities from institutions on three continents. A final note on behalf of the authors is that papers in this volume were submitted in 2013 and 2014, and as a consequence many will be missing citations to some important more recent publications.

Barry P.C. Molloy

Anton Adner died in 1822 when he was 112 years old. He had become something of a legend in his time in Bavaria because of his unique way to circumvent local taxation laws. A carpenter by trade, strict regulations meant that he could produce one specific product for local markets, and should he transport his goods across borders, a tax must be paid. That is unless the items were carried on him personally. Adner chose to manufacture wooden boxes. In his spare time he produced other craft items from toys to woollen socks. He then placed his items in the wooden boxes, attached these to himself, and proceeded to walk not only across local borders, but throughout Bavaria, Austria and as far afield as Switzerland (Kastner 2015).

This volume is about scales and modes of interaction in prehistory, specifically between societies on both sides of the Aegean and with their nearest neighbours overland to the north and east. The story of Adner may be far removed in time and space, but it speaks of the quirks of a persons place in the world how their knowledge is moulded by society yet how their choices can shape that society in return. To excavate his home, we may expect to find the sparse belongings of a Bavarian peasant craftsman, but his knowledge of the world was far broader than we might ascribe to his humble dwelling. We may invoke the individual agency of such a person who acted at his own behest to explain his particular case, yet it was the social and economic structures within which he operated and did business that drove his decision making. This reflects tensions at the very core of how we consider interaction in archaeology, particularly the motivations and mechanisms leading to social and material encounters or displacements. Linked to this are the ways we conceptualise spatial and social entities in past societies (scales) and how we learn about who was actively engaged in interaction and how and why they were (modes).