PREHISTORY MONOGRAPHS 10

Crete Beyond the Palaces:

Proceedings of the
Crete 2000 Conference

edited by
Leslie Preston Day
Margaret S. Mook
James D. Muhly

Published btJ
INSTAP Academic Press
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2004
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Crele 2000 Conference (2000 : Athens, Greece)

Crete beyond the palaces: proceedings of the Crete 2000 onference / edited
by Leslie Preston Day, Margaret S. Mook, James D. Muhly.
p. em. - (Prehistory monographs ; 10)
"This book presents the papers ftom the conference Crete 2000 ... held in
Alh n from JlIly 10-12, 2000"-EO'r data view sheet.
lncludes bibliographical references.
1 B 1-931534-09- (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Crete (Greece)-Antiquities-Congresscs. 2. • cavallons
(ATchaeology)-Greece--Crete--Congresses. 1. Day, Leslie Preston. n. Mook,
Margaret ., 1960- m. MlI.hly, James David. IV. Title. V. Series.
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 9
Household Analysis in
Dark Age Crete
Kevin T. Glowacki
Several authors in this volume discuss extraor-
dinary buildings, such as communal shrines or
ruler's dwellings; in contrast, I focus on the "not-
so-big houses" of Dark Age Crete and the inter-
pretation of domestic activities that took place
within them. "Household analysis" or "house-
hold archaeology" is currently a topic of great in-
terest to researchers in many parts of the world.
There is a large (and still growing) literature cov-
ering not only specific sites and methods of analy-
sis, but also dealing with important theoretical
frameworks for understanding site formation pro-
cesses and their effect on house floor assemblages
and the interpretation of past household behavior
(e.g., Wilk and Ashmore 1988; Blanton 1994; Wal-
lace-Hadrill 1994; Coupland and Banning 1996;
Schiffer 1996; Allison 1999; Nevett 1999). As these
studies have made clear, the challenge for archae-
ologists is to find a meaningful relationship be-
tween the "house" or "dwelling"-the physical,
architectural structures and associated features
most commonly encountered in the archaeologi-
cal record-and the "household"-the people and
groups who lived, worked, and interacted in these
areas. Additionally, recent work has stressed the
importance of a multi-faceted approach to the ar-
chaeological remains of houses. It is important to
consider not only architecture or ceramics, but
also the spatial patterning of these structures and
all associated material remains, in order to throw
light on household behavior and organization
(e.g., Whitelaw 1983; Ault and Nevett 1999).
 126 GLOWACKl

BUllDING M
I i ~oDi
~,
" IV
+ I
BUILDING l

i
/' + 1' + I BUILDING K '.
/
t " \ "'
i
,
J'+-
~
;
/

+,.
\
\
t
, 1.I
.' 'J.~
rI- ,8' /
,I
1- ,-,-",;,+." + I

+ t +

1- + .,
BUILDING A

\
JJs "
.,. + r--....",.,.._
+ . ,
• \. I

+
,, "- " ~ ..
J \.
I' .
+ " , ;-
BUILDING G
(SHRINE) !t I

~') )
~' .
I
+ + + ~ ,\ + KLN 1 \ ~ ... -- +
Kavousi V ronda J J
LM mc Settlement PJan I, I·

i /
1pm ./~ /
/ + + +
,: )t .~

Figure 9.1. Kavousi Vronda . Plan of the LM IIle settlement.

Houses in Dark Age Crete: Vrokastro and Kavousi

The study of houses in Eastern Crete has a long Hall never published a full state plan or descrip-
and distinguished tradition; it began with our pio- tion of the material found within these houses,
neering predecessors in the early 20th century and Hayden has plausibly identified over a dozen in-
continues with what Gesell (see Introduction) has dividual dwellings, ranging from simple, one-
called the "second series" of American archaeolo- room constructions to units of two, three, or more
gists to work in Crete. By asking new questions of contiguous rooms (Hayden 1983), Her thorough
the sites and material first discovered by Boyd, re-examination of the architecture at Vrokastro,
Hall, and Seager, archaeologists working today therefore, has added much to our understanding
have been able to develop a much more thorough of the settlement on this mountainous site and to
picture of house architecture, settlement, and soci- the variety of house forms in the Iron Age (see also
ety in Dark Age Crete. For example, at the Early Hayden, Chapter 17).
Iron Age site of Vrokastro, Hall uncovered a sub- In 1900, Harriet Boyd excavated thirteen rooms
stantial settlement of tightly packed houses of what she interpreted as a large house belonging
grouped in at least two areas (Hall 1914). Though to an early chieftain constructed on the "almost
 HOUSEHOLD ANALYSIS IN DARK AGE CRETE
inaccessible height" of Kastro at Kavousi (Boyd
1901,137-143). In fact, Boyd recognized that these
rooms, constructed on several different terraces,
probably did not all belong to one house, but she
found few household objects to help clarify the
existence of separate dwellings or the functions of
the individual rooms. Ceramic evidence from
Boyd's brief excavation indicated that the build-
ing(s) dated to the Geometric period.
The new Kavousi excavations by Gesell, Day,
and Coulson have shown that the Kastro settlement
is much more extensive, long-lived, and complicat-
ed than previously thought (Gesell, Day, and Coul-
son 1985; 1995, 117-119; Coulson et al. 1997). These
excavations have provided a great opportunity to
study domestic architecture, house planning, and
construction from early LM mc through the end of
the Orientalizing period. Particularly noteworthy in
this regard is Mook's diachronic analysis of the
Northwest Building (Mook 1998). This domestic
complex grew from an initial two-room house in
LM nrc through a variety of expansions and con-
tractions in the Proto geometric, Geometric, and
Orientalizing periods, exemplifying not only the
range of vernacular building traditions but also
reflecting the evolution of households on Kastro.
Although the majority of the best-preserved archi-
tecture on Kastro dates from the Late Geometric
period, as recognized by Boyd, the site is of major
importance for its long sequence of habitation and
the information it provides about village life and
domestic activities throughout most of the Dark
Age in Eastern Crete.
Building I-O-N at Kavousi Vronda
Building Complex I-O-N (Figs. 9.2 and 9.3) is
located on the western side of Vronda, approxi-
mately 20-30 m from the summit where Boyd exca-
vated in 1900. Architectural analysis of Building
I-O-N indicates that the complex grew in three
main building phases, expanding downslope on
successive terraces from east to west (Gesell, Day,
and Coulson 1991, 163-167; 1995, 82-91). The oldest
section of the complex is Building I, a five-room
structure built in the mid LM mc period. The next
in sequence was Building 0 to the west, with four
preserved rooms, and finally building N, with at
least five rooms. The extent of the complex is
127
At Vronda, on the other hand, Boyd uncovered
"a house and a necropolis of small tholos tombs"
all dating to what she called the "sub-Mycenaean
epoch, transitional between the Bronze Age and the
Iron Age" (Boyd 1901, 131-137). On the summit of
the hill was a large house with a forecourt, a store-
room with fragments of three large pithoi, and a
massive terrace wall on the east. The "ruined con-
dition of the walls," however, prevented Boyd from
distinguishing the plan of the building, and most of
her work seems to have been concentrated on the
cleaning of eight 'beehive" tombs to the north and
northeast.
The second series of excavations at Vronda has
provided a much more thorough picture of this set-
tlement (Fig. 9.1), which now can be dated confi-
dently to the LM nrc period (Darr Coulson, and
Gesell 1986; Gesell, Day, and Coulson 1995; see also
Day and Snyder, Chapter 5, and Klein, Chapter 7).
In addition to a better understanding of Boyd's
"large house" and storeroom (Building A-B), this
picture also includes buildings of a public and com-
munal nature (Building G), a kiln for ceramic pro-
duction, as well as a number of houses (C-D, E,
I-O-N, J-K, L-M). Whereas Kastro is notable for its
long sequence of habitation and construction,
Vronda provides a valuable opportunity to exam-
ine a Dark Age village from essentially a single
period. The domestic aspects of the Vronda settle-
ment and the importance of household analysis in
the interpretation of the entire site can be explored
in further detail by focusing on one of the complex-
es not previously investigated by Boyd.
clearest on the eastern and southern sides; the nor-
thern and western areas have suffered from erosion
and the construction of modem terrace walls. Sev-
eral portions of the structure, including both interi-
or and exterior spaces, also were disturbed by later
Geometric burials. On the whole, however, the pre-
servation of the Late Bronze Age remains is excel-
lent and provides one of the most instructive
examples of LM mc domestic architecture at the
site. Our analysis, based not only on architecture
but also on the spatial distribution of household
artifacts and domestic installations, suggests that at
the time the Vronda settlement was abandoned in
128 GLOWACKI

Building 0
t Building N

Kavousi Vronda
Building Complex I-O-N
State Plan
Figure 9.2. Building Complex I-O-N. State plan.

o 5
I I

Kavousi Vronda
Building Complex I-O-N
Figure 9.3. Building Complex I-O-N. Block plan (walls partially restored).
 HOUSEHOLD ANALYSIS IN DARK AGE CRETE
~~~§~r=~~~GraVe35
Courtyard
Grave 30 J-
'\...-
.... ~
5 meter
Figure 9.4. Building I. St ate plan . LG graves indicated .
late LM me, Building Complex I-O-N was used by
four, possibly five, separate households (Day and
Glowacki 1993).
In form, Building I (Fig. 9.4) was originally a
rectangular, three-room structure (Rooms I 4, I 3,
and I 5; combined interior area of ca. 31.30 m 2)
with an exterior courtyard to the north. At some
later time, but still within LM mc, two auxiliary
rooms (Rooms I 1 and I 2; combined interior area
of ca. 8.49 m 2) were added to the east. Room I 4 is
a narrow porch or anteroom, entered from the
courtyard though a central doorway. Room I 4
then gave access to Room I 3, which apparently
was the main room of the house. Room I 5, en-
tered only from I 3, probably was used for storage
and contained the remains of at least two pithoi.
Rooms I 1 and I 2 were disturbed by later Geo-
metric cremation burials and contained little or no
evidence for LM mc domestic activities.
The largest and best preserved room of this
building is I 3, a rectangular area measuring ca.
4.7 x 3.8 m (17.86 m 2) (Gesell, Day, and Coulson
1991, 163-165, pIs. 64d, 65a-d). This room has a
129
+
-.
Figure 9.5 . Building I, Room 3. Oven from south .
long, well-built stone bench along the eastern
side, a small platform in the northeast corner, and
a slab enclosure (or bin) at the south next to the
door leading into Room I 5. In the center of the
room is a roughly oval patch of burned red soil
indicating the remains of a fixed hearth, the loca-
tion of which suggests a connection with heating
and lighting as well as cooking.
In addition to the central hearth, another type of
cooking installation was found in Room I 3. A
small, clay-lined oven was built in the angle
formed by the bench and the platform in the north-
east corner of the room (Fig. 9.5). A third side of the
oven (on the west) was formed by an upright slab;
the mouth (on the south) was marked off by a row
of rectangular cobbles. The floor and sides of the
oven were lined with clay, and fragments of a
curved, heat-reddened clay superstructure were
found collapsed on the eastern side near the bench.
Similar small ovens have been found in Buildings
o and N (Rooms 0 I, 0 3, and N 5), as well as in
other houses at Vronda (Rooms C 2 and C 5), and
have been very important in our reconstructions of
 130 GLOWACKI
Figure 9.6. Recreation of a small oven by Mr. Manolis
Maniadakis.
individual houses and interpretations of household
activities (Day, Glowacki, and Klein 2000) (Fig. 9.6).
The artifacts found on the floor surface of Room
I 3 included several fragmentary and nearly com-
plete LM mc vessels. These were primarily for the
preparation and consumption of food and drink,
such as a tripod cookpot found beside the central
hearth, and several fine, deep bowls and cups from
the southern section of the room. Other vessels
include an intact, undecorated pyxis and a small
pithos smashed upon the floor (Fig. 9.7). Although
broken, approximately 90% of this pithos was pre-
served, and the size and shape can be restored
accurately (height ca. 0.82 m). Comparison of this
Figure 9.7. Building I, Room 3. Pyxis and pithos during
excavation.
pithos from Room I 3 with a much larger pithos
from Room B 7 (height ca. 1.74 m) clearly demon-
strates the contrast between the storage vessels
found in the "normal" domestic contexts and those
from the "Big House" (Building A-B) at Vronda
(Fig. 9.8).
The architecture, hearth, oven, and ceramic re-
mains from Building I seem to provide clear evi-
dence of its domestic nature: a large, multi-purpose
main room for cooking and dining with associated
rooms for storage and other functions. Equally
important to our reconstruction of household activ-
ities has been the study of lithics by H. Dierckx and
of animal bones by 1. Snyder and W. Klippel (per-
sonal communication). For example, the numerous
stone tools (Fig. 9.9) recovered from Room I 3 rep-
resent an assemblage of pounding, abrading, chop-
ping, and grinding tools that complement the
cooking installations and pottery already dis-
cussed. Although few floral or faunal remains were
preserved from the interior floor levels of Building
I, the more abundant animal bones-mostly
sheep / goat but also some pig, cow, and rabbit/
hare-from the exterior courtyard to the north pro-
vide clear evidence for butchering activities.
The architectural features, cooking installations,
and artifact assemblages found in Building I are re-
peated in the other areas of the complex. Although
Building I has a rectangular form, often designated
as a "megaron" type, the later additions to the com-
plex reveal an aglommerative construction method
BUILDING I. ROOM 3 BUILDING B. ROOM 7
Figure 9.8. Comparison of pithoi from 13 and B 7.
 ,: t HOUSEHOLD ANALYSIS IN DARK AGE CRETE
e• .: •
••
•
•
Figure 9.9. Stone tools from floor surface of Room I 3.
more dependent upon topography than design
(Figs. 9.2 and 9.3). Building 0 preserves a linear ori-
entation following the gently curving terrace
immediately to the west of Building I. The irregular
shape of Building N results from the more rapidly
sloping contours of the hill in that area. Yet despite
differences in plan, the basic features of the houses
remain the same; each has one large room which
contains a central hearth and communicates with
auxiliary spaces.
For example, Room N 3 connects with Room N
5 on the lower terrace by means of a built stair-
way. Like Room I 3, N 5 also contains a central
hearth, this time rectangular and with a well-pre-
served curb. At one end of the hearth is a small
oven with a clay-lined interior. In this instance,
fragments of the superstructure which could be
Identifying Households and Household Activities
The repetitive nature of the architecture,
hearths/ ovens, and artifact assemblages seems to
represent a duplication of household activities and
activity areas within the complex. For example, if
we plot the findspots of the two most abundant cat-
egories of artifacts, pottery and stone tools, found
within each room, we can immediately notice some
interesting distributional patterns (Figs. 9.11 and
131
Figure 9.10. Building N, Room 5, Oven .
"fitted" up to the stone slabs forming the sides of
the enclosure were found, showing that the top of
this oven was flat (Fig. 9.10). From this room also
came a large number of vessels for food prepara-
tion, cooking, eating, and drinking, including an
LM mc Close Style krater (V 90.115), fragments of
which were also found in Room N 3 (Gesell, Day,
and Coulson 1995 90-91, fig. 7:2, pI. 28:b). The
function and significance of other vessels, such as
a fenestrated stand (V 90.114), found in this hearth
room are not quite so clear (Gesell, Day, and
Coulson 1995 91, pI. 28:e). Although such vessels
are sometimes interpreted in terms of household
cult, in at least two instances on the Vronda
(Rooms N 5 and C 2) fenestrated stands have been
found near, and even in, ovens, but neither exam-
ple shows signs of burning.
9.12). Within each architectural division, the large
rooms with the hearths and ovens contain primari-
ly cooking and fine ware vessels for the consump-
tion of food and drink (Rooms I 3, N 1, N 5, and
probably Room 0 3 as well, although a large Geo-
metric tomb has covered or destroyed most of the
center of this room). Also present are a limited
number of storage vessels, for either solids or
 132 GLOWACKI

• CookinglFood
Preparation
A Fine Ware/Serving
and Consumption
torage

Other

Kavousi Vronda Building

Complex I-O-N o 5 10m
I I I
Figure 9.11 . Building Complex I-O-N. Distribution of pottery types.

• Millstone/Quem
& Abrading Tool
o Pounding Tool
Chopping Tool
Other Work Stone

Kavousi Vronda Building

Complex I-O-N o 5 10 m
I I I
Figure 9.12. Building Complex I-O-N. Distribution of stone tool types.
 HOUSEHOLD ANALYSIS IN DARK AGE CRETE
liquids, as well as a few shapes such as pyxides (I
3, N 5) or a fenestrated stand (N 5) which are rela-
tively rare at Vronda. In addition, similar groups of
stone tools were found in the hearth rooms, where-
as the courtyard revealed primarily abrading tools,
possibly evidence for the different types of activi-
ties taking place there. The recurrent spatial pat-
terns of the archaeological remains within distinct
but similar units further refines the architectural
analysis of the complex and supports the identifi-
cation of individual dwellings and households.
At the same time, we need to be cautious when
using artifact distribution as the primary evidence
for the function of any room or area. Recent archae-
ological and ethnographic research has stressed the
importance of understanding the complexity of site
formation processes in the interpretation of house
floor assemblages (Schiffer 1996; LaMotta and
Schiffer 1999). As it applies to the type of house-
hold analysis attempted here, the differences and
similarities in types of artifacts and their distribu-
tion within and around a house can be caused not
only by "real" differences in activities carried out in
specific areas, but also by the processes of habita-
tion, refuse, destruction, abandonment, and reuse
which may create a somewhat "false" picture of
human activity in the archaeological record. Unlike
the extremely rare archaeological site which has
been destroyed by a natural catastrophe-a vol-
canic eruption, earthquake, or fire-and then never
reinhabited or disturbed, a site like Vronda, which
has been abandoned with buildings left standing
for an undetermined length of time before collapse
and then disturbed when many areas were reused
for later burials or robbed for building materials,
involves an entirely new set of relevant formation
processes. These processes affect not only what we
find, but where we find it, and the value of that
data for our interpretations.
For example, the open courtyard to the north of
Building I consisted of numerous, stratified layers
characterized by large amounts of pottery and
animal bone. Since some of the bone material is
consistent with butchering debris, it is logical to
interpret this as primary refuse, reflecting activi-
ties in the courtyard over a period of time. On the
other hand, a large proportion of the ceramic
material, consisting of small and worn fragments,
is more likely to reflect secondary refuse, either
material thrown out from the house itself or
washed down from surrounding areas. What,
then, of the whetstones and other stone tools
found in or near the courtyard? Are these further
133
evidence for butchering, or merely tools used else-
where and discarded here along with other
garbage?
Likewise, the pithos discovered in Room 1 3 is
90% complete, with the base found intact on the
floor surface. Since the broken vessel was covered
"
by the collapsed roofing clay, it is tempting to
think of the pithos as having been used in the lat-
est phase of the room before abandonment, But
how long did it stand "abandoned" before the
roof collapsed? Could someone have moved it to
that location from another room? What about the
fragmentary pithoi found in Room 1 5, which are
not so completely preserved? Are they good evi-
dence for agricultural storage in that room during
the habitation phase of the building, or were they
dumped as secondary refuse into an old, unused
room because they no longer served any function?
Clearly, archaeologists need to distinguish be-
tween several possible types of deposits formed
during the different stages in the life-cycle of a
house: primary and secondary refuse deposition
during habitation, de facto or even ritual refuse de-
position during the abandonment, and other types
of re-use and disturbance during the post-abandon-
ment stage (LaMotta and Schiffer 1999). Cautioned
by the examples mentioned above, I would argue
that the plans of artifact distribution are useful, first
and foremost, for characterizing the range of mate-
rial found in different locations without necessarily
implying any one-to-one correspondence between
the use, re-use, storage, or discard of those items in
those areas. At the same time, distributional pat-
terns recurring between two or more types of arti-
facts or architectural features are unlikely to be
random and may be used as good evidence for sim-
ilar activities taking place in those locations. In
Building I-O-N, the key areas where this patterning
consistently takes place is in the large rooms with
fixed hearths and ovens, where we have found the
most significant combinations of vessels for food
preparation, cooking, and consumption along with
a complementary assemblage of stone tools.
Therefore, by combining the architectural analy-
sis with the distributional data of artifacts and by
using the presence of a hearth/ oven as an essential
guide, it is possible to recognize at least four or five
separate household units present by the time of the
building's abandonment. Each household unit is
not only architecturally distinct, but is also charac-
terized by a recurrent association of features and
artifacts. These identifying units are 1 1-5, 0 1-3,
N 1-2, and N 3+5, N 4, with its own central hearth,
 134
has been badly disturbed by a modem terrace, and
so its size and relationship to the other rooms of
Building N is not certain. It may, therefore, have
been part of another, less well-preserved household
unit. Likewise, we know there is a room (04) to the
north of 0 3, but the preservation does not allow us
to say if it is part of the same house or if it is anoth-
er building altogether. Furthermore, there is some
evidence that Room 01 may have gone out of use
before Rooms 0 2 and 0 3. In that case, it may be
possible to identify an initial household unit con-
sisting of Rooms Oland 0 2, later modified to
include 0 2, 0 3, and possibly 0 4.
According to this interpretation, each unit con-
sists of a two-to-five room structure (depending
upon population growth and as allowed by the
natural topography of the site), forming approxi-
mately 30--40 m 2 of interior roofed space for each
house. Although it is extremely difficult to esti-
mate population sizes accurately based primarily
on architectural form, a house of these dimensions
may have accommodated a group of four to seven
individuals, a number logically assumed to corre-
spond to a nuclear family (e.g., Naron 1962;
Whitelaw 1983; 2001; Kolb 1985; Fletcher 1981;
1986; Wallace-Hadrill1994, 95-103).
Conclusion
The study of houses and households can pro-
vide important insights into the social and eco-
nomic organization of communities over time. For
a "transitional" period such as the Late Bronze/
Early Iron Age in Crete, when significant changes
were taking place in a post-palatial society,
"household archaeology" is an especially appro-
priate level of analysis. The individual house can
be the starting point for a comparison of other
structures, highlighting differences in construc-
tion, architectural elaboration, and activities so as
to distinguish domestic, non-domestic, special-
ized, or elite buildings in the community. More-
over, the relationship between the size and form of
GLOWACKI
The houses at Vronda also seem to cluster to-
gether into separate groups or "blocks" (Fig. 9.1).
This is clearly the case with Building I-O-N as well
as with Building C-D, another well-preserved
domestic complex. Building C-D reveals a similar
pattern of central hearths and ovens which comple-
ments the architectural study in distinguishing
individual household units (Gesell, Day, and Coul-
son 1995, 70-75). This also may have been the case
with other, less well-preserved buildings at Vronda,
such as Buildings E, J-K, and L-M (Gesell, Day, and
Coulson 1995, 75-77). If the individual household
consists of a nuclear family as a basic social unit,
these complexes may each represent a cohesive
grouping of the extended family as it expands and
changes over time. It is interesting to note that the
house clusters do not seem to share facilities, such
as ovens. There is no evidence for communal
ovens, such as those known in traditional Cretan
villages today, serving a larger group than the indi-
vidual household (Day, Glowacki, and Klein 2000).
Therefore, the household clearly seems to be one of
the main organizing principles of the LM mc
Vronda community, an interpretation which has
been argued for other Cretan Dark Ages sites as
well (e.g., Nowicki 1999, 147).
a dwelling and the number of people it accommo-
dated can be the basis for a discussion of overall
site population. In this way, houses and house-
holds reflect the complex social structure and
organization of the site as a whole, which in tum
sheds light on regional settlement patterns and
economy. The last two decades have seen the ra-
pid growth of a substantial body of data to which
we can now apply modem interpretive frame-
works; this analysis at the household level is but
one new avenue of investigation in the overall
study and interpretation of life in Dark Age Crete
which was begun by Harriet Boyd and her col-
leagues one hundred years ago.
 HOUSEHOLD ANALYSIS IN DARK AGE CRETE
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the directors of the
Kavousi Project, Professors Geraldine C. Gesell,
Leslie P. Day, and WD.E. Coulson for the opportu-
nity to study Building I-O-N at Vronda Kavousi,
and for their many years of help, support, and col-
laboration on this and other studies. I would also
like to express my thanks to the many participants
of the Crete 2000 conference who shared their
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 Table of Contents

LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................................................. vii

LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................................................... xiii

PREFACE .................................................................................................................................................................. xv

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................................................. xvii

CONFERENCE PROGRAM ................................................................................................................................. xix

OPENING REMARKS
James D. Muhly, Director, American School of Classical Studies at Athens ....................................... xxiii
Theodoros Pangalos, Minister of Culture ................................................................................................ xxiv
Nicholas Burns, American Ambassador to Greece ................................................................................. xxiv
Jeremy A. Sabloff, Williams Director, University of Pennsylvania Museum of
Archaeology and Anthropology ..................................................................................................... xxvi

INTRODUCTION
History of American Excavations on Crete: Geraldine C. Gesell .................................................................. 1

PART I: TRADE
1. Pseira and Knossos: The Transformation of an East Cretan Seaport: Philip P. Betancourt.. ...........21
2. The Incised and Relief Lily Jars from MochIos: Thomas M. Brogan ...................................................29
3. Kommos: The Sea-Gate to Southern Crete: Joseph W. Shaw ............................................................... .43
4. A Possible Minoan Harbor on South Crete: Elpida Hadjidaki ............................................................ .53

PART II: SOCIETY AND RELIGION

5. The "Big House" at Vronda and the "Great House" at Karphi: Evidence for Social
Structure in LM mc Crete: Leslie Preston Day and Lynn M. Snyder .............................................. 63
6. Gournia, Vronda Kavousi, Kephala Vasilikis: A Triad of Interrelated Shrines of the
Expiring Minoan Age on the Isthmus of Ierapetra: Theodore Eliopoulos ....................................... 81
7. The Architecture of the Late Minoan mc Shrine (Building G) at Vronda, Kavousi:
Nancy L. Klein ........................................................................................................................................ 91
8. Halasmenos, Destroyed but not Invisible: New Insights on the LM mc Period in the
Isthmus of Ierapetra. First Presentation of the Pottery from the 1992-1997 Campaigns:
Metaxia Tsipopoulou ............................................................................................................................. 103
 vi CRETE BEYOND THE PALACES

9. Household Analysis in Dark Age Crete: Kevin T. Glowacki .............................................................. 125

10. Religion at Minoan Kommos: Maria C. Shaw ..................................................................................... 137

PART III: CHRONOLOGY AND HISTORY

11. New Construction at Mochlos in the LM IB Period: Jeffrey S. Soles ................................................ 153
12. From Foundation to Abandonment: New Ceramic Phasing for the Late Bronze
Age and Early Iron Age on the Kastro at Kavousi: Margaret S. Mook ........................................ 163
13. Writing on the Walls. The Architectural Context of Archaic Cretan Laws: Paula J. Perlman ...... 181
14 Eleutherna and the Greek World, ca. 600-400 B.C.: Brice Erickson ................................................... 199
15. The Late Hellenistic Period in East Crete: Natalia Vogeikoff-Brogan ................................................ 213

PART IV: LANDSCAPE AND SURVEY

16. Past and Present Perspectives on the Archaeological Landscapes of Mirabello:
Donald C. Haggis .................................................................................................................................. 223
17. Vrokastro and the Settlement Pattern of the LM lIlA-Geometric Periods:
Barbara J. Hayden ................................................................................................................................. 233
18. Western Crete in the Bronze Age: A Survey of the Evidence: Jennifer Moody ...............................247
19. South of Kavousi, East of Mochlos: The West Siteia Mountains at the End
of the Bronze Age: KrzysztoJ Nowicki ............................................................................................... 265

PART V: TECHNOLOGY AND PRODUCTION

20. Chrysokamino and the Beginnings of Metal Technology on Crete and in the
Aegean: James D. Muhly ..................................................................................................................... 283
21. Mochlos and Melos: A Special Relationship? Creating Identity and Status
in Minoan Crete: Tristan Carter ......................................................................................................... 291
22. Late Minoan III Mochlos and the Regional Consumption of Pottery: R. Angus K. Smith .......... .309