Death in post-palatial Greece : reinterpreting burial practices and social organisation after the collapse of the Mycenaean palaces
The principle aim of this thesis is to develop a better understanding of social organisation in Greece after the collapse of the palace system c.1190 BCE. This is achieved through a multi-level analysis of burial practices, focussing specifically on the post-palatial cemetery at Perati, burial practices before and after the collapse in the Argolid, and the custom of burial with weapons, from the Shaft Grave period to the post-palatial period in Greece. The main theoretical basis for focussing on burial practices is the argument that social change is reflected and enacted in burial practices, so studying changes in burial practices (including the shift from chamber tombs to simple graves, the change from collective to single burials, the introduction of cremation, and the use of high status grave goods) has the potential to inform us about the nature of social change. This basic premise is challenged in the course of the thesis, when it is shown that burial practices in Attica changed before the collapse, whilst the custom of placing weapons in graves did not change when the palace system collapsed, and burial practices in the Argolid remained recognisably Mycenaean despite the destruction of the regionâs
Bulmer, P.
Death in post-palatial Greece : reinterpreting burial practices and social organisation after the collapse of the Mycenaean palaces. The principle aim of this thesis is to develop a better understanding of social organisation in Greece after the collapse of the palace system c.1190 BCE. This is achieved through a multi-level analysis of burial practices, focussing specifically on the post-palatial cemetery at Perati, burial practices before and after the collapse in the Argolid, and the custom of burial with weapons, from the Shaft Grave period to the post-palatial period in Greece. The main theoretical basis for focussing on burial practices is the argument that social change is reflected and enacted in burial practices, so studying changes in burial practices (including the shift from chamber tombs to simple graves, the change from collective to single burials, the introduction of cremation, and the use of high status grave goods) has the potential to inform us about the nature of social change. This basic premise is challenged in the course of the thesis, when it is shown that burial practices in Attica changed before the collapse, whilst the custom of placing weapons in graves did not change when the palace system collapsed, and burial practices in the Argolid remained recognisably Mycenaean despite the destruction of the regionâs
death post palatial greece reinterpret burial_practice social_organisation collapse mycenaean_palace principle aim_develop well social_organisation greece collapse palace system bce achieve multi_level analysis burial_practice focus_specifically post palatial cemetery burial_practice collapse argolid custom burial weapon shaft grave period post palatial period greece main_theoretical basis focus burial_practice argument social_change reflect enacted burial_practice study change burial_practice include shift chamber tombs simple graf change collective single burial introduction cremation use high_status grave_good potential inform nature social_change basic_premise challenge course show burial_practice attica change collapse whilst custom place weapon graf change palace system collapse burial_practice argolid remain mycenaean despite destruction region