Chronology, topography and social change : a multi-linear perspective on the Chalcolithic to Bronze Age transition in Cyprus
Theories of socio-cultural change regarding the transition from the Chalcolithic to the Bronze Age in Cyprus have since the nascence of prehistoric archaeology on the island been the subject of lively debate between archaeologists who argue for internal versus external evolution processes. Yet, despite all efforts, a coherent model explaining the evident material culture differences between the two epochs remains elusive, an indication that the current polarization of theories masks inherent complexities of the archaeological record. Moving beyond the internal/external dichotomy, the present thesis argues for one such explanatory model and approaches this notable transition from three distinct and less explored aspects, namely chronology, pottery analysis and topography. Starting with chronology, the thesis assesses previous chronological schemata, examines issues of methodology, performs an in-depth data quality analysis, and, on the basis of the creative dialogue between absolute and relative dating data, proposes a novel chronology for the island. This chronology transcends linearity by adopting cultural period overlaps and differential regional adoption of technologies. Moving to spatial matters, the study
Paraskeva, Charalambos
archaeology ; Cyprus ; Chalcolithic ; Philia ; GIS ; topography ; radiocarbon chronology ; social change ; pottery classification ; database ; CARMA
Chronology, topography and social change : a multi-linear perspective on the Chalcolithic to Bronze Age transition in Cyprus. Theories of socio-cultural change regarding the transition from the Chalcolithic to the Bronze Age in Cyprus have since the nascence of prehistoric archaeology on the island been the subject of lively debate between archaeologists who argue for internal versus external evolution processes. Yet, despite all efforts, a coherent model explaining the evident material culture differences between the two epochs remains elusive, an indication that the current polarization of theories masks inherent complexities of the archaeological record. Moving beyond the internal/external dichotomy, the present thesis argues for one such explanatory model and approaches this notable transition from three distinct and less explored aspects, namely chronology, pottery analysis and topography. Starting with chronology, the thesis assesses previous chronological schemata, examines issues of methodology, performs an in-depth data quality analysis, and, on the basis of the creative dialogue between absolute and relative dating data, proposes a novel chronology for the island. This chronology transcends linearity by adopting cultural period overlaps and differential regional adoption of technologies. Moving to spatial matters, the study
chronology topography social_change multi linear perspective chalcolithic_bronze_age transition cyprus theories socio_cultural change regard transition chalcolithic_bronze_age cyprus since prehistoric_archaeology island subject lively debate archaeologist argue internal versus external evolution process yet_despite effort coherent_model explain evident material_culture difference_two remains elusive indication current polarization theory mask inherent complexity archaeological_record moving_beyond internal_external dichotomy present argue explanatory_model approach notable transition three_distinct less_explored aspect namely chronology pottery analysis topography starting chronology assess previous chronological schema examine issue performs depth data quality analysis basis creative dialogue absolute relative dating data proposes novel chronology island chronology transcends adopt cultural period differential regional adoption technology moving spatial matter study