Art and Society in Cyprus from the Bronze Age into the Iron Age

413 Pages·2009·51.37 MB·English

by  Smith

ART AND SOCIETY IN CYPRUS
FROM THE BRONZE AGE
INTO THE IRON AGE
Joanna S. Smith
.... ~ .... CAMBRIDGE
::: UNIVERSITY PRESS
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
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© Joanna S. Smith 2009
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without the written
permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 2009
Printed in the United States of America
A catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication data
Smith, Joanna S., 1965-
Art and society in Cyprus from the Bronze Age into the Iron Age f Joanna S. Smith.
p. em.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-521-51367-8 (Hardback)
l. Kition (Extinct city) 2. Excavations (Archaeology)-Cyprus.
3. Cyprus - Civilization. 4. Cyprus - Antiquities. 5. Art, Cypriot.
6. Bronze age - Cyprus. 7. Iron age-Cyprus. I. Title.
DS54.95.K58S65 2009
939'.37-dc22 2008040605
ISBN 978-0-521-51367-8 Hardback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or
accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Web sites referred to in
this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Web sites is,
or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
CONTENTS
List of Figures pageix
Preface xiii
Chronological Tables xvii
I. INTRODUCTION 1
From the Bronze Age into the Iron Age 2
Cyprus 3
Kition 6
Phoenicians 10
Problem Solving l3
Archaeology 14
Authorities and Agency 16
Society and Its Complexity 17
Art and Scale 18
Time Perception 21
Typology 23
Style and Regionalism 24
Art and Society in Cyprus 26
II. SETTING THE RECORD 27
Writing 27
Archiving 29
Writing Tools and Surfaces 29
v
CONTENTS
Seals 30
Weights and Measures 31
Kition 31
Textile Workshop 34
Metal Workshop 42
Temple 2 51
Temple 4 57
Temenos A/Room 16 62
Temple 5 64
Temple l and Temenos B 66
Domestic Areas 7l
Maceheads and the Exercise of Authority 77
III. SIZING UP IMAGES 79
Landscape and View 80
Built Space 82
Wall Hangings 85
Furniture 88
Tableware 93
Plants 97
Animals 102
Cattle 103
Other Horned Animals no
Horses lll
Birds ll4
Marine Life ll6
Human Handiwork ll8
IV. THE HUMAN PERSPECTIVE ll9
Masks 120
Masklike Wall Plaque 122
Near-Life-Size Human Statue 125
Less Than Life-Size Human Figures 126
Women with Upraised Arms 127
Other Female Figures 134
Male Riders with Horses 135
vi @I@
CONTENTS
Other Male Figures 141
Musicians and Sound 143
The Worshipped 146
Control in the Present 149
Links to the Past 153
Looking to the Future 155
Solving the Problems of Kition 163
V. DEPOSITS AND POTS 164
Swedish Excavations 165
French Excavations 168
Department of Antiquities of Cyprus Excavations 171
Deposits 173
Deposits from Floor II to Floor I 173
Cypriot Ceramics and the Dating of Floor I 174
Cypriot Ceramics between Floors II and I 174
Cypriot Ceramics on Floor I 178
Cypriot Ceramics between Floors I and 3 182
Deposits from Floor I to Floor 3 185
Cypriot Ceramics and the Dating of Floor 3 186
The Problem of Black-on-Red 188
Continuity of Deposits 189
Harbor 190
Structures 190
Buildings 191
Ovens 193
VI. PITS AND IMPORTS 195
Bothroi Cut through Floor I (19, 20, 19+20, 24) 196
Bothros Cut through Flood Deposit after Destruction of
Floor I (Bothros 2) 197
Bothroi Cut after Floor I but before Floor 3
(Bothroi 13, l3A, 25, 26, 26A) 198
Large Deposit on Floor 3 of Temple 1 (Bothros 10) 200
Bothroi in Temple 1 (Bothroi 3, 4, 5, 11, 12) 208
Bothroi Cut from Floor 3, or at Least No Earlier than
Floor 3 (Bothroi 21, 23) 210
@!® vii
CONTENTS
Bothroi Cut from Deposit above Floor 3 but before Floor 2A
(Bothroi 9, 9A, 16) 210
Revised Sequence of Deposits from Floor II to Floor 2A 212
Imported Pottery 213
Greek Pottery 213
Phoenician Pottery 215
Phoenicians at Kition 217
VII. FROM SCHOLARS TO POTTERS 220
A Framework for Cypriot Material Culture 221
Gjerstad on Types I, II, and III 225
Gjerstad's Reservations 227
Regionalism and the Cypriot Iron Age Typological System 227
Revisions to the Typology 230
From Scholars to Potters 233
Households and Workshops 235
VIII. CONCLUSIONS 244
Agency, Control, and Power at Kition 244
Decentralized and Centralized Authority 251
Beyond Kition 255
Notes 259
References 331
General Index 363
Objects Index 385
viii @I@
@I@ @I@ @I@ @I@
FIGURES
1.1. Map of Cyprus with an inset of Il.8. Soft stone pendant in the shape
the eastern Mediterranean showing of a bearded male head, 50
the places mentioned in the text, 4 Il.9. Seals as seen in impression
1.2. Map of Kition showing the from Kition-Kathari and Kition
locations of Bamboula, Chrysopolitissa, 50
Chrysopolitissa, Kamelarga, II.lO. Amygdaloid serpentine weight
and Kathari, 7 with incised marks, 51
1.3. Reproduction of the basalt stela II.ll. Rim and neck of an inscribed
of Sargon II in the Larnaca District ceramic pithos, 52
Museum, Cyprus, showing a detail II.l2. Bronze weight in the shape
of the face, hands, and scepter of a goat, 53
of the king and an inset to show II.l3. Bronze stylus, 56
its human scale, 12 II.l4. Seals as seen in impression and a
1.4. Ring, amulet, mask, statues, sealing from Kition-Kathari and
statuette, and figurines from Kition Kition-Chrysopolitissa,
shown in relationship to the scale Tomb 9, 59
of the human body, 20 II.l5. Ivory handle reused as a tally
Il.l. Plan of Kition-Kathari stick, 60
Floor IV, 36 11.16. Fragment from the body of a
II.2. Plan of Kition-Kathari ceramic transport amphora with
Floor IIIA, 38 painted numerical texts, 70
II.3. Plan of Kition-Kathari 11.17. Plans of Kition-Chrysopolitissa
Floor III, 40 Floor IV and Floor IliA, 72
II.4. Plan of Kition-Kathari 11.18. Plans of Kition-Chrysopolitissa
Floor II, 42 Floor III and Floor II, 73
II.5. Plan of Kition-Kathari II.l9. Plan of Kition-Chrysopolitissa
Floor I, 44 Floor I, 74
Il.6. Plan of Kition-Kathari 11.20. Domed hematite weight with five
Floor 3, 46 short vertical marks, 74
Il.7. Plan of Kition-Kathari II.21. Rim, upper body, and two handles
Floor 2A, 48 of an inscribed ceramic pithos, 75
@I@ ix
FIGURES
II.22. Seal as seen in impression and III.17. Schematic bronze flower with
wooden roller impression from traces of gold foil and a rivet from
Kition-Chrysopolitissa, 76 Kition-Kathari, 106
11.23. Bronze male striding figure III.18. Terracotta bovine head and neck
with a tenon for attachment, 78 from Kition-Chrysopolitissa, 107
III.l. Ashlar fac;:ade on south side of III.l9. Hollow gold earring in the shape
Temple 1 at Kition-Kathari with of a double-sided bovine head
schematic carvings of ships, 81 from Kition-Chrysopolitissa,
III.2. Plan and elevation of altar in Tomb 9, 107
Temple 4 at Kition-Kathari from III.20. Hollow terracotta bovine statuette
Floor I, 82 from Kition-Kathari, 108
III.3. Terracotta building models from III.2l. Head from a hollow bovine
Kition-Kathari, 84 terracotta statuette from
III.4. Terracotta wall brackets from Kition-Kathari, 109
Kition-Kathari, 87 III.22. Terracotta bovine figurine from
III.S. Terracotta model of a four-legged Kition-Kathari, 110
chair from Kition-Kathari, 89 III.23. Head of a terracotta horse figurine
III.6. Double-sided ivory relief from Kition-Kathari, 112
plaque of the god Bes from III.24. Terracotta horse figurine from
Kition-Kathari, 91 Kition-Kathari, 113
III.7. Ivory mirror handle with a III.25. Terracotta horse figurine from
relief carving of a woman from Kition-Kathari, 114
Kition-Bamboula, 92 III.26. Lower half of an ivory vessel
III.8. Seals as seen in impression carved in the shape of the body
from Kition-Chrysopolitissa, of a bird from Kition-Kathari, 116
Tomb 9, 92 III.27. Ceramic vessel (askos) in Proto
III.9. Ceramic bottle of Proto-White White Painted ware in the
Painted ware with a human face shape of a bird's body from
from Kition-Kathari, 94 Kition-Kathari, 117
III.10. Miniature vessels of ceramic and IV.l. Terracotta nose and painted
alabaster from Kition-Kathari, 96 mustache from a life-size male
III.ll. Ivory staffs in the shape of mask from Kition-Kathari, 122
opium poppies from Kition, 98 IV.2. Fragment of a terracotta mask
III.l2. Glass bottle in the shape of a of a life-size bearded man from
cracked opium poppy from Kition-Kathari, 123
Kition-Chrysopolitissa, IV.3. Half life-size handmade terracotta
Tomb 9, 99 plaque of a human face originally
III.l3. Gold band embossed with five fired as part of the upper body
poppies from Kition of a pithos vessel from
Chrysopolitissa, Tomb 9, 100 Kition-Kathari, 124
III.14. Shoulder fragment of a ceramic IV.4. Fragment of the face from a near
pithos with postfiring incised life-size, hollow, partly wheelmade
flower designs from Kition terracotta statue head from
Chrysopolitissa, 101 Kition-Kathari, 125
III.l5. Skull of a cow that could IV.S. Half life-size hand from a
have been used as a mask, terracotta statue from
side view and in relationship Kition-Kathari, 128
to the human face, from IV.6. One-third life-size head, neck,
Kition-Kathari, 104 and upper shoulder from a partly
III.16. Terracotta bovine horn from wheelmade terracotta statue from
Kition-Kathari, lOS Kition-Kathari, 129
X
FIGURES
IV.7. Terracotta Mycenaean psi-type IV.26. Terracotta balls inscribed with
figurine from Kition-Kathari, 130 Cypro-Minoan characters from
IV.8. Terracotta female figurine with Kition-Kathari, 157
arms curved upward from IV.27. Astragali from Kition
Kition-Kathari, 131 Chrysopolitissa, 158
IV.9. Terracotta female statuette with IV.28. Bovine scapula with notches
a wheelmade body and upraised from Kition-Kathari, 159
arms from Kition-Kathari, 132 IV.29. Altar D at Kition-Kathari from
IV.IO. One-third life-size chest from a southeast, 161
partly wheelmade terracotta female V.I. Kition-Bamboula, section and
statue from Kition-Kathari, 133 plan from Swedish Cyprus
IV.1l. Terracotta mold made female Expedition excavations, 165
figurine holding a baby with her V.2. Kition-Bamboula, section and
left arm from Kition-Kathari, 135 plan from French Mission
IV.12. Terracotta bearded male figurine excavations, 168
in the pose of a rider from V.3. Ceramic wide-and-shallow bowls
Kition-Kathari, 136 with decorated bases for display
IV.13. Terracotta figurine holding a from Kition-Kathari, 176
shield from Kition-Kathari, 137 V.4. Ceramic stemmed bowls from
IV.14. Terracotta partly moldmade Kition-Kathari, 177
statuette in the pose of a rider V.5. Ceramic dishes with decorated
from Kition-Kathari, 138 bases for display from
IV.15. Terracotta horse-and-rider Kition-Kathari, 179
figurine from Kition-Kathari, 139 V.6. Ceramic kalathoi from
IV.16. Terracotta horse-and-rider Kition-Kathari, 180
statuette from Kition-Kathari, 140 V.7. Ceramic medium and deep
IV.17. Bronze figurine in the pose of a bowls with grooved and plain
rider from Kition-Kathari, 141 rims from Kition-Kathari, 182
IV.18. Three registers of decoration V.8. Ceramic wide-and-shallow
on a faience rhyton from bowls with flanged rims from
Kition-Chrysopolitissa, 142 Kition-Kathari, 183
IV.19. Partly wheelmade terracotta V.9. Ceramic thin-walled handleless
figurine torso and a terracotta bowls from Kition-Kathari, 184
leg from Kition-Kathari, 144 V.IO. Ceramic wide-and-shallow bowls
IV.20. Statuette of Kamelarga type with a carinated profile from
holding what may have been Kition-Kathari, 186
a tambourine from V.1l. Ceramic wide-and-shallow bowls
Kition-Kathari, 145 with interior ridge or straight
IV.2l. Smaller than life-size mask sides from Kition-Kathari, 186
of a Humbaba figure from V.12. Ceramic ~edium and deep bowls
Kition-Kathari, 148 with offset rim or carinated profile
IV.22. Pale green faience amulet in the from Kition-Kathari, 187
form of the head of Ptah-Patek Vl.l. Ceramic wide-and-shallow bowls
from Kition-Kathari, 149 with wavy handles, or rounded
IV.23. Mold made figurine of Ptah-Patek profile, or inturned rim from
from Kition-Kathari, 149 Kition-Kathari, 204
IV.24. Ring kernos and fragments of VI.2. Black-on-Red ceramic ridged-neck
figures once attached to such jug lets and neckless juglets from
kernoi from Kition-Kathari, 151 Kition-Kathari, 205
IV.25. Middle Bronze Age terracotta Vl.3. Ceramic hole-mouth jar from
figurine from Kition-Kathari, 154 Kition-Kathari, 212
@I@ xi
FIGURES
VI.4. Imported ceramic vessels from VII.l. Regional designs on the bases of
Greece and Phoenicia at Kition ceramic dishes from Lapithos,
Kathari, 214 Amathus, Palaepaphos, and
Kourion, 239
xii @I@