Social and Political Organisation on Crete in the Proto-palatial Period

Abstract

The model of the Minoan palace as a centralised political, economic and ideological authority, and of Minoan society as a hierarchical power structure, has to a large extent guided discussion of social complexity in the Middle Bronze Age on Crete. This paper draws attention to alternative models of power in which more agent-centred perspectives, such as heterarchy and factionalism, are preferred. On the basis of a case-study of the proto-palatial town of Malia (Crete), it is argued that these alternative models of power may offer a better explanation for the first palace and its role in Middle Minoan II Malia.

The Double-Axe: A Contextual Approach to the Understanding of a Cretan Symbol in the Neopalatial Period

“…At the same time, the discovery of three of the ceremonial (large, thin) Double‐Axes – made of a material that is prone to disappearing from settlements – in the relatively humble settlements of the Mirabello Bay region may suggest that this group or class was not narrow and confined to the top of a conceptual Minoan hierarchy but was more broad‐based. This may coincide with some recent discussions of Minoan society which emphasize the apparent complexity in the evidence for social structure through the use of the terms ‘heterarchy’ and ‘factionalism’ (Melas 1995; Hamilakis 1997–8; Schoep 2002a; 2002b; Hamilakis 2002). The understanding of the Double‐Axe as a symbol of a social group would be compatible with the occurrences of the symbol in art and in the wider material record, while suggesting that as a votive its symbolism was as much to do with the dedicator as with the cult 16…”

The Protopalatial State of the Western Magazines of the Palace at Malia (Crete)

“…The organization of the western part of the West Wing suggests such rooms were devoted to storage. Scholars have warned that the Protopalatial palaces are still too often understood by climbing the chronological ladder upwards and considering these early complexes along the lines of their Neopalatial – or even Final Palatial – successors (Schoep , 102; , 39, n. 27). However, the present study has shown that a West Wing made of long, narrow storage rooms, sometimes associated with ritual spaces bordering the Central Court, is already a feature of the earliest complexes (Graham , 129; Macdonald , 42), a conclusion which has bearings on the socio‐political background of the First Palaces.…”

“…Arguments have also been brought forward to deny Near Eastern comparisons within Evans’ palace‐temple model, further questioning the traditional interpretation of the Minoan palaces (e.g. Farnoux ; ; Driessen ; Hamilakis ; Schoep ; ; ; Papadopoulos ). This revision has gone as far as questioning the conventional labelling of these complexes, favouring the less loaded term – though surely a less colourful one – of ‘court‐centered’ or ‘court building’ rather than ‘palace’, although in this paper the conventional term is maintained for descriptive reasons (Driessen ; Schoep , esp.…”

“…Instead, emphasis has been placed on the somewhat faceless Maliot elites, residing in large residential complexes outside the palace and involved in activities that traditionally were seen as the prerogatives of the palace during the Protopalatial period (1925/1900–1750/1700 BC). The dynamic creativity of these elites, especially when it comes to technological and architectural innovations, has been stressed (Schoep ; , 9–21; ; ; , 224–36; , 30–1; , 232, 236; , 418–19). Such a view of Protopalatial society at Malia partly stems from a lack of detailed knowledge about the earliest phases of the palace building itself, a condition further exacerbated by the recent unfortunate death of two of the scholars in charge of the publication of the edifice.…”

Aegean Prehistory as World Archaeology: Recent Trends in the Archaeology of Bronze Age Greece

“…She demonstrates that the first (Protopalatial) palaces lack many ''palatial'' architectural features, which are instead found first in elite, nonpalatial structures in those same settlements (Schoep 2002b(Schoep , 2004(Schoep , 2006. Furthermore, elite pottery styles such as polychrome-painted Kamares ware, once believed to have been produced and consumed restrictively by palace elites at Knossos, are now known to have been imported and consumed in a wide range of palatial and nonpalatial locations on the site (Day and Wilson 1998).…”