The Early Cycladic Settlement at Dhaskalio, Keros: Preliminary Report of the 2008 Excavation Season

Renfrew, Colin; Philaniotou, Olga; Brodie, Neil; Gavalas, Giorgos

doi:10.1017/s0068245400000198

Cited by 25 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 4 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The recent excavations on the Cycladic island of Keros, both at the sanctuary at Kavos and at the settlement on the islet of Dhaskalio, lying 90m offshore, give new evidence for the scale of such interactions (Renfrew et al 2007b(Renfrew et al , 2009Research Horizons 2011). In particular the new radiocarbon determinations for the settlement at Dhaskalio allow a greater chronological precision for the later part of the Aegean Early Bronze Age and indeed for the Early Cycladic period (Manning 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The oldest maritime sanctuary? Dating the sanctuary at Keros and the Cycladic Early Bronze Age

Renfrew¹,

Boyd²,

Ramsey³

2012

Antiquity

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The sanctuary on the island of Keros takes the form of deposits of broken marble vessels and figurines, probably brought severally for deposition from elsewhere in the Cyclades. These acts of devotion have now been accurately dated, thanks to Bayesian analyses of the contemporary stratigraphic sequence on the neighbouring islet of Dhaskalio. The period of use—from 2750 to 2300 cal BC—precedes any identified worship of gods in the Aegean and the site is among the earliest ritual destinations only accessible by sea. The authors offer some preliminary thoughts on the definition of these precocious acts of pilgrimage.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The oldest maritime sanctuary? Dating the sanctuary at Keros and the Cycladic Early Bronze Age

Renfrew¹,

Boyd²,

Ramsey³

2012

Antiquity

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…That was the beginning of an association with Keros which is ongoing. It came to a climax in 2006 with excavations that revealed a different area at Kavos which had not been looted (Renfrew et al 2007b;2009;. The remains which we found in those excavations conducted between 2006 and 2008 answered some important questions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 83%

The sanctuary at Keros: Questions of materiality and monumentality

Renfrew¹

2013

JBA

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The discovery of the early bronze age sanctuary on the Cycladic island of Keros is briefly described. Why islanders in the Aegean should establish the world's first maritime sanctuary around 2500 bc is then considered, and other instances of early centres of congregation are briefly discussed. Specific features of the Special Deposit South at Kavos, a key component of the sanctuary, are then reviewed along with those of the accompanying settlement on the islet of Dhaskalio. The Aegean context for the development in the later bronze age of cult, involving the reverence of specific deities, is then surveyed. The conclusion is reached that the Confederacy of Keros may not have involved the practice of cult in this sense, but rather the perform ance of rituals of congregation such as are widely seen at very early centres before the development of hierarchically ordered ('state') societies.

show abstract

“…Dhaskalio and the Special Deposits. (Source: Renfrew et al 2009. ) How the Cycladic Islanders Found Their Marbles expectations of a settlement.…”

Section: Interpretations Of Kerosmentioning

confidence: 99%

How the Cycladic Islanders Found Their Marbles: Material Engagement, Social Cognition and the Emergence of Keros

Aston¹

2020

CAJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper utilizes Material Engagement Theory (MET), which examines material culture as a dynamic and integral component of human cognitive systems, in order to explore the relationship between Cycladic marble sculpting and the complex social organization evinced at the sites of Dhaskalio and Kavos on the island of Keros. The article shows how the development of Cycladic sculpting in conjunction with transforming settlement patterns suggests that the figurines emerged as part of a kinshipping dynamic. In this context, evidence from the cognitive sciences reveals how Cycladic figurines were profound attention-capturing technologies which shaped the development of intersubjectivity and collective activity. Cycladic marble provided a medium through which a semiotics of value could be generated, circulated and manipulated across the archipelago. The article argues that marble artefacts formed part of a distributed cognitive system which enabled the regional organization of long-range voyaging regimes centred on Dhaskalio-Kavos. The role of Cycladic sculpture in mediating maritime social interactions is clarified by examining the dynamics of social cognition and the organizational burdens of long-range voyaging culture. The relationship between marble, social interaction and longboat voyaging provides a strong explanation for the development and transformation of Keros as well as for broader chronological developments in the region. Cycladic sculpting traditions mediated the shifting burdens upon social cognition during the Early Bronze Age, facilitating the novel forms of social organization in the central Cyclades as a response to both the pressures and the opportunities of the Aegean world. Keros provides an exemplary case study of material culture's role in extending the boundaries of social cognition in ways that enable social complexity to emerge at new scales.

show abstract

The Early Cycladic Settlement at Dhaskalio, Keros: Preliminary Report of the 2008 Excavation Season

Cited by 25 publications

References 4 publications

The oldest maritime sanctuary? Dating the sanctuary at Keros and the Cycladic Early Bronze Age

The oldest maritime sanctuary? Dating the sanctuary at Keros and the Cycladic Early Bronze Age

The sanctuary at Keros: Questions of materiality and monumentality

How the Cycladic Islanders Found Their Marbles: Material Engagement, Social Cognition and the Emergence of Keros

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About