The thesis examines the transition from the Late Bronze to the Early Iron Age, i.e. the periods from Late Helladic IIIC (LHIIIC) to Protogeometric (PG) ( 1200-900 BC) in two areas of the Greek Mainland, the Argolid and Phokis-East Lokris. The Argolid, and in particular the Argive plain, which included among others the citadel of Mycenae, could be described as the core area of the Mycenaean world par excellence, while Phokis -East Lokris could be conventionally thought to belong to the Mycenaean periphery, since no palatial establishment was ever developed in the area. Through the comparative study of the evidence from the two areas, the different course of their post-palatial development is studied, and the factors that affected this development are carefully examined and discussed. In particular, the thesis investigates whether and how the different Mycenaean past of the two areas, and more specifically the different role of each one of them in the Mycenaean world affected their evolution in the period not only immediately after the palatial collapse but also in the transition to the Early Iron Age. The analysis of all the published evidence from LHIIIC to PG period (settlement remains, burials and cult evidence) offers a detailed view of the occupation of the areas in each phase of the transitional period and helps us gain a general, long-term understanding of settlement patterns, burial customs, cult practices and material culture. The study of continuity and changes in all these aspects also allows us to follow the socio-political evolution. In general, it is shown that the transition from the Late Bronze to the Early Iron Age was experienced very differently in each of the two areas under examination. The long-term view of the evidence as adopted by the present study, bridges the divide that scholarly literature has created between the two eras, while at the same time places the two areas in the general context of the Aegean. It also takes into account the significant role that external factors such as trade contacts or population movements played in this crucial period. Overall, this study stresses the individuality of each area and of each site of the Greek mainland, and demonstrates the complex historical reality of the transitional period and its many different components. The final aim of the thesis is to enlighten the transformation process that two different areas of the Greek mainland underwent from the post-palatial times until the beginning of the Early Iron Age, a process believed to carry the seeds for the rise of the most typical political formation of ancient Greece, the polis.

The origins of Early Iron Age polity in south-east Cyprus have traditionally been attributed to the formal imposition of Phoenician dominion over Kition in 707 BC. It is proposed that this paradigm fails adequately to acknowledge local agency in the preceding development of relations with Canaan and the Nile Delta from c.1650 BC onwards. Longue durée trends in settlement and societal development suggest that Late Bronze Age communities became pre-adapted to incorporation into wider Levantine spheres of interaction through participation in 'orientalizing' exchange. An emphasis is placed upon the significance of bulk commodity industry as a catalyst for social innovation, including the adoption of urbanism, concurrent with secondary state formation. Three case studies examine the development of regional settlement landscapes within the environs of Ayios Sozomenos, Pyla, and Hala Sultan Tekke. Discussion chiefly incorporates the results of new fieldwork conducted by the author [2007-2009] at the site of Pyla-Kokkinokremos. This involved pedestrian, geophysical and remote sensing survey combined with trial excavation. Several previously unknown archaeological features were identified, providing significant new information concerning the character and intramural composition of this important maritime centre. These findings complement those of previous missions, and reflect an established community rooted in its surroundings. A dominant trend of continuity in settlement and societal development, most clearly apparent through successive episodes of synoecism, is proposed for south-east Cyprus as a whole across the Bronze-to-Iron Age transition. Changes in occupation throughout the eastern Mediterranean at this time have conventionally been attributed to successive waves of migration and colonisation. This thesis constitutes an attempt at a pre-colonial narrative for Phoenician Cyprus, and by extension a conceptual framework to structure investigation of Levantine diaspora communities elsewhere in the Mediterranean.

The study comprises an investigation of the history and culture of the Cyclades in the second millennium B. C., based on a comprehensive analysis of the sites and finds. Particular attention is paid to the question of the cultural unity of the islands and their relationships with other areas of the Aegean. In the introduction in Volume I (Chapter 1), previous work in the field is surveyed, problems are outlined and possible areas of progress suggested. In Chapter 2, the stratigraphical basis for the definition of the Middle and Late Cycladic periods is set out. There follow detailed descriptions and discussions of the sites (Chapter 3), the local pottery (Chapter 4), the non-ceramic finds (Chapter 5 A-J), the architecture (Chapter 6) and the burials (Chapter 7). Imports and exports, mainly of pottery, are considered in Chapter 8 and their significance is assessed, both for the establishment of a relative chronology and for the elucidation of the external relations of the Cyclades in the period under review. The concluding Chapter (9) summarises the evidence already presented in terms of the history of the Cyclades and the way of life of their inhabitants. Solutions are offered to some of the questions posed in the introduction and suitable avenues for future research indicated. The companion volume contains appendices, listing published finds of the Middle and Late Cycladic periods, in format to that used for their discussion in Volume I. Appendix I (corresponding to Chapter 4) lists the pottery, excluding imports, and Appendix II A - J the non-ceramic finds. Appendix III (Chapter 7) records known burials and notes the associated finds. Appendix IV (Chapter 8) lists imported pottery found in the Cyclades, Cycladic exports found abroad and objects exchanged between one island and another. Volume II also contains the illustrations, which consist of fifty two figures and thirty three plates.

Utilising a gender critical perspective augmented by statistical analysis, this thesis examines the binary approach customarily employed throughout archaeological narratives pertaining to the Danish Bronze Age. In respect to the recent development of feminist scholarship in archaeology regarding concepts of gender, identity and the body in prehistory, it is argued that a binary approach, which views prehistoric society as having been structured according to rigid male-female oppositions, places inappropriate restrictions upon evidence relevant to the study of gender in Bronze Age Denmark. To decipher the meaning encoded in any type of evidence related to gender ideology a perspective which emphasises contextual analysis rather than assumed heteronormativity is essential. In addition, statistical analyses of data from a representative sample of the mortuary record reveal that continuous implementation of the binary approach in the documentation of funerary remains has effectively corrupted the integrity of the evidence. The results of this investigation have significant consequences for the study of gender and societal organisation in the Danish Bronze Age. Gender categories valued by contemporary western ideology can no longer be grafted onto prehistoric society in archaeological investigations of the Bronze Age in Denmark. Moreover, traditional methods which use the objects in a grave to determine a burial’s sex can no longer be justifiably employed. Furthermore, analysis demonstrates that it is not possible to gain a comprehensive understanding of gender ideology from the mortuary data alone. Rather, through the application of current approaches to the study of gender in the past, osteological examination of the skeletal material must be revisited in conjunction with the analysis of evidence from elsewhere in the archaeological record. Thus, the potential variation concerning this period in Danish prehistory is greater than can be explained through the limitations of a binary approach, perhaps extending to evidence for the existence of an ambiguous gender identity in the society of Bronze Age Denmark.

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A direct historical approach is used in this thesis to document the lost wax casting technique as currently practiced by indigenous metallurgists in northeastern Thailand. The smiths observed at Ban Pba Ao, Ubon Ratchathani Province are the last practicing members of a bronze working tradition that has been in continuous operation at the village for two centuries. An account of the processes used to create bronze bells is provided. Of particular significance is the fact that the yard in which casting activities are performed did not receive clean up operations following the bells production. As a result, hearths, bowl furnaces, crucibles and fragments of clay moulds are left scattered about the yard. These materials accumulating in one location would eventually create a mound of cultural debris. The discarded materials from the lost wax casting process as practiced at Ban Pba Ao provide considerable insight into what might be found in the stratigraphy of Peninsular Southeast Asian prehistoric sites that were involved in the production of bronze objects. The study concludes that attention needs to be paid to the stratigraphic sequences from which bronze artifacts are extracted, rather than relying on the artifacts to determine the type of process used in their manufacture.

The purpose of this thesis is to do an inventory of Swedish Bronze Age rock carvings depicting intercourse, and other sexual acts; applying gender traits on these in order to get a glimpse of what kind of normative outlook people at this time had upon sexuality.

The purpose of this thesis is to find evidence if cult houses existed on Gotland during the Bronze Age. The cult house is a common term in modern Bronze Age archaeology and the general definitions of cult house are discussed and why cult houses seem to be absent on Gotland. In this thesis the cult house are discussed as a phenomenon, and the possibilities to find Bronze Age cult houses on Gotland are evaluated by making comparisons between Gotland houses with already defined cult houses from the Swedish mainland. Some known cult houses are presented in more detail as case studies, together with house remains on Gotland which could have potential to be defined as cult houses.

A direct historical approach is used in this thesis to document the lost wax casting technique as currently practiced by indigenous metallurgists in northeastern Thailand. The smiths observed at Ban Pba Ao, Ubon Ratchathani Province are the last practicing members of a bronze working tradition that has been in continuous operation at the village for two centuries. An account of the processes used to create bronze bells is provided. Of particular significance is the fact that the yard in which casting activities are performed did not receive clean up operations following the bells production. As a result, hearths, bowl furnaces, crucibles and fragments of clay moulds are left scattered about the yard. These materials accumulating in one location would eventually create a mound of cultural debris. The discarded materials from the lost wax casting process as practiced at Ban Pba Ao provide considerable insight into what might be found in the stratigraphy of Peninsular Southeast Asian prehistoric sites that were involved in the production of bronze objects. The study concludes that attention needs to be paid to the stratigraphic sequences from which bronze artifacts are extracted, rather than relying on the artifacts to determine the type of process used in their manufacture.

A large quanti ty of gold'vork was produced in Cyprus during the Late Bronze Age. This thesis is the result of a detailed investiGation of this material. The thesis consists of two parts. Part One comprises general backeround information essential to the study. This begins with a brief summary of the nineteenth century excavations in Cyprus which brought to light so much of the finest &old'fork. This is followed by an outline of the limited contextual evidence from tombs, settlements, sanctuaries and hoards. The rest of Part One considers the possible sources of the gold itself and the techniques which \ .... ere used by the Late Bronze Ace t,'oldsmiths. Part Two comprises a detailed analysis of the eold"ork. This is based for the most part on objects which were physically exal:dned, '\{ith the aid of a microscope. These represent a large proportion of the available material, but the analysis also takes account of as many as possible of the other known and published items. Each class of object is subdivided for convenience according to type or decoration, and relevant technical points are discussed. ".ihere possible, comparisons are made with material :from other areas such as the Aege~ or the Kear Last. The chronology is indicated where it is known. The final conclusions offer a summary of the relationship between Cyprus and other areas with reference to the goldwork. The extent of the ~1ycenaean contribution is discussed, and the material is placed "Ii thin its historical framework. Volume Two comprises the descriptive catalogue of the objects which were examined.It also contains the Plates and Figures.