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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1971. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--Vienna. / Bibliography: p. iv-vii.

No description available.

In the Introduction, the development of theories about the prehistoric cultures of the Aegean, particularly the Mycenaean culture of the Greek mainland, is sketched. It is argued that the greatest deficiencies of all theories are that they have failed to take enough account of the culture preceding the Mycenaean, the Middle Helladic, and have too readily assumed that the mainland was a cultural unity in the Middle and Late Bronze Age. The intention of this thesis is to consider the remains from a chronological and regional point of view, in which the Middle Helladic culture, the Shaft Graves, and the evidence for Early Mycenaean development outside the Argolid will all be given separate treatment. The term 'Early Mycenaean' is defined as being the period from the adoption of Mycenaean culture to the horizon of destructions marked by Late Minoan IB pottery, equivalent to the pottery-phases Late Helladic I and IIA; the following period, to the fall of Knossos, is called 'Middle Mycenaean'. [continued in text ...]

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Pennsylvania. / On cover: University of Pennsylvania. Bibliography: p. 89-94.

Figures removed from thesis by author. The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on March 19, 2010). Thesis advisor: Dr. Susan Langdon. Includes bibliographical references.

This dissertation examines the archaeological and textual evidence for religion at the site of Knossos during the Mycenaean phases of administration (LM II-LM IIIB1). Several methodological issues in the nature of the evidence are addressed. The Linear B documents, due to their economic nature, offer limited information about religion. Moreover, the tablets from Knossos belong to at least two different phases of administration. The archaeological evidence for the different phases of cult use is often difficult to assess given the continued use of the palace over an extended period of time. To address these issues, the evidence from Knossos is divided into two temporal phases so that the textual evidence can be closely examined alongside its contemporary archaeological evidence for cult. This process has allowed for a more accurate view of the religion at Knossos in the Late Bronze Age. An evolution in the religious beliefs and practices are evident in the material culture. The presence of Indo-European divinities into the Knossian pantheon by the newly-installed Greek-speaking elite population is apparent from the outset, while previous Minoan style shrines continue to be used. In the later phase, numerous Minoan divinities are included in ritual offerings, while some Greek divinities are now given local epithets. Also at this time, Minoan shrine types gradually go out of use, whereas bench sanctuaries (a shrine type common to both Minoans and Mycenaeans) become the norm. The overall nature of Mycenaean religious assemblages at Knossos represents a unique blend of both Minoan and Mycenaean religious beliefs and practices. / text

This thesis proposes to evaluate the impact of factors such as trade, circumscribed resources, and growing militarism upon the development of social complexity in LBA Argolis, and to what extent these factors may be invoked as triggering mechanisms--or prime movers--in the rise of palatial society in the Argive plain towards the end of the 15th century B.C., during the LH III A-B period. / It is argued that the most plausible model for the rise of palatial society in LBA Argolis is one which acknowledges the interrelations and processes of feedback between these factors, of which trade and militarism may have been original motivating factors. / Finally, it is suggested that the need to organize resource procurement and distribution were instrumental in the emergence of the Mycenaean palatial centers of LBA Argolis.