Archaeology is in the privileged position of being able to examine identities through the long time periods often called upon by advocates of essentialist identities, such as those working in the modern political sphere, using theory, methodology and evidence developed by scholars. The influence of the contemporary context within which archaeology is practised is clear in the types of identities, particularly ethnic and cultural identities, which have dominated research on this topic, including on Crete where much attention has focused on identities such as the 'Eteocretans'. I suggest that the archaeological and textual evidence from Crete offers considerable scope for exploring other types of group identity, both in themselves and in intersection with each other, and the ways in which these may have changed and/or continued to be salient through long periods of time. The theoretical and methodological basis of my study posits that one significant way in which group identities are negotiated and communicated is through social practices, and it is therefore possible to access at least some of the group identities that were salient in the past by examining the material and textual residues of past social practices. On this basis, evidence for social practices and the identities established and signified through these practices is examined for East Crete from Late Minoan IIIC to the Hellenistic period (c. 1200 – 67 BC). The results of my study highlight patterns of both continuity and change in group identities, including a move from relatively small community identities to large, formalised polis identities. Cutting across these were a number of other identities, including those associated with religious practices, and informal identities, many not easily visible in the available evidence, such as identities linked to social status, family, kin and lineage groups, gender, age, occupation and cultural/ethnic groupings such as the 'Eteocretans'.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:557487 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Maarschalk, Rebekah L. |
| Contributors | Bennet, John |
| Publisher | University of Sheffield |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/2394/ |
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