Interactions between the living and the dead in early Iron Age Greece

Interactions between the living and the dead in early Iron Age Greece Public Deposited

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Creator

Beeby, Cicek
- Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Classics

Abstract

This paper offers a reevaluation of mortuary variability in Early Iron Age Greece through a theoretical framework that emphasizes formation processes. To that end, a model that highlights the role of interaction between the living and the dead throughout the development of mortuary contexts is presented. Interaction is defined as episodes that connect the world of the living with the world of the dead both physically and symbolically. The model is intended to be an analytical tool that can reassess individual events and actions that shape our mortuary data and delineate different degrees of interaction inherent in each stage. The present study proposes that mortuary variability of Early Iron Age communities can be studied as dynamic systems that reflect diverse responses to societal structure. The Early Iron Age cemetery of Toumba at Lefkandi is selected as a case study.

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