Review of: Evangelia Kiriatzi, Carl Knappett (ed.), 2016. Human Mobility and Technological Transfer in the Prehistoric Mediterranean. British School at Athens studies in Greek antiquity. New York: Cambridge University Press. (original) (raw)

2018, Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2018.03.14

This publication investigates the movement of prehistoric peoples and technologies across the Mediterranean through analyses of various craft industries. The product of a 2010 workshop held at the British School at Athens' Fitch Laboratory for science-based archaeology, the edited volume is the first in a new monograph series-British School at Athens Studies in Greek Antiquity-published by Cambridge University Press. The book relies on case studies supported by Knappett and Kiriatzi's introductory theoretical discussion of the movement of humans, materials, and knowledge with emphasis on the mobility of technologies. The Mediterranean's unparalleled potential for connectivity, highlighted by both Broodbank and Kristiansen, offers further background in the assessment of prehistoric movement. The book's primary goal is the investigation of technological mobility, or how technological knowledge was acquired, transferred, and replicated in different areas. The papers demonstrate that the precise combination of people, materials, knowledge, and methods/techniques that moved varies on a case-bycase basis. Technological choices not only indicate particular methodologies but also may signify shared knowledge amongst communities of practice. The volume's discussions, seen through science-based archaeology and technology, are richer and more detailed than traditional studies of connectivity that rely primarily on artifact distributions and trade networks.