A. Sampson 2018, The Neolithic settlement at Ftelia on Mykonos, An intra-site analysis, Vol. II, 1-14. (original) (raw)
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FTELIA ON MYKONOS, GREECE NEOLITHIC NETWORKS IN THE SOUTHERN AEGEAN BASIN Vol. II
The excavation of the Neolithic settlement at Ftelia (Sampson 2002a) produced a moderate amount of fish bones (52). These, along with the numerous sea shells and cephalopods (Karali 2002) testify to the exploitation of marine resources by the inhabitants of the site at the first half of the 5th millennium BC, in the Late Neolithic. Water flotation was practiced in the years 1996 and 2000, processing 225 liters of soil (Megaloudi & Marinval 2002, 191). These samples produced 39 fish bones. The rest were collected by hand or dry sieving. They have been identified using the author’s reference collection. Recording focused on certain aspects of each bone, i.e. anatomical part, taxon, size of live fish, fragmentation, preservation status (erosion, burning, cutting, crushing) and dimensions. Because the number of remains is relatively low (Table 1), quantification is kept simple (bone counts).
ABSTRACT The Neolithic site of Ftelia is located on the innermost of the large open Gulf of Panormos at the northern part of the island (Fig. 1-3). The flat sandy beach is orientated exactly north and is divided by a low outcrop of sandstone. On top of this, Neolithic life took place, covering, with its embankments, the greater part of the outcrop. Excavation in Ftelia, which started in 1995 and continued till 2003, revealed a settlement of the LN Ia with four building phases, contemporary with Saliagos in Paros (Evans & Renfrew 1968). The thick sediments of more than 2,50m, very unusual for a bare island like Mykonos, give the opportunity for a study of the stratigraphy. Two major buildings dominate the area, one in the form of a “megaron” with influences from Neolithic Thessaly and the other one is a circular communal house. In this paper, are examined the complex stratigraphy of the site and the sequence of the four building phases.
In this chapter, the manufacture, typology and use of a specific pottery shape is examined, in combination with stratigraphical and contextual data. Additionally, results from a brief ethnoarchaeological survey are presented. The settlement of Ftelia is dated to the early Late Neolithic (ca. 5.100-4.800 BC) (Fakorellis & Vardala-Theodorou 2015; Fakorellis & Maniatis 2002). The first building phase features the Megaron (Building A) at the central and highest part of the mound (Sampson 2006, 175-6): its walls, most probably exclusively of stone, were of exceptional quality and it is the only building destroyed by fire. In the next phase, again in the central area, a curved wall of 7m was found belonging to a, heavily destroyed, building with large dimensions, according to diameter and wall thickness. Both buildings presented special architectural features as well as several special finds providing the basis for the contextual analysis hereby attempted.
Final Neolithic Crete and the Southeast Aegean: Supplement 2 KRZYSZTOF NOWICKI
Aegean Archaeology , 2018
This is the second article in the series intended as an update to the book entitled "Final Neolithic Crete and the Southeast Aegean", published in 2014. The main aims of this supplementary series were explained in the fi rst article. In the present paper over 40 new sites are added to the Gazetteer. Four locations are mentioned in the category of probable sites, with some evidence of the FN activity, too poor, however, to allow these sites to be included in the proper Gazetteer. During the last two years substantial progress has been made not only on the identifi cation of early FN (FN I) sites, but, even more important, also on identifying sites which can be dated to the LN. Thanks to these discoveries, the reconstruction of the changes between the LN and FN I, as well as between the FN I and FN II, is better evidenced and thus more reliable, although new questions have also arisen. Among the most intriguing ones are 1) almost all the newly identifi ed LN sites presented below represent short-lasting or seasonal occupation; therefore, where were the permanent settlements related to them?; 2) was there a transitional phase between the LN, characterised by an intensive exploitation of coastal areas by small and probably mobile groups of people, and the FN I withdrawal from the coast to inland "refuge" or defensible sites?; and 3) what is the chronological relationship between sites representing the earliest phase of this withdrawal (e.g. Faistos, Gortina and Monastiraki Katalimata), and stratifi ed deposits of Knossos? The newly identifi ed LN sites date probably to the fi fth and the earliest quarter of the fourth millennium BC. They seem to indicate that the pre-FN I settlement pattern was based on a few permanent settlements and much more common individual households and seasonal/short-lasting camps/shelters scattered in almost all regions of Crete. LN Cretans based their economy on agriculture and herding, but numerous small mobile groups of people, scattered irregularly throughout the island, must have survived also on the intensive exploitation of a broad variety of natural resources (plant, animals, raw materials exploitation and exchange) in different geographical zones.
A New View of Neolithic Crete in the Context of the Aegean
Aegean Archaeology, 2022
This paper argues for a substantial re-dating of Neolithic sites on Crete based on a comprehensive review of the literature.Ceramics by necessity of their chronological and comparative significance form the core of the discussion. The focus of the paper is on the Late Neolithic period in Crete, c. 5400 – 4400 BC. As Neolithic Knossos remains the only site with published absolute dating on the island, it provides the basis for this chronological reevaluation. In particular, the independent excavations conducted over forty years by totally separate teams provide an excellent way of cross-checking the stratigraphic observations and radiocarbon dating. Although the site remains to be fully published, J. D. Evans’ 1964 publication provides ample data, particularly for Trench AC in the Central Court. Evans’ data, together with the recent information from the 1997 excavations by A. Karetsou and N. Efstratiou, enables a different interpretation to emerge. Similarly, a different relative dating of Neolithic Phaistos is also proposed, by rectifying the traditional relative dates from the original publication and maintained ever since, and in part due to the changes observed at Knossos. The proposed shift in the relative dating of Phaistos combined with the chronological refinement of Knossos clarifies the much debated relationship between these sites. Supporting these date changes on Crete are recent major chronological shifts both of the individual phases of sites and also of entire Neolithic periods in Greece, Anatolia, and the Balkans. These changes on the Greek mainland and in the wider region must be taken into account when consulting previous Cretan-related scholarship that used off-island relative dating to assist with the Cretan sites. These revisions will be highlighted by region, focusing in particular on individual site stratigraphy, site phases, radiocarbon dates, and traditionally relatively dated ceramic types (with occasional reference to other artifact types) at sites used by scholars working on Crete. Lastly, these new propositions lead to interpretations that are often contrary to the traditional narrative of Neolithic Crete; they demonstrate that Knossos is a typical Neolithic site that follows the pattern observed in Late Neolithic Greece, as well in the wider region of the Balkans and Anatolia.
Final Neolithic Crete and the Southeast Aegean: Supplement 1
Th is work is the fi rst in a series of articles intended as supplements to the book entitled " Final Neolithic Crete and the Southeast Aegean " , published in 2014. Although the book was released only a year ago, it represents the state of research of early 2013, and in the meantime some new data have come to light which are relevant to the analysis of the transition between the Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age in the south Aegean. Additionally, I have realised that some elements of material culture, in particular pottery and stone tools, require more detailed presentation and richer illustration than so far possible. My book was focused on the topography of individual sites, settlement development, the role of landscape in settlement patterns and new territorial organization of the island, and the processes which were behind the dramatic changes of settlement location during the fourth millennium BC. Th is analysis was complemented by the publication of basic surface evidence (essential for reliable dating), but due to space restrictions the pottery and stone tools were illustrated in the book in the form of drawings only. However, a more detailed photographic presentation is needed to support some of the proposed hypothesis, and to allow other colleagues to develop their opinions on the interpretation of this material.