The development of the knowledge and concepts for the Palaeolithic of Northeast Asia in the 1900s – 1970s

The Palaeolithic of Northeast Asia: The History and Results of Research in 1940–1980, a book written by Vitaly A. Kashin (1946–2010), was originally published in Russian in 2003. It contains meticulous descriptions of discoveries of Palaeolithic sites in a vast region of Northeast Asia (essentially, the northeastern part of modern Russia), and analysis of hypotheses, ideas, and concepts related to the Northeast Asian Palaeolithic. This is especially important for better understanding the development of knowledge on this subject, closely related to the issue of the peopling of the New World, because a very limited number of papers by Soviet/Russian archaeologists on the Palaeolithic of Northeast Asia were published in English (and other languages) until the mid-1990s. This volume is a very valuable source about the creation and development in the USSR of the concepts dealing with the problem of the initial human settlement of both Siberian Arctic and the Americas. It is now available in English (translated and edited by Richard Bland and Yaroslav Kuzmin) for the international scholarly community, and as far as I know, this is the first kind of book on this subject.

The author of the book, Vitaly A. Kashin, was involved in archaeology from the age of nineteen. He participated as an employee of the Institute of Language, Literature, and History (Yakut Division of the Siberian Branch, USSR Academy of Sciences) in excavations of all important Palaeolithic sites in the Aldan River basin from the mid-1960s to the late 1980s; thus, gaining first-hand knowledge of its prehistory and stratigraphy including controversial issues. In 1991, he defended his Cand. Sci. (Ph.D.-equivalent) dissertation that is the basis of this book. After that, Kashin moved to the Institute of Humanitarian Studies, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), and continued archaeological works in the Kolyma River basin, where he found and studied 47 Neolithic sites, until his death.

The Palaeolithic sites in Northeast Asia. 1 – Mironovo; 2 – Korshunovo; 3 – Chastinskaya; 4 – Dubrovino; 5 – Solyanka; 6 – Avdeikha; 7 – Bolshaya Severnaya; 8 – Khamra; 9 – Gamataiskaya; 10 – Nyuya; 11 – Tochilnaya; 12 – Daban; 13 – Ytylakh; 14 – Kurung; 15 – Novyi Leten A, B, and C; 16 – Malaya Dzhikimda; 17 – Bolshaya Kyuske; 18 – Teryut; 19 – Markhachan; 20 – Kullaty; 21 – Ust-Timpton I; 22 – Sumnagin I and III; 23 – Tumulur; 24 – Alysardakh; 25 – Belkachi I; 26 – Dyuktai Cave, Ust-Dyuktai I; 27 – Bilir I, Ust-Bilir II; 28 – Ust-Mil I, II, and III; 29 – Verkhne-Troitskaya, Nuzhne-Troitskaya; 30 – Yakimgzha II; 31 – Kyra-Krestyakh; 32 – Ezhantsy; 33 – Eldikan; 34 – Ust-Kyunkyu; 35 – Buyaga; 36 – Dyamalakh; 37 – Tomto; 38 – Ikhine I and II; 39 – Ust-Chirkuo; 40 – Ust-Syuldyukar; 41 – Kyuskyunde; 42 – Kharya; 43 – Kuta; 44 – Talanda; 45 – Kitchan; 46 – Tebyulyakh; 47 – Olenek; 48 – Kuranakh I; 49 – Berelekh; 50 – Siberdik; 51 – Kongo; 52 – Maiorych; 53 – Shilo; 54 – Bochanut; 55 – Bolshoi Elgakhchan I; 56 – Tytyl I–IV; 57 – Yagodnaya II and III; 58 – Panteleikha I–VIII, Pirs; 59 – Torom; 60 – Amka; 61 – Kukhtui III; 62 – Utyrchuk; 63 – Inaskvaam I and II; 64 – Chelkun II and III; 65 – Kurupka; 66 – Ushki I, II, IV and V; 67 – Lopatka.

The main dramatis personae of this book are four scholars – Aleksei P. Okladnikov (1908–1981), Nikolai N. Dikov (1925–1996), Yuri A. Mochanov (1934–2020), and Svetlana A. Fedoseeva (1936–2017) (the latter two were also husband and wife). They made the largest contribution to the creation and development of archaeology in Northeast Asia, the vast and remote part of Eurasia. Their works are described in numerous books and edited volumes published in both Russian and English.

Famous Soviet/Russian archaeologists who studied the Northeastern Asia.

However, the history of Palaeolithic studies in Northeast Asia is also a history of personalities. A biography of Okladnikov was recently published by Archaeopress (see Konopatskii 2019, 2021). It is well known that Okladnikov, as a ‘doyen’ of Siberian archaeology, was to some extent jealous of other researchers who worked in regions that were previously studied by him, especially the basins of the Lena and Angara rivers. Therefore, Dikov, Mochanov, and Fedoseeva were his rivals (in a scientific sense). For example, Okladnikov did not support Dikov during the early stage of his career, but later accepted Dikov’s Dr. Sci. dissertation for defense at the Institute of History, Philology, and Philosophy (Siberian Branch, USSR Academy of Sciences) in Novosibirsk, where Okladnikov was a Director and a head of the Scientific Council.

Since the research for this volume was completed in 1991, and included in Kashin’s Cand. Sci. dissertation, several books and a plethora of papers were published in English about the archaeology and palaeoecology of the Northeast Asian Palaeolithic. We cite the most important sources in the Translators’ Introduction.

In this book, the description of materials from major Palaeolithic sites in Northeast Asia is given, including famous Berelekh and Ushki that were considered for decades by Russian and many foreign scholars as starting points of the route from Siberia to the Americas via submerged semi-continent of Beringia at the end of the Pleistocene.

The view of the Berelekh site; arrows indicate suggested places of archaeological excavations in 1971 and 1974.

A view of Ushki Lake and the channel of the Kamchatka River; the green area (willow bushes) on the left side of the lakeshore is the location of the Ushki I site.

A cross-section of deposits at the Ushki cluster, near the Ushki I site (light layers near the top are volcanic ashes, and dark layers below are palaeosols).

We (Richard Bland and I) are grateful to several colleagues for their cooperation in our work, especially to those who supplied us with photographs of the landscapes and sites in Northeast Asia, including V. V. Pitulko (Berelekh site) and N. A. Krenke (Ushki site).

This book is for archaeologists, ethnographers and historians of science in the USSR and worldwide. It has an especial interest for students of the peopling of the Siberia and the Americas.

References
Konopatskii, A.K. (2019). Aleksei P. Okladnikov: The Great Explorer of the Past. Volume 1: A biography of a Soviet archaeologist (1900s – 1950s). Oxford: Archaeopress.
Konopatskii, A.K. (2021). Aleksei P. Okladnikov: The Great Explorer of the Past. Volume 2: A biography of a Soviet archaeologist (1960s – 1980s). Oxford: Archaeopress.

---

Many thanks to Yaroslav V. Kuzmin for supplying this latest post for the Archaeopress Blog.

The translated edition of Vitaly A. Kashin’s The Palaeolithic of Northeast Asia is available now in paperback and PDF eBook editions. The book combines details of discoveries of Palaeolithic sites in a vast region of Northeast Asia (covering mostly the northeastern part of modern Russia), and meticulous analysis of hypotheses, ideas, and concepts related to the Northeast Asian Palaeolithic.
Order direct from Archaeopress:
Paperback: £30.00
PDF eBook (personal use): £16.00
PDF eBook (institutional): £30.00

Richard L. Bland and Yaroslav V. Kuzmin’s translations of Aleksander K. Konopatskii’s biography of Soviet archaeologist Aleksei P. Okladnikov is available in two volumes:
Volume I: Paperback £24.99 / PDF £16.00
Volume II: Paperback £34.99 / PDF £16.00

Discounted bundle offer:
Vol I & II: Paperback: £45 / PDF: £22.00

Access Archaeology: A New Approach to Archaeological Publishing

Here at Archaeopress we are fond of what we call a ‘bath idea’. In 2014 it was a bath idea that led to our first experiments with Open Access publishing, and in 2015 we began to conceive of a new publication model – a side-line to our more regular publishing endeavours – designed to function outside the parameters of the accepted wisdom of academic publishing.

Archaeopress is owned and run by archaeologists, and this has always influenced our perspective on what constitutes a useful publication. We receive many proposals that, following traditional publishing models, would not be commercially viable. But that is not to say they are not academically valuable, containing unique data, rare catalogues, intriguing synthetic analysis etc.

Access Archaeology evolved as a model to support many types of archaeological publication including PhD dissertations, smaller conferences and symposia, research projects, and commercial archaeology from parts of the world where funding is limited. It also supports publications that fall between conventional models: too long perhaps for a journal article, but too short for a traditional monograph.

All Access Archaeology titles are available as free-to-download pdf eBooks and in print format. The free pdf download model supports dissemination in areas of the world where budgets are more severely limited, and also allows individual academics to access the material privately, rather than relying on a university or public library. Print copies, nevertheless, remain available to individuals and institutions who need or prefer them.

Dr Boyd Dixon, Senior Archaeologist for the Cardno GS office in Guam and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (retired), explains how the model afforded greater outreach in the local area:

‘Our recent volumes about Yellow Beach 2 and Afetna Point have found a receptive audience in the public, and in secondary school and community college on Saipan.

I feel it is the caliber of Archaeopress publications and photographs and maps, with their open access to a broader public that makes [the] volumes of particular interest.’

Boyd Dixon (fourth from right) was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the CNMI Humanities Council in October 2019, citing his two Access Archaeology publications among other endeavours of similar archaeological and historical interest.

By asking authors and editors to take a greater role in the production process and by making use of the huge improvements seen in recent years in print-on-demand technology, the books are typically made available in print and online formats, including the free download option, at no cost to the author/editor. Howard Williams, Professor of Archaeology at the University of Chester and co-editor of two forthcoming Access Archaeology titles, Public Archaeology: Arts of Engagement (due November 2019) and Digging into the Dark Ages, explains:

‘I’m a relatively experienced academic editor (having edited the Royal Archaeological Institute’s Archaeological Journal for 6 volumes over 5 years, and edited/co-edited special issues of the journals Anglo-Saxon Studies in Archaeology and History, Early Medieval Europe, Mortality and European Journal of Archaeology.) In this context, I was happy I could maintain high academic standards and take on editing and typesetting supported by the friendly and helpful Archaeopress team. Access Archaeology allows the latest research to be published as both print-on-demand and open-access online without a cost to the contributors. This was especially important for me given the books develop from student conferences and include a mix of student pieces with those by more established heritage professionals and academics.’

Gina L. Barnes, Professor Emeritus at Durham University and co-editor of the 2019 publication TephroArchaeology in the North Pacific, notes the free download and on-demand model offers considerable flexibility regarding colour content and page count:

‘The format allowed for considerable freedom in presenting the material, without word limits or restrictions on illustrations; colour pictures were possible for both the digital and print versions… I have been very pleased with the process throughout, through encouragement by David Davison in commissioning the work, communication with the team about formatting problems, assistance in the peer review process, and getting the document out in a timely manner…’

Dr Mark McKerracher, postdoctoral researcher on the FeedSax project at Oxford University, explains that the range provides an ideal home for manuscripts originating from data-heavy PhD dissertations such as his 2019 publication, Anglo-Saxon Crops and Weeds: A Case Study in Quantitative Archaeobotany:

‘I found Access Archaeology to be the ideal publisher for the specialist, data-heavy manuscript I had prepared from my doctoral thesis. The editorial staff were very helpful and enthusiastic, and the production process was impressively fast once I had submitted my text according to the formatting instructions. Within two or three months, an open-access PDF and a high-quality paperback, including colour illustrations, were both available. I’d recommend Access Archaeology to anyone looking for an efficient way to publish specialist, data-driven monographs.’

Dr Loretta Kilroe, Project Curator: Sudan and Nubia at the British Museum, organised the conference Invisible Archaeologies: Hidden aspects of daily life in ancient Egypt and Nubia held in Oxford, 2017. Dr Kilroe considers how the Access Archaeology model affected the decision to publish the proceedings:

‘So many people encouraged us to publish a Proceedings volume after our Invisible Archaeologies conference, but I wasn’t really sure how to go about it. Archaeopress were super helpful and their Access Archaeology range meant that it wasn’t out of reach, even for an impoverished student conference. Traditional publishing is often so slow and restrictive, and it is fantastic that our authors will have digital access to their own work immediately!’

Early career academics at the Invisible Archaeologies: Hidden aspects of daily life in ancient Egypt and Nubia held in Oxford, 2017.

With the imminent arrival of both Prof. Williams and Dr Kilroe’s edited volumes, we will soon have published 100 titles in the range since 2015 with subjects as diverse as metallurgy in Bronze Age Eurasia, Etruscan domestic architecture, digital imaging of artefacts, public engagement with heritage, volcanic archaeology, symposia for early career Egyptologists, and far more.

Long-running series that have found a happy home within the range include Cambridge Monographs in African Archaeology, Paris Monographs in American Archaeology, and the South American Archaeology Series.

We are very proud of how the Access Archaeology imprint has developed from a bath idea to a thriving publishing model. We hope it offers a unique path to publication within the academic publishing landscape for research that might otherwise struggle to find a wider audience. The range may well continue to evolve over time, but its ambition will always remain to publish archaeological material that would prove commercially unviable in traditional publishing models, without passing the expense on to academics, be they author or reader.

Publish in Access Archaeology

If you have a proposal you think fits within the scope of the range we would be very pleased to hear from you; simply complete our brief submission form and send by email to Archaeopress editor Dr David Davison: info@archaeopress.com.

Download / Buy Access Archaeology Publications

See the full list of Access Archaeology publications on our website, all available as free PDF downloads or to purchase in paperback editions.

Patrick Harris
Archaeopress

Contact: E-mail | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter

Hadrian’s Wall. A study in archaeological exploration and interpretation

There are no doubt many reasons why people write books. For me, it is the end point of a piece of research. Some may be content to undertake research and file the results in a drawer; that is not for me. But publishing the Rhind lectures was different. I had been asked two years ago to deliver the six lectures to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, to be given over the weekend of 10-12 May 2019. As I started to prepare the lectures, I realised that the decennial Pilgrimage of Hadrian’s Wall would be just 2 months after the Rhinds and there would be much to be said for having them published in time for that event. Archaeopress agreed that the lectures could be published in time for the Pilgrimage, indeed in time for the lectures themselves. As a result, I switched my mind to writing the book first and subsequently tweaking the text to fit more the style of lectures, though maintaining as much conformity as possible, as David Davison requested. The book was duly completed, submitted and published the weekend of the lectures. There was no problem in tweaking the lectures, but what I had not bargained for was the fact that the pursuit of knowledge continues, be it in one’s own head or through further reading. In the weeks between the submission of the text to Archaeopress and the lectures I came across Kyle Harper’s work on a plague in the 250s and 260s which affected the inhabitants of the Roman empire. Could this be the reason for the abandonment of civil settlements outside many forts on the northern fringes of the empire? Too late to include this thought in the book, but it was embraced by the lectures, and is now an interesting line of research to pursue.

Dr David Caldwell, President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, introduces the 2019 Rhind lectures. Photo © Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.

Professor David J. Breeze delivers the 2019 Rhind Lectures. Photo © Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.

Header photo: Hadrian’s Wall at Castle Nick. Photo © Peter Savin.

Excerpt: Hadrian’s Wall: A study in archaeological exploration and interpretation by David J. Breeze. Archaeopress, 2019. Paperback, ISBN 9781789691672, £19.99; PDF eBook, ISBN 9781789691689, from £16 +VAT (if applicable).

Preface

This book stems from the invitation of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland to deliver the Rhind lectures in 2019, sponsored by AOC Archaeology Group. The lectures were endowed by Alexander Henry Rhind, the first being held in 1874, and with rare exceptions they have been held every year since. His legacy stipulates that six lectures have to be delivered. Until 1986 these were held over the course of one week from Wednesday to Wednesday, but in 1987 the pattern was changed and the lectures are now held over a weekend from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon. The first lecture of the series sets the scene and, as it is followed by a reception, is something of an occasion. The last lecture tends to be shorter than normal as it may be followed by questions. The subject of the lectures should relate to ‘some branch of archaeology, ethnology, ethnography, or allied topic, in order to assist in the general advancement of knowledge’. I was asked to speak on an aspect of my research on Hadrian’s Wall, the Roman Limes and army, and ‘its wider international, practical and theoretical implications’.

The first two lectures – chapters in this book – provide the historiographical background to our present understanding of Hadrian’s Wall. They start with John Collingwood Bruce, the leading authority on the Wall, from 1848 until his death in 1892, who gave the Rhind lectures in 1883 and whose influence continues to this day. Research on the Wall in the field and in the study from 1892 to the present day are covered in the second lecture. The third and fourth lectures consider the purpose(s) and operation of Hadrian’s Wall from the first plan drawn up soon after Hadrian became emperor in 117 through to the final days of its existence as a frontier shortly after 400. Five distinct ‘plans’ for the Wall are promulgated. The fifth lecture examines the impact of the frontier on the people living in its shadow and beyond. The last lecture reviews the processes which have brought us to an understanding of Hadrian’s Wall and considers the value of research strategies, with some suggestions for the way forward. The chapters in this book reflect closely the lectures themselves with the main change being the addition of references. I am grateful to the Society for its agreement to publish this book to coincide with the lectures and for its support in its preparation.

In order to try to retain a relationship with the lectures I have restricted the number of references in the text. Quotations are always referenced. Detailed references to structures on the Wall may be found in the Handbook to the Roman Wall (Breeze 2006) while work during the last decade is reported in the handbook prepared for the 2019 Pilgrimage of Hadrian’s Wall (Collins and Symonds 2019).

Hadrian’s Wall has acquired its own terminology. At every mile there was a small enclosure called a milecastle (MC), similar to a fortlet (a small fort), which contained a small barrack-block and protected a gate through the Wall. In between each pair of milecastles there were two towers known as turrets (T) after the Latin for a tower, turris. On the Cumbrian coast, the equivalent terminology is milefortlet (MF) and tower (T). These structures on the Wall are numbered westwards from Wallsend and on the Cumbria coast westwards from Bowness-on-Solway. Behind the Wall is an earthwork known as the Vallum. It consists of a central ditch with a mound set back equidistant on each side. As the essential feature is the ditch, it should be termed the Fossa, but it was named the Vallum over a thousand years ago and it is too late to change the name. One issue is to differentiate easily between the Wall, meaning the whole of the frontier complex, and the linear barrier, here called the curtain wall.

Also by or featuring David J. Breeze:

Maryport: A Roman For and Its Community by David J. Breeze. Archaeopress, 2018. Paperback, ISBN 9781784918019, £14.99; PDF eBook, ISBN 9781784918026, from £10 +VAT (if applicable).

Bearsden: The Story of a Roman Fort by David J. Breeze. Archaeopress, 2018. Paperback, ISBN 9781784914905, £20.00; PDF eBook, ISBN 9781784914912, from £16.00 +VAT (if applicable).

Roman Frontier Studies 2009 Proceedings of the XXI International Congress of Roman Frontier Studies (Limes Congress) held at Newcastle upon Tyne in August 2009 edited by Nick Hodgson, Paul Bidwell and Judith Schachtmann. Archaeopress Roman Archaeology Series #25, 2017. Paperback, ISBN 9781784915902, £90.00; PDF eBook, ISBN 9781784915919, from £16.00 +VAT (if applicable).

Latrinae: Roman Toilets in the Northwestern Provinces of the Roman Empire edited by Stefanie Hoss. Archaeopress Roman Archaeology Series #31, 2017. Paperback, ISBN 9781784917258, £35.00; PDF eBook, ISBN 9781784917265, from £16.00 +VAT (if applicable).

The Mycenaean Cemetery at Achaia Clauss near Patras: People, material remains and culture in context

This work comprises the study of the finds from the excavation of the University of Ioannina and the Archaeological Society at Athens in the Mycenaean cemetery, located by the historic Achaia Clauss wine factory, near Patras. The research was carried out between the years 1988-1992 under the direction of Professor T. Papadopoulos (figs 1, 2). The presentation of the topic expands into seven thematic chapters, proceeding from the whole to the parts – and then returning to the whole. Thus, one progresses from the general review of the cemetery space and the sites, to the analytical description of the excavation, to the remarks on the architecture, to the study of the finds, to the analysis of the burial customs and finally to the narration of the overall history of the cemetery according to chronological period and generation of its people. The eighth and last chapter is an addendum including a presentation of the anthropological analysis of the skeletal material.

Fig. 1. The vineyard of Achaia Clauss wine factory as it looks from the cemetery site.

Fig. 2. The vineyard of Achaia Clauss and the Koukouras hill with the Mycenaean cemetery at its feet, seen from the wine factory.

More precisely, the study is organized as follows: Chapter 1 includes a complete and brief catalogue of the Mycenaean sites in Achaea. The cemetery site is described separately with special mention of the neighbouring excavations (fig. 3). Furthermore, in this chapter the distribution and character of the sites across the entire territory is examined and presented as a general overview.

Fig. 3. The Mycenaean settlement on top of the Mygdalia hill, overlooking the Achaia Clauss cemetery at the foot of the Koukouras hill (right), the plain and the gulf of Patras.

In Chapter 2, the description of the tombs is to be found, arranged into three parts for each in turn. The first section focuses on the description of the tomb’s architecture and the clustering and appearance of the finds in it. The second part sums up all the above evidence, following the chronological sequence of the burials. The third part displays, through easy-to-understand tables, the burials along with the gender, the age and the grave-goods of each individual, grouped in chronological order of introduction into the tomb. These tables also record any other non-burial episode that has been attested through the history of the chambers, in chronological order too.

In Chapter 3, the area of Clauss is examined, as well as the layout of the cemetery (figs 4, 5), the architecture of the tombs, the bedrock, the manner of construction and the structural problems related to them.

Fig. 4. Topographic sketch of the Mycenaean cemetery at Achaia Clauss.

Fig. 5. General view of the cemetery after the completion of its last excavation season, in 1992.

Chapter 4 contains the analytical catalogue of the finds in each tomb, recorded according to their excavation numbering, accompanied by the corresponding Museum of Patras inventory number. The catalogue contains one or more photos and drawings of each find, its detailed description and bibliographical documentation with parallels selected mainly from published assemblages from the rest of Achaea, Elis and the nearby Ionian islands.

Chapter 5 deals with the analytical presentation of the finds from the cemetery (figs 6a-b), citing typological parallels from the entire Mycenaean world, including comments on their use in the cemetery and in their era, in general. The examination of the finds is arranged according to category: pottery, bronze, bone, stone finds, along with minor objects made of various materials (spindle whorls, seals, beads and a figurine).

Figs 06a. Tomb B. Two-handled kalathos with five vases inside of it and one more outside, as found in the chamber.

Figs 06b. Tomb B. Two-handled kalathos with five vases inside of it and one more outside, as found in the chamber.

In Chapter 6, the burial customs of the cemetery (fig. 7) are discussed as these emerge from the investigation of the archaeological finds and the results of the osteological study by Dr Photini J. P. McGeorge, whose full analysis is not included in the present work and by DrWiesław Więckowski, whose report is presented in Chapter 8.

Fig. 07. The couple of warrior and his partner from chamber tomb Θ at Clauss. (Drawing by Y. Nakas).

Chapter 7 sums up all of the research data into a brief and concise overview of the burials according to chronological period and generation (phases 1-6 of the LH ΙΙΙC period), with reference to the society that the Clauss people and their contemporaries in the rest of Achaea had brought into being, and with a presentation of the cemetery’s history.

In Chapter 8, Dr Photini J.P. McGeorge presents her detailed study of cremation Θ in tomb N, while Dr Wiesław Więckowski offers the results of his study on the anthropological material from alcove I and tombs K-N.

The richly illustrated documentation of the tombs derives from the archive of the excavation. The photographs of the nearby Mycenaean settlement at Mygdalia Petrotou (fig. 3) come from the archive of its ongoing excavation project and contribute to the understanding of the region’s archaeological landscape. The presentation of the data tables at the end of this book (Appendix) facilitates the comprehension of specific aspects of the cemetery (burial practices according to gender and age, grave-goods according to gender/age/generation, demographic data per generation etc.).

C.Paschalidis et al. The Mycenaean Cemetery at Achaia Clauss near Patras, Archaeopress Archaeology (2018)

The publication of the Mycenaean cemetery at Clauss near Patras, yields information on various aspects of an unknown society situated at the periphery of the Mycenaean world, soon before its gradual end. It presents in a concise way the material culture of the society: the products of the local pottery workshops and their distribution, the metalworking industry of Achaea, the imported bronze objects from the Adriatic coasts, and discuss the role played by the NW Peloponnese in the distribution of these bronze objects throughout the rest of the Postpalatial world.

The detailed presentation of innumerous aspects of the material culture is followed by an analysis of other less tangible aspects of this society such as: the burial customs, the demographics of the cemetery, the palaeopathological findings, signs of social differentiation based on burial practices and offerings, details of family life (fig. 7), habits, and stereotypes, and any other unexpected finds from a society, which despite our ambitious approach remains anonymous, largely unknown, and enigmatic.

The study of the Mycenaean cemetery at Clauss near Patras, offers the chance to enlighten the ‘golden era’ of the NW Peloponnese in the years of the deep crisis that followed the fall of the Mycenaean palaces.

Constantinos Paschalidis
Curator of Antiquities
National Archaeological Museum, Athens

Sincerest thanks to Constantinos for providing this latest entry for the Archaeopress Blog. The Mycenaean Cemetery at Achaia Clauss near Patras is expected to publish late November/early December 2018. Further information on our website here: http://www.archaeopress.com/ArchaeopressShop/Public/displayProductDetail.asp?id={F7224A06-B955-4A45-9279-2A242F2BC99B}