Material sources for Greek history: archaeological evidence: inscriptions Epigraphy: inscriptions on stone, metal, terracotta – durable materials –typically.
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Material sources for Greek history:
archaeological evidence: inscriptions• Epigraphy: inscriptions on stone,
metal, terracotta – durable materials– typically contemporary– often fragmentary– nearly useless if not dated
• Genres– poetry, laws, decrees, votes– treaties, dedications, honors
Material sources for Greek history:
archaeological evidence: papyri• Primary medium for …
day-to-day activities– correspondence– petitions– edicts– receipts
• Limited survival of texts– Aristotle’s Athenian Constitution– Oxyrhynchos Historian– many fragments of (un)known works
Material sources for Greek history:
other archaeological evidence: coins• Field of numismatics (<νομίζειν, to
use according to νόμος – “law” or “custom”)– post 550 BCE, so not applicable earlier– limited use as propaganda, so little
internal evidence– long periods of usage, so broad range of
dates
Material sources for Greek history:
other archaeological evidence: architecture, sculpture, vase painting• Architecture– often can be dated– internal ideologies– evidence of wealth– evidence of skill
• Sculpture, vase painting-can be dated stylistically
- reveals social customs- high level of sophistication
Material sources for Greek history:
other archaeological evidence: field data• Pollen analysis, petrology, animal
bones– trade– economics– social customs– settlement patterns– public vs. private space– diet– environmental conditions
All sources for Greek history:literary and material
• Context is key• Congruence is rare• Historians must
draw upon all sources to complete the picture
• Next: datingschemes, climatetopography and demography
Congruence
Literature
EpigraphyArchaeology
Dating schemes: caveat emptor• Each polis used different systems (&
calendars)– Athens: eponymous archon lists: 683/2,
reliable p.425/4
• Panhellenic festivals– Olympiads: 766– reliable post 600
• Religious offices– priestess of Hera at Argos
Dating schemes: putting it all together• Synchronisms between
– Olympiads and Biblicalevents
– Olympiads and Romanemperors
– Squaring with the Gregorian calendar
• Archaeological evidence– pottery, architecture, sculpture
• often based on stylistics – development varies widely– Thucydides’ colonial foundations in Sicily, southern Italy
• dates are relative; are they reliable?– destruction level of 480 in Athens: all material predates
480– confirmation from other cultures: Near Eastern
destruction levels, Egyptian Pharoaonic dates
Periodization of Greek history
Greece: topography & resources
High
Low
AltitudeThessaly
Boeotia
Chalkidike
MacedoniaThrace
PeloponneseAttica
Epirus
Asia Minor
Cyclades
Crete
Propontis
Pontus = Black Sea
(Arcadia, Laconia,Messenia, Argolid, Corinthia)
P I N D O S
EpirusThessalyBoeotiaAtticaPeloponneseCycladesCrete
Asia MinorPropontisPontusThraceChalkidikeMacedoniaPindos Mtns
Blackboard questions1. Matt, Ian, Lucy, Emily: What impact did
the natural environment (e.g., climate and agriculture) have on Greek history?– unpredictability & inconsistency
diversification– self-sufficiency & autonomy hard
collaboration
2. Alex, Teddy, Sarah N.: What role did the demographic profile of ancient Greece play in its history?– demography affects & is affected by
environment– mortality rate limited growth, fostering need
for slaves– population growth slow & steady, averting
epidemics
Greece: topography & resources
Topography• mountains, rocky soil, jagged coasts, few large fluvial plains; Aegean
Sea; islands. Result regarding communities and communication?• result: relative isolation; communication by seaClimate• hot, dry summers; mild, rainy winters. Result regarding agriculture?• result: agriculture difficult, unpredictable, necessitating
diversificationResources: food• flocks: goats, sheep, pigs; cattle rare, horses (expensive, used for
warfare, travel)• crop diversification: oil (cooking), grapes (wine), some vegetables,
barley (primary foodstuff). Result regarding diet?• result: proteins: fish; beans; other goods (e.g., wheat) importedResources: minerals, timber• durable: bronze: copper (plentiful), tin (non-existent); iron (plentiful)• luxury: gold (rare), silver (mines in Attica south of Athens)• stone: limestone (plentiful), marble (Paros, Attica)• timber: northern Aegean / Thrace (structures, shipbuilding)• obsidian (volcanic glass): islands – e.g., Melos. Result regarding
access?• result: control of sea for food, travel, commerce
Natural resources in archaic Greece
Earliest occupation, 200,000 BCE to Franchthi Cave, 18,000 & beyond
• Hunters / gatherers• Subsistence level• Self-sufficiency until interest in other
goods• Embryonic trade• Franchthi in Argolid, Peloponnese
Neolithic Greece, 6000-3000 BCE
Early Bronze Age, 3000-2200 BCE
Sesklo(6000-4400)Dimini(4800-3000)Lerna(2600-2200)
Franchthi Cave(18,000-3000)
Sesklo, 6000-4400 BCEDimini, 4800-3000 BCE
Lerna, House of Tiles, ca. 2500 BCE
Lerna, House of Tiles, ca. 2500 BCE
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