69-80

Prehistoric Cycladic people in Crete

Σύμμεικτα

• Ντούμας, Χρίστος Γ.

The presence of Melian obsidian in the Neolithic strata of Knossos supplies evidence of early contacts between Crete and the Cyclades. These contacts became closer during the Early Bronze Age as attested by Cycladic pottery forms and marble figurines in Crete. “ Bottles ” and pyxides are among the commonest Cycladic pottery forms found mainly in an EM I context. Vases such as the lentoid pyxis, the stemmed cup and the sauceboat are often reported in EM I or early EM II context. None of the above vases can seriously be considered to belong to the Pelos - Lakkoudhes ( EC I ) repertoire. They all are common in the Keros - Syros culture and share the most characteristic features of its pottery : narrow neck ( “ bottles” ), trumpet - shaped base of foot ( stemmed pyxis or cup, sauceboat ), black burnish ( sauceboat, lentoid pyxis, cup ).As far as the marble figurines are concerned, all those found in Crete share the following characteristics :a. They belong to the Koumasa variety of the FAF category.b. They are all flat in keeping with the pictorial rather than plastic concept of Minoan art.c. They are small compared with their Cycladic counterparts stressing thus another aspect of Minoan art : the miniature sculpture.d. They are often modelled in stones other than marble.e. They are related to the Cycladic Dhokathismata variety which dates to an advanced stage of the Keros - Syros culture.f. Almost all of them come from EM III - MM I contexts.These features of the “ Cycladic ” figurines in Crete lead to the suggestionthat they might be not direct imports to Crete and they were probably made locally.Taking into consideration the context of the “ Cycladic ” pottery and figurines found in Crete, it is suggested that the Prepalatial I ( EM I ) period overlaps with the Keros-Syros culture ( EC II ) in the Cyclades and not with Pelos - Lakkoudhes ( EC I ) which develops parallel to the Cretan Neolithic. A tentative chronology of the Aegean Early Bronze Age is given in the Table on page 75.The presence of Cycladic objects in Crete does not necessarily imply Cycladic colonies there. For in almost all the cases it is impossible to apply the model pf Early Cycladic culture which, conversely, may be applied elsewhere, for instance to Ayios Kosmas and Marathon in Attika, Manika near Chalkis in Eu- boia, and possibly lassos in Caria. At present the only site in Crete which could be considered as a Cycladic colony is Ayia Photia in Siteia, for only to the extensive cemetery of Ayia Photia can the Cycladic culture model be applied.

• History and Archaeology

• Αρχαιολογία
• Pottery, Greek
• Antiquities

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