School of Historical and Philosophical Studies - Research Publications

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    Migration and Colonization in the Mediterranean Bronze Age
    Hitchcock, L (Karwansaray, 2022)
    This article discusses categories of migration and colonization in the Mediterranean Bronze Age, through a discussion of archaeological evidence, fragmentary texts, and theoretical models. Different categories of migration and colonization are defined and illustrated with examples.
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    "There Really Are 50 Eskimo Words For 'Snow'": 1177, Big Data, and the Perfect Storm of Collapse
    Hitchcock, LA (PENN STATE UNIV PRESS, 2022)
    Invited contribution to an academic forum discussing the book 1177 BC, by Eric Cline. This contribution discusses models of collapse, specifically self-organized criticality and discusses a way forward for collapse studies in the ancient Mediterranean.
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    The Accidental Archaeologist Becoming Lawrence of Arabia
    Hitchcock, L (Karwansarway Publishers, 2021-12-01)
    My tongue and cheek biography
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    Plagues and the Bronze Age Collapse Naue II Swords Germs and Iron
    Hitchcock, L (Karwansaray Publishers, 2021-01-01)
    This article is the first to use evidence from the Coronavirus to look at the role of pandemic in contributing to social and economic collapse that marked the end of the Bronze Age in the Mediterranean, ca. 12th century BCE. This was an event that resulted in the destruction of the Mycenaean kingdoms, the desolation of the Cretan coastline, the fall of Troy, and the destruction of many maritime and coastal gateway cities around the Mediterranean.
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    The maritime and Riverine networks of the Eurotas river valley in Lakonia
    Hitchcock, LA ; Chapin, AP ; Reynolds, JH (The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2020-01-01)
    Lakonia is remembered in Homeric epic as the locale where Queen Helen was abducted to Troy, becoming the face that launched 1,000 ships. In Bronze Age reality (ca. 3000-1200 BCE), Lakonia was one of the earliest areas on the Greek mainland to be influenced by Minoan civilization, achieve social complexity, and progress toward Mycenaean statehood. We examine how these cultural developments were supported by Lakonia’s riverine topography. The perennial Eurotas River connected intervisible Bronze Age sites in the Spartan Plain with coastal port cities, thereby facilitating flows of ideas, people, and trade, particularly with Minoan Crete via the island of Kythera. We argue that Minoan interest in Lakonian raw materials resulted in the acquisition of finished prestige goods and specialized knowledge by Lakonian elites and contributed to emerging Lakonian social complexity. We conclude that Lakonia’s riverine landscape was an important factor in its early development toward Mycenaean statehood.
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    The Maritime and Riverine Networks of the Eurotas River Valley in Lakonia
    Hitchcock, L ; Chapin, A ; Reynolds, J (Penn, 2020-08-01)
    Lakonia is remembered in Homeric epic as the locale where Queen Helen was abducted to Troy, becoming the face that launched 1,000 ships. In Bronze Age reality (ca. 3000–1200 BCE), Lakonia was one of the earliest areas on the Greek mainland to be influenced by Minoan civilization, achieve social complexity, and progress toward Mycenaean statehood. We examine how these cultural developments were supported by Lakonia’s riverine topography. The perennial Eurotas River connected intervisible Bronze Age sites in the Spartan Plain with coastal port cities, thereby facilitating flows of ideas, people, and trade, particularly with Minoan Crete via the island of Kythera. We argue that Minoan interest in Lakonian raw materials resulted in the acquisition of finished prestige goods and specialized knowledge by Lakonian elites and contributed to emerging Lakonian social complexity. We conclude that Lakonia’s riverine landscape was an important factor in its early development toward Mycenaean statehood.
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    Chronology and Archaeology in the Ancient Aegean The Palace Cultures
    Hitchcock, L (Karwansaray Publishers, 2020-02-01)
    An introduction to the chronology and geography of the ancient Aegean.
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    Rise of the Minoans and Mycenaeans: The Global Aegean
    Hitchcock, L (Karwansaray Publishers, 2020-02-01)
    This article introduces the emergence of the Minoan (ca. 1900-1450 BCE) and Mycenaean civilizations (ca. 1600-1200 BCE). They are viewed against the background of their interactions with each other and with surrounding regions. Technology transfer accompanied their quest for copper that began in the Aegean by the Neolithic era, followed by the quest for tin and other exotic items such as spices and raw materials. These quests were key drivers in the development of complexity in Aegean society. They were accompanied by advances in maritime technology beginning with the change from the long boats of the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, to the acquisition deep-hulled ship with mast by the Minoans (ca. 1900 BCE), to the Mycenaean galley of the late 15th century BCE, to the galley with brailed sail (ring attachment that improved maneuverability of the sail) by the end of the Bronze Age (12th century BCE). Interactions driven by trade, diplomacy, and raiding promoted the emergence of globalized maritime trading networks. Such networks played a key role in linking the Aegean with Anatolia, Cyprus, Egypt, and the Levant to the east and the cultures of Italy, Sardinia, and Sicily to the west.