What led to the adoption of red and/or black burnished pottery traditions in Cyprus during the Late Chalcolithic? Was it the result of local indigenous processes or the result of extra- insular contacts which brought the Cypriot potters in contact with similar traditions from elsewhere? While the Philia Red Polished can be more profoundly related with pottery from neighboring regions, the relation of Late Chalcolithic wares with contemporary Near Eastern ones remains to be examined. Several scholars have argued that these new pottery tendencies were triggered by interactions with the nearby mainlands, especially Anatolia (Peltenburg 1998, 256-8; 2007, 146-149; Bolger 2007, 164). Specifically, Bolger and Peltenburg have both argued that the Red Black Stroke Burnished Ware of western Cyprus might be related to the Red Black Burnished Ware (RBBW) of the Kura-Araxes culture and the Khirbet Kerak Ware (KKW), its variant in the Levant, pointing to extra- insular interactions already during the Late Chalcolithic (Peltenburg 2007, 154; Bolger 2013, 5; Bolger and Webb 2013, 46).
For example, Peltenburg has argued that specific characteristics of the Late Chalcolithic monochrome burnished wares of Lemba-Lakkous and Kissonerga-Mosphilia, like their red and black highly burnished surfaces, relief decoration and the appearance of elaborately spouted pouring vessels, are the result of cognisance and emulation of
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traditions of Western Anatolia. Peltenburg argued that one can find parallels of this pottery characteristics at sites like Thermi, Karataş, Aphrodisias, Demircihüyük, Beycesultan XVI and Troy II a-d (Peltenburg 2007, 146-149).
Additionally, Bolger has argued for a possible link of these traditions with the Red Black Stroke Burnished Ware (hereafter RBBW) of the Kura-Araxes cultural horizon, which extends from the Caucasus to Anatolia and the Levant (Bolger 2013, 4). This hypothesis is fascinating, especially since the island is traditionally considered to have been isolated during the Chalcolithic. According to her, these new monochrome wares reflect technological innovations in terms of fabrics and surface treatment, while the relief decoration that characterises several sherds of these wares is not attested in the island prior to the Late Chalcolithic (Bolger 2013, 4).
The Kura-Araxes pottery consists of several red and black burnished pottery traditions with common characteristics when it comes to technology and appearance (Wilkinson 2014, 205) (Figure 14). Although one could argue that the red and/or black burnished pottery traditions of Cyprus differ markedly from the mainland tradition in form and technique, they do appear to have some similarities. The ware's decoration also reinforces this resemblance. Although most sherds are unadorned, some have relief decoration of knobs or linear and curvilinear strokes, something unattested on the island in earlier periods. This decoration has parallels in Early Bronze Age Anatolia and refers to Khirbet Kerak Ware’s decoration (Peltenburg 2007, 154; Bolger 2013, 5; Bolger and Webb 2013, 46).
Figure 14:Examples of Kura-Araxes Red Black Burnished Ware vessels from sites in the Lake Van region in Eastern Anatolia (after Yiğitpaşa and Can 2012, 289-290)
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Nevertheless, no comparative studies have been conducted up to this point, to investigate whether these two traditions could be indeed related. In Chapter 6, an overview of the Kura-Araxes cultural horizon and the Red Black Burnished Ware (RBBW) is followed by the study of an assemblage of Red Black Burnished Ware from Tepecik, in Anatolia. This section aims to investigate possible links to the Cypriot red and/or black pottery traditions and shed light on issues of extra-insular interactions.
Following, in Chapter 5 a comparative study of red and/or black burnished wares from five sites across Cyprus is conducted, in order to investigate whether they belong to the same pottery tradition and if so, what can this tell us about interactions between different sites in the Late Chalcolithic.
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Chapter 4
Mobility of People, Artefacts and Technologies: Theory and Methods
This study attempts to shed light to interactions between Cypriot sites in the Late Chalcolithic through a comparative analysis of pottery assemblages. It examines to what extent Cypriot communities were interconnected with each other, and if they were maintaining extra-insular contacts.
In order to form an adequate theoretical framework to study the Cypriot archaeological record in the first half of the 3rd millennium BC, theoretical concepts regarding mobility and tracing interactions in the archaeological record need to be addressed. To begin with, interpretative frameworks that have been used in archaeology to explain human mobility and interactions are presented chronologically. Subsequently, the debates regarding of the Archaeology of Mediterranean Sea as well as issues concerning Island Archaeology, insularity, connectivity and regionalism are tackled. Additionally, the aspect of technological mobility is being explored, serving as the backbone of this thesis’ methodology.
Pottery is among the most common finds in excavations and plays a pivotal role in tracing cultural contacts and transmission in prehistory, since, in general, cultural and social identity are considered to be expressed through the material culture. The present research argues that a comparative study of similar pottery assemblages from different regions can shed light on the nature and degree of interactions between the societies which produced and used these assemblages. To do so, notions and views on cultural change and transmission, the relationship between technology and cultural change, and links between pottery technology and social interactions are presented. Furthermore, an overview of the concept of the chaȋne opératoire and various ways to reconstruct and interpret the life cycle of ceramic assemblages is given, followed by a framework of using the chaȋne opératoire as an interpretative tool to trace knowledge acquisition processes, and therefore interactions between communities.
Finally, the concepts and approaches outlined in this chapter are put into context in relation to prehistoric Cyprus and the methodology used in this thesis is presented.
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