John C Barrett

Fragments from Antiquity

The Emergence of Civilisation Revisited

The history of archaeology is a history of great discoveries and a history of the debate about the human condition. It is a history of how we understand and link to our history, and it is unsurprising then that archaeology changes over time, bringing new perspectives to our view of the past. Thirty years on from Colin Renfrew's landmark publication, The Emergence of Civilisation, a group of Aegean prehistorians came together as part of the Sheffield Centre for Aegean Archaeology's Round Table discussions to acknowledge this ground-breaking work and to bring the subject up to date. They focus on the themes that Renfrew brought to archaeology through this work, and which continue to be of significance today: the way we characterise the context and the nature of change; the methodological procedures that should be followed; and the interpretation of the dynamics of past societies. Fourteen papers from the discussions, including contributions from John Cherry, Todd Whitelaw and Renfrew himself, examine a fascinating and diverse section of topics including; settlement, leadership and social status.

Food, Cuisine and Society in Prehistoric Greece

Food and drink, along with the material culture involved in their consumption, can signify a variety of social distinctions, identities and values. Thus, in Early Minoan Knossos, tableware was used to emphasize the difference between the host and the guests, and at Mycenaean Pylos the status of banqueters was declared as much by the places assigned to them as by the quality of the vessles form which they ate and drank. The ten contributions to this volume highlight the extraordinary opportunity for multi-disciplinary research in this area.