The Chronology of the Early Iron Age in Greece

Chronological schemes for at least part of the period have been proposed by several scholars, and there is little doubt that they have carried the process as far as is warranted by the present state of the evidence. Many later Oriental objects in Greece provide even less chronological information; and in several cases objects which were once classed as Oriental imports are cogently argued to be Greek or Cretan adaptations of Oriental forms, which make their chronological application even vaguer. The occasional pieces of East Greek and Cycladic Geometric have, however, in a few cases a valuable terminus ante quem provided by their context. The kotyle, Corinth’s first major contribution to Greek Iron Age pottery shapes, was probably devised just before initial date, and imitated in Attic and other styles soon after. In the Greek sites in Sicily and southern Italy, finally, it is hard to say from what exact date locally-made products begin.

Ancient history · Archaeology · Chronology · Geography · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Ancient Near East History · Classical Antiquity Studies · History