Athens and Attica in Prehistory

The volume begins with a list of prehistoric sites in Attica and four distribution maps with the sites arranged in four periods: Upper Paleolithic to Late Neolithic, Final Neolithic to Early Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age, and Late Bronze Age. Although the identification of the sites that appear on the maps is the product of variably systematic work, and presence or absence is heavily contingent on research bias and random salvage operations, this is important work. The volume itself consists of an introduction by the editors and seven sections. The first is a section on “Topography” with two papers by Andrikou, who presents a very helpful gazetteer of new sites in Attica in the first and an overview of the prehistory of Thorikos in the second. The second section is titled “Palaeoenvironment,” and it includes two studies about the geomorphology of the area. But it also presents a short study about the Phaleron Delta wetland, which is about more than just the paleoenvironment: faced with what one would term, on first look, a rather poor assemblage, the two authors, Odysseas Kakavakis and Irini Skiadaresi, utilize the paleogeographic setting to provide a reconstruction of the depositional history and attempt a commendable interpretation of the actions that might have taken place there. It is surely a wonderful opening to a volume that would aspire to go beyond a mere list of recent excavation reports

Archaeology · Assemblage (archaeology) · Bronze · Bronze Age · Excavation · Geography · Interpretation (philosophy) · Prehistory · Section (typography) · Upper Paleolithic · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Archaeological Research and Protection · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · History