Talks by Alessandra Saggio
A Game of change. Board games in the changing Bronze Age Cypriot society Social changes and the b... more A Game of change. Board games in the changing Bronze Age Cypriot society Social changes and the birth of a new and complex urbanized society, probably ruled by an emerging elite, are often used as key aspects to describe the shift from Middle to Late Bronze Age in Cyprus. Within this transition period the coastal urban centers expanded and became central to the increasingly international trade. Gaming, and especially board games, provide a unique look into the social practices and leisure time of a pre or proto-historic society. Gaming is often a social activity, and as such can reveal a lot about the players and their community. Changes in where and when games were played and by whom tell us about larger changes in the society and they are therefore important for archaeologists to consider on a large scale. Since the early communities of Bronze Age (ECI-III) Peculiar gaming stone boards appear largely diffused through the island, originating from the so-called Senet and Mehen Egyptian types. Both Cypriot Senet and Mehen were made in the form of game boards or grids of varying precision carved on the surface of a stone slab. Have highly dimensiona varietions and come from different contexts, from domestic and residential areas to communal spaces or funerary contexts In a broader framework, this paper aims at analyzing the social changes of the MC-LC period in the light of the transformation of game practice and use. Gaming was a popular activity on Cyprus until LC, when the Cypriot-made games seem to nearly disappear from primary contexts. Towards the end of MC a large number of boards reused as building material are documented, and during LC imported and intricately decorated gaming boards from abroad enter the material record, suggesting a change in gaming practices. By examining both the development trends attested to these periods, a discussion on social practices and the role of community will be presented.
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Gaming stones are stone slabs gaming tables that show a characteristic pattern, that forms a game... more Gaming stones are stone slabs gaming tables that show a characteristic pattern, that forms a game path. Gaming stones are widespread documented among the materials coming from surveys and systematic excavations, they range between the beginning of the Early Bronze to the Late Bronze Age periods.
This class of materials has been extensively analysed under a typological, distributive, and functional perspective.
This paper aims to propose a different methodology to investigate gaming stones, by adopting a contextual approach which focuses on the potential information given by different types of contexts. The “informative potential”, indeed, can be considered as a parameter useful to establish the degree of information carried by single objects, in order to investigate gaming stones as social connectors. After a preliminary selection (based on the find contexts) applied on the entire corpus of materials, four categories will be presented.
Through these analytical tools we can investigate various aspects of the early societies, thus gaming stones will be presented as a means for approaching and analysing the problem of the development of social complexity in Cyprus.
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Spindle whorl assemblages are widely attested in Early and Middle Bronze Age Cyprus. Since their ... more Spindle whorl assemblages are widely attested in Early and Middle Bronze Age Cyprus. Since their introduction at the very beginning of the Bronze Age (Philia facies), they appear in different functional contexts, settlement as well as funerary. The significant occurrence in domestic and working areas has been straightforwardly related to the important role they played in the textiles chaîne opératoire. At the same time, they possibly have assumed different symbolic values, as grave goods.
The aim of this study is to investigate the key values held by decorated spindle whorls in Ancient and Middle Cypriot burial contexts, particularly focusing the South Coast region. The analyzed sites as case studies are grouped according to their locations in the lower river valleys (Psematismenos –Trelloukkas, Kalavassos), middle river valleys (Erimi – Laonin tou Porakou, Paramali – Pharkonia) and upper river valleys (Lofou – Koulauzou,).
Several scholars have stressed the symbolic significance of spindle whorls as gender marker, considering their exclusive co-occurrence with female skeletal remains and referring to textile production as an exclusively female domestic activity. Further symbolic traits can be eventually highlighted. During the Philia facies spindle whorls may be considered as one of the innovative elements to be identified with the ‘Philia newcomers’ habitus, as opposed to the ‘Chalcolithic indigenous’ communities. During the late phase of Middle Cypriote period, they could also be connected with an increasing specialization in the textile production.
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Paper by Alessandra Saggio
The practice of gaming, and consequently gaming boards, are common in different civilizations in ... more The practice of gaming, and consequently gaming boards, are common in different civilizations in various chronological periods. We are used to seeing this practice as a recreational activity, but it seems likely that it was, in past times, also linked with the funerary sphere.
This paper analyses the presence of gaming tables (two types in particular, Senet and Mehen) in funerary contexts dating back to the third and second millennia BC in the Mediterranean basin, specifically in Egypt and Cyprus. Changes in the representation of these objects, in Egypt, allow me to suggest new meanings and to investigate their use for funerary purposes more deeply. Furthermore, I examine the possible influences and connections between these two cultures, considering that the gaming boards found in Cyprus have their origins in the Egyptian models.
The possible effects (and the reinterpretation) of the relationship between gaming and the afterlife among Cypriot prehistoric communities will be considered, through the study of the necropolis at Dhenia.
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Conference Presentations by Alessandra Saggio
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Conference Islands in Dialogue (ISLANDIA). BOOK OF ABSTRACTS
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CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
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The conference Island in Dialogue (ISLANDIA) will be held on the 14th, 15th, and 16th of November... more The conference Island in Dialogue (ISLANDIA) will be held on the 14th, 15th, and 16th of November 2018 at the Università di Torino (Turin, Italy). ISLANDIA is an excellent opportunity for postgraduate and early career researchers to present their current research, and exchange and discuss ideas about the concepts of insularity, landscape and insular identity in the Mediterranean.
Please, find more details in the attached file. For detailed information and updates, you can also visit the event’s website (http://islandia2018.jimdo.com) and Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Islandia2018/).
If you would like to participate, please fill in and send, no later than the 20th May 2018, the attached application form to islandia@unito.it. The application form requires personal data and an abstract of no more than 300 words and a title. Papers should last for 15 minutes. The official language of the meeting is English. The provisional program of the conference will be announced by the end of June. We intend to publish the papers presented at the meeting. Further information about the publication will be provided via email and during the event.
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Talks by Alessandra Saggio
This class of materials has been extensively analysed under a typological, distributive, and functional perspective.
This paper aims to propose a different methodology to investigate gaming stones, by adopting a contextual approach which focuses on the potential information given by different types of contexts. The “informative potential”, indeed, can be considered as a parameter useful to establish the degree of information carried by single objects, in order to investigate gaming stones as social connectors. After a preliminary selection (based on the find contexts) applied on the entire corpus of materials, four categories will be presented.
Through these analytical tools we can investigate various aspects of the early societies, thus gaming stones will be presented as a means for approaching and analysing the problem of the development of social complexity in Cyprus.
The aim of this study is to investigate the key values held by decorated spindle whorls in Ancient and Middle Cypriot burial contexts, particularly focusing the South Coast region. The analyzed sites as case studies are grouped according to their locations in the lower river valleys (Psematismenos –Trelloukkas, Kalavassos), middle river valleys (Erimi – Laonin tou Porakou, Paramali – Pharkonia) and upper river valleys (Lofou – Koulauzou,).
Several scholars have stressed the symbolic significance of spindle whorls as gender marker, considering their exclusive co-occurrence with female skeletal remains and referring to textile production as an exclusively female domestic activity. Further symbolic traits can be eventually highlighted. During the Philia facies spindle whorls may be considered as one of the innovative elements to be identified with the ‘Philia newcomers’ habitus, as opposed to the ‘Chalcolithic indigenous’ communities. During the late phase of Middle Cypriote period, they could also be connected with an increasing specialization in the textile production.
Paper by Alessandra Saggio
This paper analyses the presence of gaming tables (two types in particular, Senet and Mehen) in funerary contexts dating back to the third and second millennia BC in the Mediterranean basin, specifically in Egypt and Cyprus. Changes in the representation of these objects, in Egypt, allow me to suggest new meanings and to investigate their use for funerary purposes more deeply. Furthermore, I examine the possible influences and connections between these two cultures, considering that the gaming boards found in Cyprus have their origins in the Egyptian models.
The possible effects (and the reinterpretation) of the relationship between gaming and the afterlife among Cypriot prehistoric communities will be considered, through the study of the necropolis at Dhenia.
Conference Presentations by Alessandra Saggio
Please, find more details in the attached file. For detailed information and updates, you can also visit the event’s website (http://islandia2018.jimdo.com) and Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Islandia2018/).
If you would like to participate, please fill in and send, no later than the 20th May 2018, the attached application form to islandia@unito.it. The application form requires personal data and an abstract of no more than 300 words and a title. Papers should last for 15 minutes. The official language of the meeting is English. The provisional program of the conference will be announced by the end of June. We intend to publish the papers presented at the meeting. Further information about the publication will be provided via email and during the event.
This class of materials has been extensively analysed under a typological, distributive, and functional perspective.
This paper aims to propose a different methodology to investigate gaming stones, by adopting a contextual approach which focuses on the potential information given by different types of contexts. The “informative potential”, indeed, can be considered as a parameter useful to establish the degree of information carried by single objects, in order to investigate gaming stones as social connectors. After a preliminary selection (based on the find contexts) applied on the entire corpus of materials, four categories will be presented.
Through these analytical tools we can investigate various aspects of the early societies, thus gaming stones will be presented as a means for approaching and analysing the problem of the development of social complexity in Cyprus.
The aim of this study is to investigate the key values held by decorated spindle whorls in Ancient and Middle Cypriot burial contexts, particularly focusing the South Coast region. The analyzed sites as case studies are grouped according to their locations in the lower river valleys (Psematismenos –Trelloukkas, Kalavassos), middle river valleys (Erimi – Laonin tou Porakou, Paramali – Pharkonia) and upper river valleys (Lofou – Koulauzou,).
Several scholars have stressed the symbolic significance of spindle whorls as gender marker, considering their exclusive co-occurrence with female skeletal remains and referring to textile production as an exclusively female domestic activity. Further symbolic traits can be eventually highlighted. During the Philia facies spindle whorls may be considered as one of the innovative elements to be identified with the ‘Philia newcomers’ habitus, as opposed to the ‘Chalcolithic indigenous’ communities. During the late phase of Middle Cypriote period, they could also be connected with an increasing specialization in the textile production.
This paper analyses the presence of gaming tables (two types in particular, Senet and Mehen) in funerary contexts dating back to the third and second millennia BC in the Mediterranean basin, specifically in Egypt and Cyprus. Changes in the representation of these objects, in Egypt, allow me to suggest new meanings and to investigate their use for funerary purposes more deeply. Furthermore, I examine the possible influences and connections between these two cultures, considering that the gaming boards found in Cyprus have their origins in the Egyptian models.
The possible effects (and the reinterpretation) of the relationship between gaming and the afterlife among Cypriot prehistoric communities will be considered, through the study of the necropolis at Dhenia.
Please, find more details in the attached file. For detailed information and updates, you can also visit the event’s website (http://islandia2018.jimdo.com) and Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Islandia2018/).
If you would like to participate, please fill in and send, no later than the 20th May 2018, the attached application form to islandia@unito.it. The application form requires personal data and an abstract of no more than 300 words and a title. Papers should last for 15 minutes. The official language of the meeting is English. The provisional program of the conference will be announced by the end of June. We intend to publish the papers presented at the meeting. Further information about the publication will be provided via email and during the event.