Minoan Death in Context. The Spatial Dimension of Cemeteries in Bronze Age Crete
(2012) 113th Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America — Location: Philadelphia (USA) (5.January.2012)
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- Abstract
- The location of cemeteries is not a chance outcome: it is the result of funerary choices dictated by the social, political, cultural and ideological characteristics of human groups. Studying the spatial distribution of burial sites has thus the potential to provide some insights into the mortuary behaviors of ancient societies. Accordingly, this paper aims towards a better understanding of the place allocated to the dead within the wider landscape of Bronze Age Crete. A series of GIS-based thematic maps and spatial analyses (such as clustering, viewshed, site catchment, least-cost path, a.o.) are of particular interest to reconstruct the territorial and visual relations between the tombs, the rest of the archaeological remains and the natural environment. In the context of Minoan Crete, where the funerary data are plentiful but badly preserved and thus hard to interpret, such issues are especially important since that can contribute to shed light on the place, roles and functions the deceased were assigned within the living community.
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Déderix, S. (2012). Minoan Death in Context. The Spatial Dimension of Cemeteries in Bronze Age Crete. 113th Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America, Philadelphia (USA). https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/221249