Along the Routes of Pithoi in the Late Bronze Age

römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Archäologie Offprint rGZM – taGunGen Band 20 Andrea Babbi · Friederike Bubenheimer-Erhart Beatriz Marín-Aguilera · Simone Mühl (eds) the Mediterranean MirrOr Cultural COntaCts in the Mediterranean sea between 1200 and 750 b. C. International Post-doc and Young Researcher Conference Heidelberg, 6th-8th October 2012 Verlag des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums Mainz 2015 The Conference would not have been possible without the generous support of the undermentioned sponsors InstItut für ur- und frühgeschIchte und VorderasIatIsche archäologIe The Publication of the Proceedings has been generously supported by InstItut für ur- und frühgeschIchte und VorderasIatIsche archäologIe Redaktion: Andrea Babbi, Claudia Nickel, Marie Röder (RGZM) Satz: Dieter Imhäuser, Hofheim a. T. Umschlaggestaltung: Reinhard Köster / Andrea Babbi (RGZM) Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliograie: Detaillierte bibliograische Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.d-nb.de abrufbar. ISBN 978-3-88467-239-6 ISSN 1862-4812 © 2015 Verlag des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums Das Werk ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Die dadurch begründeten Rechte, insbesondere die der Übersetzung, des Nachdrucks, der Entnahme von Abbildungen, der Funk- und Fernsehsendung, der Wiedergabe auf fotomechanischem (Fotokopie, Microkopie) oder ähnlichem Wege und der Speicherung in Datenverarbeitungsanlagen, Ton- und Bildträgern bleiben, auch bei nur auszugsweiser Verwertung, vorbehalten. Die Vergütungsansprüche des §54, Abs.2, UrhG. werden durch die Verwertungsgesellschaft Wort wahrgenommen. Herstellung: betz-druck GmbH, Darmstadt Printed in Germany. CoNteNtS Andrea Babbi · Friederike Bubenheimer-Erhart · Beatriz Marín-Aguilera · Simone Mühl The Mediterranean Mirror. An Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Part I – theoretical Framework Diamantis Panagiotopoulos Adjusting the Compass. The Quest for Mediterranean Paradigms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Part II – egypt and North Africa Karl Jansen-Winkeln Egypt and North Africa: Cultural Contacts (1200-750 BC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Claus Jurman »Silver of the Treasury of Herishef« – Considering the Origin and Economic Signiicance of Silver in Egypt during the Third Intermediate Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Part III – Cyprus and Near east Susan Sherratt Cyprus and the Near East: Cultural Contacts (1200-750 BC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Ayelet Gilboa · Paula Waiman-Barak · Ilan Sharon Dor, the Carmel Coast and Early Iron Age Mediterranean Exchanges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Francisco Jesus Núñez Calvo Phoenician Early Iron Age Ceramic Interaction Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Artemis Georgiou Cyprus during the »Crisis Years« Revisited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Part IV – Aegean Region Eleni Konstantinidi-Syvridi Mycenaean Recurrences and the Circulation of Arts, Crafts and Ideas in the Aegean from 1200 to 750 BC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Ann Brysbaert · Melissa Vetters Mirroring the Mediterranean? Artisanal Networking in 12th century BC Tiryns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 III Philipp W. Stockhammer Levantine and Cypriot Pottery in Mycenaean Greece as Mirrors of Intercultural Contacts . . . . . . . . . . . 177 Vangelis Samaras Piracy in the Aegean during the Postpalatial Period and the Early Iron Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 Part V – Italian Peninsula and Sardinia Marco Bettelli Centuries of Darkness? The Aegean and the Central Mediterranean after the Collapse of the Mycenaean Palaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 Andrea Schiappelli Along the Routes of Pithoi in the Late Bronze Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231 Glenn E. Markoe † Current Assessment of the Phoenicians in the Tyrrhenian Basin: Levantine Trade with Sicily, Sardinia, and Western Coastal Italy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245 Part VI – Iberian Peninsula and Balearics Ana Margarida Arruda Intercultural Contacts in the Far West at the Beginning of the 1st Millennium BC: through the Looking-Glass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263 Jaime Vives-Ferrándiz Sánchez Mediterranean Networks and Material Connections: a View from Eastern Iberia and the Balearic Islands (12th-8th centuries BC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279 Esther Rodríguez González Southwestern Iberian Peninsula Archaeology: Latest Developments in Final Bronze Age-Early Iron Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293 Francisco B. Gomes The West Writes Back: Cultural Contact and Identity Constructs in Southern Portuguese Late Bronze Age / Early Iron Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305 List of Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319 IV ANDREA SCHIAPPELLI AloNg the RouteS oF PIthoI IN the lAte BRoNze Age Over the course of the Recent Bronze Age 1, a class of pottery which had until this time only been manufactured in Aegean and central Mediterranean settlements made its irst appearance in Southern Italy, where it would endure until the Early Iron Age (ig. 1a). Dolia, manufactured in both a ine-bodied clay and in impasto, were partially formed on a potter’s wheel and then ornamented with applied decoration such as bands and ropes, or with impressed motifs.2 PRImARy AND SeCoNDARy uSeS Dolia assumed the form of large containers, ranging in shape from ovoid to globular. In most cases, the vessel had vertical loops set on its rim or handles on its shoulder. Dolia were generally high, in some cases exceeding 1.30 m, with rims of up to 50 cm in diameter. The diameter of the vessels’ widest point could reach up to 1.20 m. With a capacity of up to 1,000 l, these vessels were suitable for storing large quantities of foodstuffs, both solid and liquid. In Southern Italy, they were especially used for the storage of olive oil: this is evidenced foremost by the results of chemical analyses performed on residue found soaked into the walls and bottoms of some specimens found in Apulia and Calabria. Moreover, the prevailingly wide mouths of these vessels are best suited to the storage of oil rather than wine, which, by its nature, requires an opening that is more narrow and therefore easier to close and seal. With regard to the contents of these large containers, the following foodstuffs have been identiied in the Aegean and Mediterranean areas: (as solid content) olive pits, grape seeds, grain, barley, fava beans, pears, lentils, beans, chickpeas, almonds, igs, barley lour, animal and ish bones; (as liquid content) olive oil, wine, water. Pithoi were also used as containers for the maritime transport of various types of goods (ine ceramics, jewelry, weapons), as documented in the shipwrecks of Uluburun and Point Iria. Both wrecks are certainly examples of the type of cargo ships which traveled along the routes from Greece and the coasts of the Mediterranean to Italy and its islands. In some circumstances the large sizes of pithoi and dolia made them the preferred vessels for burials, while smaller dolia sometimes served as cinerary urns. At present, no evidence of band- or rope-decorated levigated clay dolia has come to light in protohistoric funerary contexts in Southern Italy and its islands. Both decorated and non-decorated impasto ware vessels were instead widely used, especially in the Early Iron age. geogRAPhICAl DIStRIButIoN It was at the protohistoric site of Broglio di Trebisacce (North Ionian Calabria), in the late 1970s, that banddecorated dolia were recognized for the irst time in Italy as a class of protohistoric pottery apart from the »classic« style 3 (ig. 1b). Since then, band- and groove-decorated dolia have been found at various other sites, many of which are situated on both the Adriatic and the Ionian coasts of Apulia. Further inland, there are a few sites in Basilicata and in the hills surrounding Sybaris where dolia have been found. In addition to The Mediterranean Mirror 231 Fig. 1 a typical dolia from Broglio of Trebisacce (I and II) and Bisignano (III) (prov. Cosenza). – b view and plan of the protohistoric site of Broglio di Trebisacce (prov. Cosenza). – (Illustration A. Schiappelli). Broglio di Trebisacce, LBA dolia are known in Torre Mordillo and Timpone Motta di Francavilla Marittima, a center which remained important even after the foundation of Sybaris. In this same area, a survey recently carried out along the valley of the river Raganello by Dutch scholars from the University of Groningen has revealed the presence of numerous sites with protohistoric dolia, some of which are even located in the 232 A. Schiappelli · Along the Routes of Pithoi in the Late Bronze Age Fig. 2 Italian sites with decorated dolia or similar type of vessels. A comparison of the state of research in 1984 and 2013; no. 17, Broglio di Trebisacce. – (Illustration A. Schiappelli). mountains. Decorated large containers are also known in South Ionian Calabria, where they have been found at some survey sites in the hilly hinterland surrounding the city of Crotone. In Sicily and Sardinia, all dolia documented are made of an impasto fabric. In some cases the dolia found on the islands present decorations similar to those of the samples of Southern Italy, particularly in a few sites in the provinces of Messina and Agrigento. In any case, Broglio di Trebisacce presents the richest number of specimens out of all of these sites, with more than 1,300 diagnostic fragments having been found. teChNologICAl ASPeCtS: ShAPINg AND BAkINg The creation of the dolium (or pithos), once the raw material had been appropriately selected and corrective additions had been made to improve its solidity, consisted of the progressive, manual mounting of large coils of clay (between 3 and 5 cm in diameter), sequentially superimposed one over the other, with periodic work stoppages imposed by the need to let the wet clay dry, and to join the various pieces of the dolium under construction. In most cases, the main pieces consisted of the shoulder, the vessel’s widest point, and the lower part of the dolium. These large pieces (composed in turn of smaller coils of clay joined together), once suficiently dried, were then assembled together with the aid of the potter’s wheel and the use of tooth-shaped coupling points. These rows of toothing were added to the top and bottom rims of the pieces to be assembled and served to increase the cohesion between these parts of the vessel (ig. 3). For example, a common procedure for the creation of a dolium could go as follows: irstly the potter prepared the belly of the vessel, which would then immediately be joined to the vessel’s base (already prepared separately). The potter would then join the large ring of clay corresponding to the vessel’s widest point, and inally the shoulder. At this point, the rim, or, in the case of more complex shapes, the neck and / or handles, could be directly superimposed onto the existing structure. Once the dolium had dried in the sun until reaching a consistency which allowed it to be moved without risking damage, great attention was paid to its iring. The iring of the dolium took place in ovens which allowed a controlled low of oxygen, at a temperature above 850 ºC and preferably around 900 ºC. At this temperature, the vessel’s calcareous The Mediterranean Mirror 233 Fig. 3 Pithoi from Broglio di Trebisacce. a-c fragments of dolia (Late Bronze Age) with different toothing marks. – d detail from the toothing marks from the joints at the rim. The potter’s ingerprints are visible. – e section (illustration and photograph) with the toothing marks of the joint at the rim. – (a after Bettelli 2001, ig. 45b; d Excavation Archives, Broglio di Trebisacce, by permission of »Sapienza«, University of Rome; c. e after Levi 1999, igs 192. 195). raw material becomes particularly resistant to mechanical shocks, thus making the dolia suitable both for storage as well as for transport. This is quite different from impasto ware vessels, for example, which are less calcareous and are ired at lower temperatures, and were therefore used solely as cookware (ig. 1b).4 With the exception of the case of Punta Manaccora (unfortunately still unpublished at the time of this writing), there are no known structures in Italy which have been interpreted as dolia kilns. It is likely that kilns used for the iring of dolia took the form of masonry ovens, rather than large pits dug in the ground, despite the fact that this former solution was more complex. The high temperatures necessary for the effective cooking of this type of vessel require the use of large furnaces where baking and combustion occur in separate chamber. For this reason, it is easier to imagine furnaces built aboveground rather than those dug in the earth, despite the fact that such a construction would have required greater organization and a greater use of resources. Between 1960 and 1961, German scholars Roland Hampe and Adam Winter spent a year living in direct contact with the pithos craftsmen of Messenia, Crete and Cyprus. This year of study enabled the scholars to document the existence of three different varieties of the two types of oven (above- and below-ground) mentioned above.5 234 A. Schiappelli · Along the Routes of Pithoi in the Late Bronze Age 1 Fig. 4 1 Phini (Cyprus), modern single-chambered cupola furnace: a perspective view; b furnace section, with pithoi ready for iring; c furnace section, at the beginning of iring; d section with air movement during iring (after Hampe / Winter 1962, igs 40-41. 43-44). – 2 Asomatos (Crete), sections of a modern pithoi furnace, built in a pit dug in the ground: a section, during preparation; b during iring (after Hampe / Winter 1962, igs 20-21). 2 In the village of Phini, in Cyprus, Hampe and Winter observed the oldest tradition among those studied: a type of oven with no distinction between baking and combustion chambers which, according to the scholars, dates to ancient times. This type of oven took the form of a domed, aboveground structure made of stone and brick, circular in shape (with a diameter of 3.2 m), with a breather vent built into the vault (ca. 2.8 m high), and an input port that was partially walled during cooking, leaving only a small opening which was used for the control of oxygenation. Pithoi were kept in an upright position inside the oven with the support of refractory bricks (ig. 4, 1). The pithos craftsmen of Crete used a type of furnace which was more complex than the one just described. After digging a hole in the ground, of considerable width and depth, a stone and brick structure was erected which consisted of two levels: an upper chamber used for the cooking of vessels, and a bipartite combustion chamber on the lower level with just one opening to feed the ire. Once the pithoi had been put into place in the upper chamber, stacked side-by-side in two rows with their bottoms separated by ireresistant bricks, a covering was placed on the furnace composed of metal sheets or large pithoi fragments (ig. 4, 2). Therefore, the production of pithoi was a highly specialized class of craftsmanship, so much so that in classical Greece, to dispel the presumption of the apprentice, it was said that one should »learn the art of ceramics beginning with the pithos«, i. e. from the type of vessel which was by far the most dificult to master.6 The Mediterranean Mirror 235 tyPology In the RB in Southern Italy, the most common form of dolium was ovoid in shape, hand-crafted in mineralrich clay, and decorated with wide bands which were left plain (ig. 5a). In multiple cases, the highest band was decorated with incised patterns: often zig zags or chevrons (ig. 5b), sometimes together with small circles (ig. 5c), which may, however, sometimes be used alone to ill the band. Crisscross patterns are also found (ig. 5d), as are bands with herringbone decoration (ig. 5e), the latter being quite common. In general, the data which has been gathered from the excavations of sector 7 at Broglio di Trebisacce seem to prove that the production of this peculiar type of dolia lasted well beyond the end of RB. The simple herringbone pattern especially seems to have had a very long life. In the FB, fabrication techniques reached their apogee: most dolia produced in this period were larger than their predecessors while having thinner walls. This was made possible by a perfected preparation of the raw material (very often ine-bodied clay, free of impurities) and by a more skilled use of the wheel. The shape of the vessels produced in this period was globular, and their decoration very often consisted of horizontal grooves (ig. 5f) imprinted on the vessel’s neck, shoulder, and bottom (ig. 1). This type of dolium is widespread in Apulia, Basilicata, and Ionian Calabria. Another decorative element typical of the FB is a horizontal band with three (ig. 5g), or, more rarely, two (ig. 5h) or four ribs. The most widespread and enduring of the dolia connected to this period are those decorated with two or three horizontal ropes with impressed motifs (ig. 5i-j). Finally, there is also a category of levigated clay dolia and large basins decorated with painted patterns taken from the repertoire of the Aenotrian Protogeometric style (ig. 5k). PRoDuCtIoN AND CIRCulAtIoN Thanks to the numerous archaeometric, petrographic, and chemical analyses carried out by Sara T. Levi and R. E. Jones, it was possible to identify the main production centers, the circuits of movement, and the technological characteristics of many pithoi.7 The vast majority of pithoi were produced in different centers (at least ten) in the Italian Peninsula, and it is certain that the vessels covered great distances in their circulation between one center and to another in the southern part of the peninsula. It is likely that the pithoi and dolia did not circulate empty, but full of the foodstuffs and other goods for which they were intended. It seems certain, however, that the production of the irst impasto-ware dolia of the RB was linked to artisans trained in the Aegean environment. This class of pottery is closely related to the Aegean world in many ways, not least of which is the high level of technical knowledge necessary for their production. In the same period, at more than one site and with a wealth of evidence at Broglio di Trebisacce, the presence of craftsmen of Mycenaean origins is also demonstrated by examples of so-called Italo-Mycenaean pottery, by grayware pottery (both wheel-thrown pottery types), and by band-decorated dolia. This phenomenon and all of its related dynamics have been studied at length by Marco Bettelli, to whose book we refer for all details relevant to this subject.8 The picture changes in the FB when, at least at Broglio, bucking the general trend, the only ceramic class to boast improvements in its production quality is that of the dolia, whose manufacturers now seem to have acquired a full mastery of their craft, possibly having been inluenced by Cypriot, rather than Minoan-Mycenaean, models. 236 A. Schiappelli · Along the Routes of Pithoi in the Late Bronze Age Fig. 5 Fragments of decorated dolia from Broglio di Trebisacce. Prevalent chronology of decoration patterns: a Recent Bronze Age. – b. d Late Bronze Age. – e Recent Bronze Age – First Iron Age. – f-h. k Final Bronze Age. – i. j Late Bronze Age. – (Photos from the Excavation Archives of Broglio di Trebisacce, by permission of »Sapienza«, University of Rome). The Mediterranean Mirror 237 238 A. Schiappelli · Along the Routes of Pithoi in the Late Bronze Age Fig. 6 a Late Bronze Age distribution map of pithoi and dolia decorated with incised wide bands. The Mediterranean Mirror 239 Fig. 6 b Late Bronze Age distribution map of pithoi and dolia decorated with incised wide bands, ropes with impressions, and with grooved bands. – (Maps A. Schiappelli). Some oPeN queStIoNS One of the main problems which remains open is: what kind of relationship existed between the artisans of the Aegean and the village communities of Southern Italy? In this regard we can pose several hypotheses, all very dificult, if not impossible, to prove. Here we limit ourselves to the least complicated: It’s now certain that skilled artisans (producers of ine ceramics and pithoi) traveled with Mycenaean navigators in the Bronze Age, bringing with them their wares, which included banded pithoi. Local communities appreciated the utility and the quality of these large vessels, as well as the beauty of their sets of ine ceramics, and began to request them. After that, what happened? I believe that, for simplicity’s sake, the irst two hypotheses to make are the following: 1. Aegean artisans, perhaps along with their compatriots, settled for a certain period of time in the villages that they encountered, thereby founding a »new school« of ceramic production: these schools produced vessels of Aegean form, but using local raw materials. 2. These artisans remained only for the time necessary to transmit new techniques and new models to local potters before returning to their port of origin. In this case, the transmission of technical knowhow could be considered an exchange of goods. In addition, at least with regards to the dolia, I ind a third hypothesis compelling: 3. During the Late Bronze Age, the Aegean pithoi-makers traveled to Italy periodically, with the sole purpose of producing dolia commissioned by local communities. They always used local raw materials and traveled between villages with their equipment. If this were the case, it would be the same model adopted by the itinerant modern pithoi-makers of Crete who were followed for months in the early 1960s by scholars Hampe and Winter.9 Changing perspectives, one must also consider the possibility that »Italian« potters mastered the art of the pithos directly in Greece, acquiring technical knowledge in the Aegean area that would then have been applied, developed, and spread once back in Italy. In fact, the low of contacts between Southern Italy and Greece in the Late Bronze Age was not unidirectional: scholars have now ascertained the presence of Italian travelers, mostly mercenary warriors and artisans, in more than one center of the Greek mainland and the Aegean islands. The second question which remains open is: where did the pithoi-makers come from? Clearly, it is very dificult to give a deinite answer. In any case, using the decorated bands which have thus far been uncovered as a distinctive feature, it is possible to indicate at least some of the trade routes used by ships carrying pithoi (ig. 6a-b). Pithoi fragments imported with certainty from Cyprus and Crete have been found at Cannatello (Agrigento) in Sicily and Nuraghe Antigori (Cagliari) in Sardinia, in contexts dating to the RB and FB. In addition, pending a more careful study, it may be possible to add to this list the imports from Cyprus to Frattesina (Fratta Polesine, in the Po Valley) of some pithoi with bands decorated with igures in relief. StoRehouSeS At the beginning of the FB, structures made purposely for the storage of large dolia, illed with large quantities of foodstuffs, appear on the acropolis of Broglio di Trebisacce (ig. 7a-b). The existence in the same period of similar storerooms is proven or suspected in various other sites throughout Southern Italy. The socioeconomic implications of this type of centralized storage in the FB are of great interest. The storerooms in question were too large to provide for the needs of a single household (the dolia found in storehouse 1 240 A. Schiappelli · Along the Routes of Pithoi in the Late Bronze Age Fig. 7 Parallel between Bronze Age Calabrian and Cretan storerooms: a Broglio di Trebisacce (Calabria), storeroom of dolia 1; Final Bronze Age, plan of the structure, with fragments of dolia in situ. – b Broglio di Trebisacce (Calabria), storeroom of dolia 1; reconstruction drawn by F. Sforza (after Levi / Schiappelli 2004, 108 ig. 14). – c Monastiraki (Crete), storeroom with pithoi in the protopalatial complex; 18th century BC (after Schiappelli 2006, 396 ig. 4). The Mediterranean Mirror 241 at Broglio have a total holding capacity of 5000 l). It therefore seems reasonable to postulate a centralization and redistribution of food resources exercised in village communities by socially prominent groups. It is also possible that redistribution of resources to villagers, who contributed to accumulate supplies in village storerooms, was exercised in forms other than food, such as military protection, the availability of other material goods, or access to the abovementioned group of élites. The use of storerooms is another aspect in which links with the Aegean and larger Mediterranean world are apparent (ig. 7c). It is very likely that the Mycenaean modus vivendi was imported to Italy from the irst moment that Aegean travelers arrived on Italian shores. The Mycenaean presence must have left a lasting impression on indigenous communities, which soon worked to organize local production of ine ceramic classes (the so-called gray ceramics and Italo-Mycenaean pottery), most likely headed by potters of Aegean origin. The emerging social classes were those most affected by the fascination with the exotic style of clothing, accessories, weapons, and habits originating from the Aegean world. The growing socio-economic differences between this emerging élite and the lower social classes may have accelerated in part thanks to the exogenous impulse created by the Mycenaean presence. If the appearance of gray ceramics and the decorated dolia of the Late Bronze Age can be considered an immediate effect of Mycenaean inluence in the Italian peninsula, the appearance of storerooms could be considered a more delayed effect. The gathering of large amounts of resources in speciic environments implies a stage of social stratiication which, in Southern Italy, could only have been reached after a slow absorption of the Aegean model and the consolidation of local élites. It therefore seems legitimate to ask: is it possible that the adoption of the Minoan, Mycenaean and Cypriot system of the centralized storeroom – albeit delayed and practiced on a smaller scale – was a consequence of those contacts with Eastern traders which had been in place since the RB? The hypothesis is as compelling as it is dificult to prove. The relative delay of the appearance of food stores in Southern Italy with respect to the Aegean world could be due to a slower development of stratiication within the community. Only in the Final Bronze Age does this stratiication seem to have reached a level of maturity suficient to enable the adoption of a system of resource management as complex as that of the central storeroom. Furthermore, the emergence of these storehouses may indicate the transition from individual to social survival strategies, bringing with it a parallel increase in specialization of labor. In 1998, a study in the ield of artiicial life used precisely these two models of resource exploitation (i. e., individual versus social survival strategies) as its subject via a simulation of neural networks. It was concluded that the central warehouse strategy, in which work is divided among the members of a village, is the better solution for the survival of the group insofar as it is the strategy most conducive to the overcoming of environmental dificulties over time.10 Notes 1) In this paper, as in the majority of Italian archeological literature, the term RB or Recent Bronze Age refers to the period between the Middle and the Final Bronze Age, while LB or Late Bronze Age refers to the arc of time which includes both the Recent and the Final Bronze Age. 2) This paper is an extract from the PhD thesis of the author, entitled »I dolii a cordoni e fasce del tardo bronzo e del primo ferro nell’Italia centro-meridionale. Aspetti tipologici, cronologici, funzionali e implicazioni socio-economiche di una classe d’ispirazione egeo-cipriota« (»Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age rope- and band-decorated dolia in Central and Southern Italy. Typological, chronological, and functional aspects and 242 socio-economic implications of a class of pottery of Cypro-Aegean inspiration«), Sapienza Università di Roma, 2003. 3) Occupied from the Middle Bronze Age to the Early Iron, the settlement is positioned atop a steep-sided plateau, between two streams, at a short distance from the sea. The results of excavations carried out at the site have demonstrated the existence of deep cultural contacts with the Aegean area which lead to the development of a complex local community. Discovered in 1978 by Renato Peroni and Andrea Cardarelli, the site was headed by Peroni until 2007, and is currently headed by Alessandro Vanzetti (Sapienza Università di Roma), who had co-headed the site with Peroni since 1990. Excavations have A. Schiappelli · Along the Routes of Pithoi in the Late Bronze Age been carried out regularly at the site every year since 1979, with the only interruption occurring between 1986 and 1989. To date, Broglio di Trebisacce remains one of the best-known protohistorical contexts in Southern Italy. 4) Levi et al. 1999, 175-211. 5) Hampe / Winter 1962. 6) Guglielmino 1999, 480. 7) Levi 1999. 8) Bettelli 2002. 9) Hampe / Winter 1962. 10) Cecconi / Parisi 1998. Bibliography Bettelli 2002: M. Bettelli, Italia meridionale e mondo miceneo (Firenze 2002). Cecconi / Parisi 1998: F. Cecconi / D. Parisi, Individual versus social survival strategies. Journal of Artiicial Societies and Social Simulation vol. 1, 2 (1998). Christakis 2005: K. S. Christakis, Cretan Bronze Age Pithoi. Traditions and Trends in the Production and Consumption of Storage Containers in Bronze Age Crete. Prehistory Monographs 18 (Philadelphia / PA 2005). Guglielmino 1999: R. Guglielmino, I dolii cordonati di Roca Vecchia (LE) e il problema della loro derivazione egea. In: V. La Rosa / D. Palermo / L. Vagnetti (eds), ἐπὶ πόντον πλαζόμενοι. Simposio italiano di studi egei dedicato a Luigi Bernabò Brea e Giovanni Pugliese Carratelli, Roma, 18-20 febbraio 1998 (Roma 1999) 475-486. Hampe / Winter 1962: R. Hampe / A. Winter, Bei Töpfern und Töpferinnen in Kreta, Messenien und Zypern (Mainz 1962). Levi et al. 1999: S. T. Levi / S. Bianco / M.A. Castagna / D. Gatti / R. E. Jones / L. Lazzarini / E. Le Pera / L. Odoguardi / R. Peroni / A. Schiappelli / M. Sonnino / l. Vagnetti / A. Vanzetti, Produzione e circolazione della ceramica nella Sibaritide protostorica. I – Impasto e dolii (Firenze 1999). Levi / Schiappelli 2004: S. T. Levi / A. Schiappelli, I pithoi di ispirazione egea del tardo Bronzo nell’Italia meridionale: tecnologia, contenuto, immagazzinamento e circolazione. In: E. C. de Sena / H. Dessales (eds), Archaeological Methods and Approaches: Industry and Commerce in Ancient Italy. British Archaeological Reports International Series 1262 (Oxford 2004) 96-108. Phelps / Lolos / Vichos 1999: W. Phelps / Y. Lolos / Y. Vichos (eds), The Point Iria Wreck: Interconnections in the Mediterranean ca. 1200 BC. Proceedings of the International Conference, Islands of Spetses, 19 september 1998 (Athens 1999). Schiappelli 2006: A. Schiappelli, Dolii e magazzini tra tardo Bronzo e primo Ferro: una panoramica tra Italia meridionale e mondo egeo-mediterraneo. In: Studi di Protostoria in onore di Renato Peroni (Firenze 2006) 393-398. The Mediterranean Mirror 243