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Mortuary Ritual and Society in Bronze Age Cyprus

Keswani,

During the course of the Bronze Age, major changes can be seen in the mortuary record of Cyprus. This study draws on the rich source of mortuary evidence available on the islands and seeks to collate and use this data to elicit information on the social, economic and political transformations that were also taking place. Having acknowledged the problems inherent in dealing with funerary remains, in particular methodological issues of studying and intrepreting the evidence, Keswani presents a chronological examination of mortuary data from the early, middle and late Bronze Age. What she reveals is that funerals and their associated ritual were important venues for ambitious individuals to display their status, wealth, economic success, ancestral affiliations and so forth. Proposing a link between increased competition and increased expenditure in the funerary domain during the Bronze Age on the one hand, and the intensification of the copper industry and overseas exchange on the other, Keswani demonstrates the basis upon which the emerging elites of the late Bronze Age established their power base. 257p, tbs, 18 b/w figs (Monographs in Mediterranean Archaeology, Equinox 2004, Pb 2006)

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