Mochlos IIC: Period IV. The Mycenaean Settlement and Cemetery: The Human Remains and Other Finds [Hardback]

Excavations carried out at the Late Minoan III settlement and cemetery at Mochlos in eastern Crete yielded domestic artifacts, human remains, grave goods, and ecofactual material from 31 tombs and 11 houses. These objects are catalogued, discussed, and illustrated. Radiocarbon dates for the site are also presented. The cemetery remains mirror the settlement remains, and the conclusions discuss how the two sites reflect each other. Rarely in Crete are a settlement and its cemetery both preserved, and it is extremely fortunate to be able to document both in a series of scientific excavation reports (Mochlos IIA-IIC).

Introduction (Jeffrey S. Soles)
1. The Human Remains (Sevi Triantaphyllou)
2. Burial Containers: Sarcophagi, Pithoi, and Jars (Jeffrey S. Soles, George Rethemiotakis and Ann M. Nicgorski)
3. Jewelry and Other Small Finds (Jeffrey S. Soles, Ann M. Nicgorski, Katerina Kopaka, Mary Ellen Soles, Tristan Carter and David S. Reese)
4. The Stone Implements (Tristan Carter)
5. Fauna and Flora David S. Reese, Dimitra Mylona, Joanna Bending and Maria Ntinou)
6. The Mochlos Region in the LM III Period, Thomas M. Brogan and R. Angus K. Smith)
Appendix A. Radiocarbon Dates (Jeffrey S. Soles)
Appendix B. Minoan Stone Vase Fragments in LM III Contexts (Tristan Carter)
Appendix C. The Painted Plaster from House A (Polly Westlake)
Appendix D. Pumice Counts from LM III Contexts (Kelly Caldwell and Sarah L. Smith)
Bibliography
Conc. A
Conc. B
Index
Figures
Plates

""[I]t...sets the reader on an attractive journey to discover the multifaceted traits of everyday life at Mochlos, as reflected by the rich material culture recovered since 1989 by the Greek-American excavation directed by Jeffrey S. Soles and Costis Davaras... [C]hapter [1] deserves special attention, in consideration of the relatively few studies at the population level on Crete. Health and oral status research opens an important window indeed on gender and social distinction in LM III Mochlos, showing how both men and women, though physically different, were involved in various outdoor activities, and further demonstrating that patterns of stress also reveal the participation of adolescents in occupational activities. Carter [devotes] Chapter 4...to the stone implements... This large and valuable study is more than a straightforward presentation of material: it offers a thorough typological analysis of the ground stone tools, as well as chipped stones, followed by a discussion by context and concluded with a synthesis of the LM III consumption of obsidian at Mochlos and Crete. [I] believe that this indispensable publication...certainly adds more food for thought and opens new paths for further exploration.""
Luca Girella, UniNettuno University of Rome
Bryn Mawr Classical Review (2012.10.46.)

""... an excellent and comprehensive presentation of work at Mochlos examining Minoan life and death there at the time just before the fall of Knossos and for almost a century afterward"."
Gerald Cadogan
American Journal of Archaeology (April 2013)