Cynthia W. Shelmerdine

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Cynthia Wright Shelmerdine is an American classicist and archaeologist, known for her researches into Mycenaean culture and history. She is Robert M. Armstrong Centennial professor emerita at the University of Texas, Austin.

Contents

Education and career

Cynthia Shelmerdine grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she attended Shady Hill School. [1] She obtained a bachelor's degree in Greek from Bryn Mawr College in 1970 followed by a B.A. (1972) in Classics from the University of Cambridge. She received a doctorate in classical philology from Harvard University in 1977. Her dissertation, guided by Emily Vermeule, was titled Late Helladic IIIA2-IIIB Pottery from Nichoria and the Bronze Age History of Messenia. [2]

From 1977 through to her retirement in 2008, she was a member of the Classics faculty at the University of Texas at Austin. Since 2008, she has been Robert M. Armstrong Centennial professor emerita at the same institution. In 1988 she was the Gertrude Smith Professor at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens directing the Summer Session. In 2011, she was a Peter Warren Visiting Professor at Bristol University. [3]

Research

Shelmerdine has been praised for her integration of archaeological, philological, epigraphic and anthropological data in Mycenaean studies. Her foremost contributions have been to Late Helladic pottery, and the textual and epigraphical study of Linear B. [4] [5]

Between 1972 and 1975, she participated in the excavations at Nichoria and was responsible for its Late Helladic pottery. She was also a co-director at the Pylos Regional Archaeological Project from 1991 to 1996. [3]

Pylos

Shelmerdine's The Perfume Industry of Mycenaean Pylos (1985) investigated industrial production in Mycenae, [4] establishing Linear B tablets relating to the manufacture of fragrances as an essential source of information on the Mycenaean Bronze Age. She was able to ascertain the sites of production as well as the instruments and containers used. Her analysis included the Zakro palace's room XLVII and the rooms 32 and 38 of the Pylos palace. [6] The fragrances there were made mainly from olive oil, were considered luxury items, and produced under palatial control in a centralised fashion (unlike bronze work, which was decentralised). [7] Every stage of the production process was documented by scribes; indeed, different products appeared to have their own specialist scribes writing the relevant tablets. [8] Shelmerdine documented the ingredients used in several perfumes; these included henna, coriander, myrrh, honey, and "po-ni-ki-jo". [9]

Shelmerdine considered the influence of Mycenaean perfumery on later Greek myth, especially Homeric myths. Mycenaean perfumed oils were exported to Saqqara for use among the Egyptian nobility, but later on took on the role of "ambrosial" clothing for the gods in Homeric hymns. [10]

In the same book, Shelmerdine also documented the earliest known "drugs" in Greek history. [11]

Iklaina

Shelmerdine worked on the excavations at Iklaina, a secondary site within the Pylos region, as a pottery specialist. Iklaina is surmised to be an independent entity that was subsumed by the Pylian state. Shelmerdine investigated changes in cooking vessels in the period before and after this incorporation. Looking at tripods, griddles and spit supports, she showed that Iklaina's inhabitants underwent some changes in their cooking habits: they decreased their use of tripods, the diversity of cooking pots decreased, becoming more standardised after Iklaina lost its autonomy. She suggested that cooking of meats by private individuals was replaced by banquets organised by palatial elites who arranged the provision of meat. [12] [13]

It had previously been thought that only palatial centres of the Mycenaean culture held records. In 2010, her reading of fired tablets containing writing in Linear B at this location was a surprise. The mechanisms of Mycenaean administration had to be reinterpreted in light of this finding. [14] The clay tablet dated to between 1490 and 1390 BCE, and had not originally been meant to be preserved. Thrown in a rubbish pile, a fire hardened it, thereby preserving it. There was writing on one side, including a number and some indecipherable characters, as well as the names of various men with numbers on the other side. [15] Shelmerdine proposed that this was a personnel list. [16]

It is surmised that Iklaina had a well-developed bureaucracy with scribes, and was probably an administrative centre secondary to the capital towns. [15] Moreover, it raised the question of the extent of literacy in Mycenaean society, as well as how widespread was record-keeping at the lower echelons of Mycenaean bureaucracy. [16]

The finding of other Linear B tablets at Iklaina, detailing the administration of textile production, also tends to weaken the thesis that Mycenaean administration was centralised. As palatial centres show little evidence of textile production, Shelmerdine suggested that the chain of textile manufacture was under a more or less distributed control. Some producers may have had no interaction at all with the palatial centres, while others might have been fully dependent. [17]

Selected works

Articles

Books

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linear B</span> Syllabic script used for writing Mycenaean Greek

Linear B is a syllabic script that was used for writing in Mycenaean Greek, the earliest attested form of the Greek language. The script predates the Greek alphabet by several centuries, the earliest known examples dating to around 1400 BC. It is adapted from the earlier Linear A, an undeciphered script potentially used for writing the Minoan language, as is the later Cypriot syllabary, which also recorded Greek. Linear B, found mainly in the palace archives at Knossos, Kydonia, Pylos, Thebes and Mycenae, disappeared with the fall of Mycenaean civilization during the Late Bronze Age collapse. The succeeding period, known as the Greek Dark Ages, provides no evidence of the use of writing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mycenae</span> Archaeological site in Greece

Mycenae is an archaeological site near Mykines in Argolis, north-eastern Peloponnese, Greece. It is located about 120 kilometres south-west of Athens; 11 kilometres north of Argos; and 48 kilometres south of Corinth. The site is 19 kilometres inland from the Saronic Gulf and built upon a hill rising 900 feet above sea level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minoan civilization</span> Bronze Age civilization on Crete and other Aegean Islands

The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture which was centered on the island of Crete. Known for its monumental architecture and its energetic art, it is often regarded as the first civilization in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mycenaean Greece</span> Late Bronze Age Greek civilization

Mycenaean Greece was the last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece, spanning the period from approximately 1750 to 1050 BC. It represents the first advanced and distinctively Greek civilization in mainland Greece with its palatial states, urban organization, works of art, and writing system. The Mycenaeans were mainland Greek peoples who were likely stimulated by their contact with insular Minoan Crete and other Mediterranean cultures to develop a more sophisticated sociopolitical culture of their own. The most prominent site was Mycenae, after which the culture of this era is named. Other centers of power that emerged included Pylos, Tiryns, and Midea in the Peloponnese, Orchomenos, Thebes, and Athens in Central Greece, and Iolcos in Thessaly. Mycenaean settlements also appeared in Epirus, Macedonia, on islands in the Aegean Sea, on the south-west coast of Asia Minor, and on Cyprus, while Mycenaean-influenced settlements appeared in the Levant and Italy.

A palace economy or redistribution economy is a system of economic organization in which a substantial share of the wealth flows into the control of a centralized administration, the palace, and out from there to the general population. In turn the population may be allowed its own sources of income but relies heavily on the wealth distributed by the palace. It was traditionally justified on the principle that the palace was most capable of distributing wealth efficiently for the benefit of society. The temple economy is a similar concept.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aigeira</span> Place in Greece

Aigeira is a town and a former municipality in northeastern Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it has been a municipal unit of the Aigialeia municipality, with an area of 103.646 km2. The municipal unit stretches from the Gulf of Corinth, where the town of Aigeira is located, to the mountains in the south. The town of Aigeira is 26 km (16 mi) southeast of Aigio, 55 km (34 mi) northwest of Corinth and 55 km (34 mi) east of Patras.

<i>Anax</i>

Anax is an ancient Greek word for "tribal chief, lord (military) leader". It is one of the two Greek titles traditionally translated as "king", the other being basileus, and is inherited from Mycenaean Greece. It is notably used in Homeric Greek, e.g. for Agamemnon. The feminine form is anassa, "queen".

Iklaina is a historic village in the municipal unit of Pylos, Messenia, Greece. The settlement, which is situated in low hills approximately 10 km (6.2 mi) northeast of Pylos, stands upon the remains of a Late Bronze Age city. An archaeological site has been surveyed and excavated there by the Athens Archaeological Society and the University of Missouri–St. Louis under the direction of Michael Cosmopoulos. Finds include an early Mycenaean palace, giant terrace walls, murals, an advanced drainage system, and a clay tablet dating from between 1450 and 1350 B.C. that features an early example of writing known as Linear B script. Other cultural periods represented are the Late Classical and Byzantine periods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helladic chronology</span> Dating system used in archaeology and art history

Helladic chronology is a relative dating system used in archaeology and art history. It complements the Minoan chronology scheme devised by Sir Arthur Evans for the categorisation of Bronze Age artefacts from the Minoan civilization within a historical framework. Whereas Minoan chronology is specific to Crete, the cultural and geographical scope of Helladic chronology is confined to mainland Greece during the same timespan. Similarly, a Cycladic chronology system is used for artifacts found in the Aegean islands. Archaeological evidence has shown that, broadly, civilisation developed concurrently across the whole region and so the three schemes complement each other chronologically. They are grouped together as "Aegean" in terms such as Aegean art and, rather more controversially, Aegean civilization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mabel Lang</span> American archaeologist and classical scholar (1917–2010)

Mabel Louise Lang was an American archaeologist and scholar of Classical Greek and Mycenaean culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nichoria</span>

Nichoria is a site in Messenia, on a ridgetop near modern Rizomylos, at the northwestern corner of the Messenian Gulf. From the Middle to Late Bronze Age it cultivated olive and terebinth for export. During the Helladic period it was part of the Mycenaean civilisation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mycenaean chamber tomb</span> Type of chamber tomb built in Mycenaean Greece.

A Mycenaean chamber tomb is the type of chamber tomb that was built in Mycenaean Greece. Mycenaean chamber tombs originated in Messenia at the end of the Middle Helladic period, and were built and used throughout the Late Bronze Age across the Aegean area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minoan chronology</span> Measure of the phases of the Minoan civilization

Minoan chronology is a measure of the phases of the Minoan civilization. Two systems of relative chronology are used for the Minoans. The first, based on pottery styles, divides Minoan history into three major periods: Early Minoan (EM), Middle Minoan (MM) and Late Minoan (LM). These periods can be divided using Roman numerals, which can be further divided using using capital letters. An alternative system, proposed by Greek archaeologist Nikolaos Platon, divides Minoan history into four periods termed Prepalatial, Protopalatial, Neopalatial, and Postpalatial. Though intended as a replacement for Evans's system, the two are generally used alongside one another.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palace of Nestor</span> Mycenaean archaeological site in Greece

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eritha</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military of Mycenaean Greece</span> Overview of military in Mycenaean Greece

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">PY Ta 641</span> Linear B tablet made c. 1180 BCE

PY Ta 641, sometimes known as the Tripod Tablet, is a Mycenaean clay tablet inscribed in Linear B, currently displayed in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens. Discovered in the so-called 'Archives Complex' of the Palace of Nestor at Pylos in Messenia in June 1952 by the American archaeologist Carl Blegen, it has been described as "probably the most famous tablet of Linear B".

References

  1. ↑ "Unearthing the Mycenaeans" (PDF). The Artifact. 12 (2): 4. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-03-01. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
  2. ↑ D. Nakassis; J. Gulizio, eds. (2014). "Bibliography of Cynthia W. Shelmerdine". KE-RA-ME-JA: Studies Presented to Cynthia W. Shelmerdine. INSTAP. p. xv. ISBN   978-1-62303-357-6.
  3. 1 2 Susan Shelmerdine (2014). "Biography of Cynthia W. Shelmerdine". In D. Nakassis; J. Gulizio; S.A. James (eds.). KE-RA-ME-JA: Studies Presented to Cynthia W. Shelmerdine. INSTAP. p. xiii. ISBN   978-1-62303-357-6.
  4. 1 2 Vassilis Petrakis (3 December 2015). "Review of: Dimitri Nakassis, Joann Gulizio, Sarah A. James (ed.), KE-RA-ME-JA: Studies presented to Cynthia W. Shelmerdine". Bryn Mawr Classical Review.
  5. ↑ D. Nakassis; J. Gulizio; S.A. James, eds. (2014). "Preface". KE-RA-ME-JA: Studies Presented to Cynthia W. Shelmerdine. INSTAP. p. xii. ISBN   978-1-62303-357-6.
  6. ↑ Robert Laffineur (1987). "Cynthia Wright Shelmerdine, The Perfume Industry of Mycenaean Pylos". L'Antiquité Classique. 56. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 June 2022.
  7. ↑ Serge Svizzero; Clem Tisdell (2015). "The Role of Palatial Economic Organization in Creating Wealth in Minoan and Mycenaean States" (PDF). Working Paper (74). University of Queensland: 13, 15. ISSN   1444-8890.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. ↑ Andrea Vianello. "What light do Linear B texts shed on the production and consumption of craft goods in Mycenaean Greece?". Andrea Vianello – Archaeologist. Archived from the original on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  9. ↑ Catherine Cartwright-Jones. The History of Henna Hair Dye (PDF). Tap Dancing Lizard. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  10. ↑ Jane B. Carter; Sarah P. Morris (1998). "Introduction". In Jane B. Carter; Sarah P. Morris (eds.). The Ages of Homer: A Tribute to Emily Townsend Vermeule. University of Texas. p. 104. ISBN   978-0-292-71208-9.
  11. ↑ Rebecca Greene (2013). Rebecca Greene (ed.). "Introduction". History of Medicine. Routledge. 4 (2/3): 7. ISBN   978-1-135-81891-3.
  12. ↑ Debra Trusty; Julie Hruby (2017). "Approaches to Bronze Age Greek cooking vessels". In Julie Hruby; Debra Trusty (eds.). From Cooking Vessels to Cultural Practices in the Late Bronze Age Aegean. Oxbow Books. ISBN   978-1-78570-633-2.
  13. ↑ Joann Gulizio; Cynthia W. Shelmerdine (2017). "Mycenaean cooking vessels from Iklaina". In Julie Hruby; Debra Trusty (eds.). From Cooking Vessels to Cultural Practices in the Late Bronze Age Aegean. Oxbow Books. ISBN   978-1-78570-633-2.
  14. ↑ Tim Green (2 June 2011). "Got it in writing: A surprising Bronze Age discovery". UT News.
  15. 1 2 John Noble Wilford (4 April 2011). "Greek Tablet May Shed Light on Early Bureaucratic Practices". The New York Times.
  16. 1 2 Amanda Summer (2012). "The Birth of Bureaucracy: Searching for the origins of the Mycenaean state" (PDF). Archaeology (July/August).
  17. ↑ Brendan Burke; Anne P. Chapin (2015). "Bronze Age Aegean Cloth Production:A Cottage Industry No More". In Maria Shaw; Anne P. Chapin (eds.). Woven Threads: Patterned Textiles of the Aegean Bronze Age. Oxbow Books. p. 37. ISBN   978-1-78570-061-3.
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