Milka 2006 MH burials SOJA

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From cemeteries to society

The study of the Middle Helladic (000-1500 BC) burials from the Argolid,

southern Greece

Eleni MilkaIntroduction1

The aim of this article is to reconstruct and

interpret the process of social and culturaltransformation of the Middle Helladic (MH)

societies of the Argolid during the course

of the MH and the transition to the Late

Helladic (LH) period, through the study of

the burial assemblages. In order to achieve

these aims, questions of wider relevance are

posited, such as the relation between mor-

tuary patterning and social structure, and

the interrelation between kin and status.

In this article I shall concentrate large-

ly on one aspect of my study, the analysisof different cemetery types. My main con-

cern will be the different meaning of burials

placed inside the settlement (intramural)

versus burials placed outside the settlement

(extramural). The primary focus will be the

location of the cemeteries in relation to the

location of the settlements. The variation

in grave types, burial offerings, and the

gender and age composition of the burial

assemblages will be used in order to eluci-

date the differences between the different

cemetery types.

To achieve this goal I shall address two

questions. First, why is there differentiation

in the spatial organization and location of

the cemeteries? In other words, what is the

signicance of different cemetery types?

And, second, what do these differences im-

ply with respect to the social structure of the

MH communities? In order to answer these

questions, the burial data from all the sites

of the Argolid in Greece will be considered.

First I shall present the basic characteristicsof the period and the region under study.

I shall then focus on the cemeteries, and,

1 This paper is closely related to my h.. thesisis closely related to my h.. thesismy h.. thesis

entitled Mortuary differentiation and social

structure in the Middle Helladic Argolid, 000-

1500 BC. The h.. thesis is carried out under

a ve-year project nanced by the Netherlands

Organisation for Scientic Research (NWO) and

the University of Groningen (RUG) and directed

by Dr. Soa Voutsaki. The title of this project is

Shifting Identities. Social Change and Cultural

Interaction in the MH Argolid, 000-1500BC.

This wider project includes an examination of

settlement data and the imagery of the period

alongside the analysis of the funerary data (see

Voutsaki, in press; http://www.MHArgolid.nl).

nally, I shall analyze the data from two

sites, Lerna and Asine.

Basic characteristics of the period

under study

The MH period, i.e. the Middle Bronze Age

in the Greek mainland, is divided into three

phases: MH I, MH II and MH III and is fol-

lowed by the LH or Mycenaean period (see

table 1).

In terms of cultural continuity how-

ever, the two rst phases share a lot of

common elements: relative stability, social

regression, poverty and material austerity

as well as cultural introvertedness. MH vil-

lages usually consist of freestanding houses

of rectangular or apsidal plan, and have no

organized lay-out. Unfortunately, publica-

tions of the architectural remains of the

region are often incomplete.

In the mortuary sphere, inhumation is

the only mode of disposal of the dead. Most

of the time, the body was placed in a con-

tracted position in a simple pit grave, or in

a cist grave. Cist graves are tombs formed

with vertically or horizontally placed slabsor mud-bricks. More seldom, the dead were

placed inside storage vessels. These vessels

were then buried, on their side, inside pits.

The vast majority of the burials are single

and without grave offerings. When grave

offerings are present, they consist mostly

of ceramic vessels, bone or stone tools and

rarely of personal ornaments (see g. 1).

No obvious differentiation between age

groups and the two sexes can be observed

in the grave type used, nor in the graveofferings accompanying the dead.

I do this for two reasons: rst, Lerna and Asine

are the best documented MH sites in the area

and, second, I have already studied the burials

from Lerna. Asine is included for comparative

purposes, as the site contains both intramural

and extramural burials, while in Lerna only intra-

mural burials are found. Dickinson 1, , , , 1; Voutsaki inDickinson 1, , , , 1; Voutsaki in

press. ickinson 1977, -, 8.

MH I 2100-1900 B.C.

MH II 1900-1700 B.C.

MH III 1700-1600 B.C.

LH I 1600-1500 B.C.

Table 1MH-LH I phases,

according to the LowChronology. Based on

ickinson 1977.


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However, at the end of the period, i.e. MH

III and the beginning of LH I, important

changes occur, especially in the mortuary

sphere: the introduction of more labour

intensive tombs, the adoption of a more

complex burial ritual (e.g. multiple and

secondary burials, removal and breaking

of offerings, ritual dining above the grave),

the clearer gender divisions and a striking

increase in the wealth deposited with the

dead.5 These changes are more dramati-

cally manifested in the large and very deep

tombs of Mycenae, the so-called Shaft

Graves (see g. 2). At the same time, an

inux of foreign imports can be observed,

which brings about shifts in the site hierar-

chy, as Mycenae and other emerging centres

display more of these new features.

5 As one of the aims of the wider project, part of

which is my h.. research, is to understand the

causes of the changes leading to the establish-

ment of a hierarchical society in Mycenaean times,

the LH I phase is also included in my analysis. aro 1-; Mylonas 1; Dickinson 1,aro 1-; Mylonas 1; Dickinson 1,

-5; Voutsaki 1, 1-.

The MH cemeteries in the Argolid

The Argive plain and the smaller valleys

around the site of Asine, which are the focus

of my study, are situated in the north-east

Peloponnese, southern Greece (see g. ).

In the Argolid, the larger and best docu-

mented MH cemeteries are those at Lerna,

Argos and Asine. There are also two impor-

tant, but less well documented cemeteriesat Mycenae and Tiryns. Besides these, there

are some smaller cemeteries, for instance

Myloi, rosymna and Berbati.

These cemeteries fall into two different

categories and a third, or rather intermedi-

ate category:

A. intramural burials;

B. extramural burials;

C. burials that are situated upon the

ruins of abandoned houses.

A. Intramural burials

Intramural burials are very common in

all phases of the MH (see table ). The

graves were placed inside the inhabited

space, between the houses or sometimes

under the house oor. Although the majo-

rity of the burials belonged to children and

infants, all age categories and both sexes

are represented.

The most extended and well docu-

mented intramural cemeteries have been

found at Lerna (17 graves) and the LowerTown of Asine (111 graves).7 The dating of

the graves and their relation to the architec-

tural remains is often problematic, because

of the lack of offerings and the intense

building activity in antiquity. However, more

important is that these burials took place in

the realm of the living, where also everyday

activities took place.

At Lerna some graves are found closer

together, forming small groups which are

usually related with architectural remains,most probably houses. The fourteen burials

found in the site of Aspis in Argos are also

related to houses.8

In Asine, the co-existence of the in-

tramural cemetery with two extramural

cemeteries, of which one is a tumulus, is es-

pecially interesting. The same may be true

in Argos, where the intramural burials on

the top of Aspis co-exist with an extramural

cemetery of tumuli located in the foothills

below. I shall return to this point later.

7 Lerna: askey 15-5; Blackburn 1. Loweraskey 15-5; Blackburn 1. Lower

Town of Asine: rdin/Persson 1; Norduistrdin/Persson 1; Norduist

1; Norduist 1.8 Touchais 15-;Touchais 15-; idem 1; idem 1; idem

1; idem 1990.

Figure 1MH burial 1 from

Asine, Lower Town.After Norduist 1,g. .

Figure Shaft Grave N fromGrave Circle B inMycenae. AfterMylonas 1, g. 1.


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Under the well-known Mycenaean Citadel

in Tiryns, several MH layers have also been

found. In the Upper Citadel, architectural

remains (most likely houses) co-exist with

cist graves, but the actual relation between

the two is usually not clear. In any case,

once again some graves (twelve) are situ-

ated inside the settlement area.9

At Mycenae there is only a fragmen-tary picture of the cemetery and the settle-

ment plan due to the later occupation of the

site. Therefore it is difcult to distinguish

between intramural and extramural burials.

This is why M. Alden, in her recent publica-

tion of the cemetery, avoids characterising

the burials as intramural or extramural.

Without doubt, however, some graves were

dug inside or next to houses when the

later were still in use.10 At Berbati the MH

levels seem to be substantial. MH houses arefound side-by-side with at least tombs.

No more information is available as the site

is still unpublished.11

B. Extramural burials

The extramural cemeteries assume various

forms. They may form extended cemeteries

or take the form of a tumulus.1 The separa-

tion of the two spheres, the realm of the

living and the realm of the dead, is in any

case more apparent. Although there seems

to be a tendency towards an increased useof extramural cemeteries at the end of the

period, extramural graves existed from the

beginning of the MH period. Once more,

no age or sex category is excluded, but in

contrast to the intramural burials, adults

usually predominate.

Graves in extended cemeteries some-

times form clusters. In Mycenae, indications

for such clusters exist from some areas of

the rehistoric Cemetery, where no archi-

tectural MH remains have been found.1

In addition, it is suggested that some MH

walls were built to enclose the cemetery.

Although this remains hypothetical for the

earlier phases of the MH period, towards the

end of the period a stone enclosure, Grave

9 Mller 1, -11; Dietz 11, 2.ietz 1991, 89.10 Alden 000, 17, 19.Alden 000, 17, 19.11 Sund 15, 125; Dietz 11, 21.Sund 15, 125; Dietz 11, 21.1 In the literature the term at (e.g. avanagh/

Mee 1998, 5) is usually used to distinguish

between tumulus and non-tumulus cemeteries.

However, the word at is also used to describe

the landscape morphology, which was not at in

all the extramural cemeteries. I believe that the

term extended better describes the non-tumulus

cemeteries, in the same way as extended settle-

ments are contrasted to tells.1 Dietz 11, 2; Alden 2, 1.Dietz 11, 2; Alden 2, 1.

Circle B, was erected inside the rehis-

toric emetery of Mycenae; thereby clearly

separating a group of graves. A second

enclosure, Grave Circle A (six graves) was

constructed even later, during LH I, while

both Grave Circle B and the cemetery out-side it were still in use (see g. ).1

1 aro 1-; Mylonas 1; Alden 2, 1.

Figure Map of the study area.

Based on Pariente/Touchais 199, 10.

Figure Grave Circles A andB in Mycenae. AfterMylonas 1, g.1


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5

At rosymna, the existence of scattered

burial groups is well manifested. Here, more

than thirty extramural MH graves were dis-

covered between later LH tombs, while the

MH settlement has not yet been located. All

graves date to the last phase of MH III or

LH I.15

In the Barbouna cemetery in Asine,

separate grave groups consisting of 1graves dating to the MH III and LH I are also

attested.1 In the East Cemetery of Asine on

the other hand, a tumulus and possibly a

stone enclosure were constructed in the MH

II and was in use until LH I.17 This cemetery

type clearly separates a group of 1 burials

and has a more organized plan.

The picture of the extramural cemetery

in Argos is more complicated. Here, there is

only a partial picture of the MH cemetery,

because of the continuous occupation of thecity. If the observations of the excavator are

correct, there were seven tumuli, some of

which were in use simultaneously.18 Some

doubts about the existence and the extent

of these tumuli have, however, been ex-

pressed.19 In addition, rescue excavations

in various parts of the city have revealed

MH architectural remains and tombs, but

the relation of the two is not always clear.

Some of these graves may indeed be con-

sidered extramural (category B), as they

are earlier than the houses; some may have

been intramural (category A), while others

are situated upon the ruins of abandoned

houses (category C).

At the village of Myloi, approximately

00 m north of Lerna, a group of nine

extramural graves has been found.0 All

graves date again to MH III and LH I and

they might indicate the co-existence of

additional different cemetery types at the

site of Lerna.

C. Burials that are situated upon the

ruins of earlier houses

At many of the sites mentioned above,

some graves were not contemporary with

the houses, but were placed upon the ruins

of earlier houses. The most characteristic

example is the cemetery of the Barbouna

slope in Asine, where the pre-existing ex-

tramural cemetery expanded towards the

houses after the last of the houses were

15 Blegen 1; Dietz 11, 2.Blegen 1; Dietz 11, 2.1 Norduist 1, -11.Norduist 1, -11.17 ietz 1980,passim.18 rotonotariou-eilaki 1980,rotonotariou-eilaki 1980,passim.19 Morou 1, 1; Divari-Valakou 1, .Morou 1, 1; Divari-Valakou 1, .0 Dietz/Divari-Valakou 1.Dietz/Divari-Valakou 1.

abandoned.1 Also for the Lower Town of

Asine, G. Norduist reports graves that

postdate the houses in which they were dug.

In Lerna, this is more common during the

later phases of the site and might indicate a

gradual separation of the realm of the living

from the realm of the dead.

The existence of these graves indicates

that the present terminology, which distin-guishes only between intramural and extra-

mural burials, is insufcient to describe the

various locations which MH people chose in

order to bury their dead. If we accept that

the location of the grave is important for our

understanding of the MH society, a more

rened terminology becomes necessary.

However, in this paper I shall not analyze

this category of graves any further. These

graves will be treated here either as intra-

mural, when the settlement was probablystill occupied (e.g. Lerna and the Lower

Town of Asine), or as extramural, when all

houses in the area were abandoned (e.g.

Barbouna). Having this general picture in

mind, let me now return to the questions

raised earlier and discuss the signicance of

these cemeteries.

Discussion of the cemeteries

As shown above, different cemetery types

exist in the region under study. The basic

distinction, concerning the location of thecemeteries in relation to the settlements, is

between intramural and extramural graves.

However, the spatial organization of the

cemeteries varies. In the intramural ce-

meteries, the graves could be placed in the

open spaces between the houses or under

the house oor. The graves often form clus-

ters. The extramural cemeteries can take

the form of a tumulus or can be extended.

The graves in the extended cemeteries can

also form clusters.

1 Hgg/Hgg 1; Norduist, 1, 1.Hgg/Hgg 1; Norduist, 1, 1. ietz (1991, 75, 85) has suggested thatietz (1991, 75, 85) has suggested that

during MH III-LH I the site was exclusive used

as a burial ground. The graves were placed upon

the abandoned houses, like those in Barbouna.

J. Maran (1995, passim) observes the same

phenomenon in MH III-LH I sites from Thessaly

in the north to the Northeastern Peloponnese in

the south. Norduist 1, 1; avanagh/Mee 1, 2-

5. As I have not studied their context in detail yet

and the bibliographical information is not yet

sufcient.


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Location and spatial organization of the

cemeteries

Let us return to the rst uestion raised at

the beginning: why is there differentiation

in the cemetery spatial organization and

location? Before attempting to answer the

question, one has to examine whether the

different cemetery types were in use at the

same time, or whether there is a change

from one type of cemetery to the other.

It becomes instantly obvious that the

majority of extramural burials belong to

the end of the MH period (see table ). The

graves at the cemeteries of Barbouna in

Asine, rosymna and Myloi are not earlier

than MH III and the same is true for the

grave circles at Mycenae. However, some

burials were located outside the settlement

from the beginning of the period. Theseearly extramural graves belong to tumuli

cemeteries of Asine and Argos. At the tumu-

lus cemetery at Asine only one grave dates

to the early part of MH II,5 while in Argos

MH I-II graves belong to tumulus and

the possible tumulus .7 But even during

MH III, when extramural cemeteries were

widely in use, intramural burials were still

broadly practiced.

As we can see in gure , during MH I-

II intramural burials were the norm. Burying

individuals outside the settlement was ex-

ceptional. From MH III onwards, all different

cemetery types were in use simultaneously.

In most of the settlements, at least at some

5 The clay cist 71B is the oldest of the East

Cemetery, dating perhaps from the transitional

period EH/MH, Dietz 1, 5, . As this grave

pre-dates the construction of the tumulus and is

considerably earlier from the rest of the graves, it

is probably not related to the cemetery. rotonotariou-eilaki 1980. It should be stressedrotonotariou-eilaki 1980. It should be stressed

however that for the majority of the graves in the

tumuli of Argos we do not have a closer dating,

except that they belong to MH.7 ietz 1991, 7. The graves are excavated in theietz 1991, 7. The graves are excavated in the

hospital area.

point during their history, intramural and

extramural cemeteries co-existed.8

To summarize: there is a clear tendency for

more extramural burials towards the end of

the MH period. However, it still needs to be

explained why this change happened and

what the signicance is of different burial

grounds in one site.

Intramural cemeteries

Let me rst turn to the intramural cemete-

ries again. The basic feature of the intramu-

ral burials is the close relation of the graves

with houses. This is very well manifested

at Lerna, where the graves tend to form

clusters around free-standing houses9

(e.g. cluster G, around successive Houses

M and D, see g. 5). or the purposes of

this argument, it is less important whetherthe graves were contemporary or later than

the houses. Most important is that some

people buried their dead over a longer pe-

riod in a particular area in the settlement,

and always in association with a house. The

existence of grave clusters and their strong

connection with free-standing houses may

indicate the importance of kinship relations.

Other scholars have already suggested that

kin relations were of primary importance

during the MH period.0

Furthermore, most of the MH settle-

ments were used for a long time. Houses

were rebuilt several times, burials were

continuously placed around them and no

important changes are noticed until MH III.

Therefore, I would like to suggest that do-

mestic space in the MH period represented

8 For Berbati we do not have any information for

extramural burials. In Tiryns some graves found

in the rison Area may belong to an extramural

cemetery. In contrast, in rosymna the extramu-

ral cemetery was discovered by chance, but the

settlement has not yet been located. It is there-

fore possible that an extramural cemetery existed

also in Berbati and has not yet been found.9 For the early houses of MH Lerna see Zerner

1978.0 avanagh/Mee 1, ; Voutsaki 1, 1.

SiteIntramuralcemetery

Extramural tumu-

lus cemetery orGrave Circle

Extramural ex-tended cemetery

Asine MH I-LH I MH II-LH I MH III-LH I

Lerna and Myloi MH I-LH I - MH III-LH I

Argos and Aspis MH II-MH III MH I-LH I MH

Mycenae MH-LH I MH III-LH I MH-LH ITiryns MH - ?

Prosymna MH III-LH I

Berbati MH

Table

Chronologicaldistribution ofdifferent cemeteries.


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stability and permanence, where little space

for negotiation and change existed.

Extramural cemeteries

In the extramural cemeteries the buri-

als were more or less separated from the

living space. The relation between houses

and graves was more loose (e.g. the

Barbouna graves, which were built upon theruins of earlier houses) or, in most cases,

non-existent. On the other hand, the graves

placed in organised cemeteries were now

more visible, not only to the people living

in the associated settlement, but also to the

neighbouring communities. The construc-

tion of tumuli and grave circles is the best

indication that the extramural burials were

supposed to be seen.

Furthermore, the placing of graves

under or around tumuli, the construction

of grave enclosures and the existence of

grave clusters (see table ) may indicate

that kinship was once more the primary

organizational principle. These relations

could now be expressed in a more abstract

way, not directly related to the main point of

reference of the family, the house.

It could therefore be suggested that

the settlement context could no longer serve

the interests of some groups. That is pro-

bably why they chose an area outside the

settlement, a new arena, where they couldmore easily negotiate and probably change

their positions or relations. These new

arenas, i.e. particular spatial loci where spe-

cic activities were located, could be more

exible, or more open to novel practices

and ideological representations. 1

At the same time a new ideological

arena was created. The realm of the dead

was no longer exclusively related with the

realm of the living and with every day life.

The dead members of the kin group, the an-cestors, now had their own, separate space.

1 Chapman 1991, 15. E. rotonotariou-eilaki, has suggested the exis-

tence of three tumuli at Mycenae, two above the

grave circles and a third further north, but these

observation were based on the wrong interpre-

tation of the stratigraphy. rotonotariou-eilaki

1990.

I would therefore suggest that in this period

there is a change not only in the location

of the cemeteries, but also in the burial

ideology.

Some scholars have interpreted the

extramural cemeteries, and especially the

tumuli, as a symptom of the emergence of

local elites in an already stratied society.

However, such a scenario cannot explainthe existence of multiple tumuli at Argos as

early as MH I,5 nor the later rise in impor-

tance of sites, such as Mycenae and Tiryns,

where there are no tumuli.

Furthermore, the burial data do not

indicate any clear differences between

the intramural and extramural extended

cemeteries. The rst signs of a more clear

differentiation (e.g. differences in the age

composition, the grave types used and the

burial offerings) do not appear before lateMH II and MH III, and are observed prima-

rily in the tumuli cemeteries. Finally, the in-

terpretation of the extramural cemeteries as

exclusive places, where higher status people

were buried, overemphasizes the social di-

mension of the burials and neglects their

ideological and symbolical signicance.

Social structure

Having analysed the signicance of the

location and spatial organisation of the

cemeteries, let me now turn to the secondquestion and discuss what the different

cemetery types can tell us about the social

structure of the MH communities.

My aim however is not to reconstruct

MH social organization, as I do not believe

that this is possible on the basis of the

burial data alone. Recent discussions in

archaeological theory and mortuary studies

have emphasized that burials do not simply

reect the social reality. Burial patterning

may rather distort and misrepresent socialorganization through the lter of ideological

representations. Social structure is an

ideal model, a mental template, of the rela-

tive placing of individuals within the world.

It is thus different from the social organi-

zation, the real relations between people

in the every day life. Social structure is

created, maintained and subverted largely

through rituals, such as the funeral.7 My

Voutsaki 1, 5.Voutsaki 1, 5. Norduist 1, ; 22,Norduist 1, ; 22,passim; Maran 15,

2; avanagh/Mee 1, 5.5 Voutsaki 1, 1.Voutsaki 1, 1. e.g. Hodder 12, 1-1; Parker-Pearson

199.7 Leach 15, 15-1; Pader 12, 5; Morris 1,

9-.

Site Grave Tumuli Grave

Asine+

(Barbouna)

+

(East Cem.)

?

(East Cem.)

Argos ? + ?

Prosymna + - -

Mycenae + - 32 +

Myloi ? - -

Table Spatial organization

of the extramuralcemeteries.


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aim is therefore to detect general structural

principles, which differentiated the popula-

tion along a horizontal and/or vertical axes.

The differences between individu-

als or groups can become apparent in two

ways: rst, through a comparative analysis

between individual burials or burial clusters

(intra-cemetery analysis), and second,

through comparison between different

cemeteries (inter-cemetery analysis). HereI shall use two examples, the intramural

burial clusters from Lerna and the different

burial grounds from Asine. I shall briey

analyse the age and gender composition of

the clusters and the different burial grounds

and I shall compare the grave types and the

burial offerings found in them.

Lerna: intra-cemetery analysis

For the purpose of this paper I shall com-

pare the data from eight burial clusters

from Lerna. I have selected clusters that

are uite dense and are related to specic

houses (see g. 5).

As we can see in table , the age and

sex distribution is more or less the same in

almost all groups. Sub-adults (individuals


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9

to infants or young children; all of them

date to MH III/LH I or to LH I.

To sum up: in Lerna, groups of burials

existed, without any profound differences

between them. This may indicate that the

different family groups were differentiated

in a horizontal, rather than a vertical axis at

least until MH III through LH I.

Asine: inter-cemetery analysis

Let me now turn to Asine and compare the

data from different cemeteries. Two burial

grounds were in use from MH II onwards, the

intramural cemetery in the Lower Town and

the extramural tumulus (or East) cemetery

(see g. ). During MH II the vast majority

of the dead were buried inside the settle-

ment, while six individuals were buried in a

Of course we always have to be aware that theOf course we always have to be aware that the

lack of clear differentiation between the graves

does not necessary mean lack of differentiation

between the people or the groups. The differences

may not be expressed in the mortuary context, or

they may be expressed by means that leave no

archaeological traces.

very well organized burial ground (g. 1).

All the extramural graves were cists, while in

the intramural cemetery pits, cists and jars

are used, but pits clearly predominated.

rom MH II/MH III to LH I a third burial

ground was in use, the extramural cemetery

in the Barbouna slope (see g. ). During

this phase, once more, most of the dead

were buried inside the settlement, mainly inpits. A group continued burying their dead

in cists, but now individuals were also bu-

ried in large pithoi, in the tumulus cemetery.

Finally, in Barbouna both cists and pits were

used. In this cemetery also two (possibly

three) shaft graves were constructed during

LH I.

It is obvious that in Asine a differ-

entiation existed primaryly between the

intramural and the tumulus cemetery: the

tumulus cemetery had an organised planand contained only cists and large pithoi,

while inside the settlement pits clearly pre-

dominate and large pithoi with adult buri-

als are missing. But does the sex and age

composition of the different burial grounds

conrm this differentiation?

Table 7 shows that adults were mainly

buried in the tumulus cemetery, while the

graves in the Lower Town and in Barbouna

contained mostly sub-adult skeletons.5 On

the other hand, the sex composition of the

burial assemblages is more or less the same

in the three burial grounds.

While grave offerings were found in all

three cemeteries (see table 8), they were

more common in the extramural cemeteries.

In addition, the proportion of rich graves

is higher in the extramural cemeteries,

where they are also associated with more

elaborate grave types.7 These rich graves

in the Lower Town belong exclusively to

adults, in the tumulus cemetery and in

Barbouna also sub-adult burials had elabo-rate offerings. The earliest of these graves

in the tumulus date to the late MH II, the in-

tramural rich graves are earlier. In Barbouna

one rich burial dates to MH III, the other

two are shaft graves dating to LH I.

To summarize: the existence of dif-

ferent cemetery types from MH II onwards

may indicate that the kin groups started

ietz 1980,ietz 1980,passim; Norduist 1, 1-1. Norduist 1, 12-1.Norduist 1, 12-1.5 Angel 198.Angel 198. In Barbouna more than double the number of

males than females have been found, but the

sample is too small (six individuals) to have any

statistical value.7 Norduist 1, 11;Norduist 1, 11; idem 00, -5.

GroupNo. of

graves

No. of burials

with offerings

Single rich

burials

D 25 15 0

E 12 6 0

F 7 4 0

G 9 7 0

H 18 9 2

I 21 5 1K 14 8 2

L 22 5 2

Table Lerna, distribution ofburial offerings in eachcluster.

Figure Asine, plan showingdifferent burialgrounds. AfterNorduist 1, g. .


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to differentiate in a more pronounced way.

At the beginning of the period, only the

cemetery location and the spatial organiza-

tion differed. From the late MH II onwards,

differentiation becomes more apparent,

especially in the tumulus cemetery. Here,

the use of a separate burial ground is also

accompanied by different age composition

and grave complexity. Therefore, I wouldlike to propose that vertical differentiation

between kin groups became more pro-

nounced in MH III.

Conclusion

Let me recapitulate and address the main

uestions asked in this paper: what is the

signicance of different cemetery types,

and what do these differences imply con-

cerning the social structure of the MH

communities?

I have suggested that the basic fea-

tures of the intramural cemeteries are: the

close relation with houses, the emphasis on

kin relations and the location of the graves in

the domestic space, which represents stabi-

lity and permanence. I have also suggested

that the creation of extramural cemeteries

does not only have social importance, but

also ideological and symbolic signicance.

The decision to place some graves outside

the settlement creates new spatial loci, and

at the same time, indicates a shift in burialideology. The relation between houses and

graves now becomes looser or non-existent,

while the cemetery became more visible.

The construction of tumuli and enclosures

reinforced the visibility of the extramural

cemeteries.

I have argued, during the rst phases

of the MH period the burial pattern reveals

that the community was mostly divided

along horizontal lines and that kin relations

were paramount. Some kind of differentia-tion or, better, a subtle categorization be-

tween the kin groups must have existed,8

as is indicated by the early graves at the

tumuli of Asine and Argos, but also by the

slight differences between the grave clus-

ters in Lerna. From the late MH II onwards,

differentiation becomes more apparent,

8 Voutsaki 1, 1.

especially in the tumulus cemetery in Asine.

Here, the use of a separate burial ground

is also accompanied by different age com-

position and grave complexity. Therefore,

I would like to propose that vertical diffe-

rentiation between kin groups became more

pronounced in MH III.There is no question that a radical change

happened in MH III-LH I. The construction

of more elaborate extramural graves, the

greater emphasis on grave offerings and

the clearer age divisions indicate that some

groups dened their relationship to the rest

of the community in a vertical axis.

The cemetery type has therefore been

used as a tool to reconstruct the social

structure of the MH communities in the

Argolid and to understand the ideological

and symbolic signicance of the burials.

Figure 7Asine, plan of the

tumulus (East)cemetery. After ietz

11, g. .

Cemetery Adults Females Males Sub-adults

Lower Town 30-40 10 13 68

Tumulus 19 8 11 5

Barbouna 6 2 4 8

Table 7Asine, age and sex

composition of thedifferent cemeteries.

Cemetery No. of gravesNo. of burials

with offerings

Single rich

burials

Lower Town 111 24 (22%) 2 (2%)

Tumulus 20-21 7 (35%) 4 (20%)

Barbouna 16 7 (43%) 3 (19%)

Table 8Asine, distribution ofburial offerings in thedifferent cemeteries.


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Documents

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