The Upper Interface twenty years later. The NE Aegean islands and the West Anatolian coast during the Late Bronze Age
Abstract
In 1998 Penelope Mountjoy has introduced the concept of an East Aegean-West Anatolian Interface to indicate the area comprising the east Aegean islands and the west Anatolian coast developing during the LBA its own mixed culture. Mountjoy divided the interface into an upper and a lower one, with the Lower interface indicating the region that mainly benefited of both Minoan and Mycenaean influence.
The area of the NE Aegean, on the contrary, is a special liminal zone that has experienced a surprisingly intensive mixing of cultures, which we start fully understanding only now. Being originally connected with the NW Anatolian milieu in the EBA and early MBA, this area underwent a progressive interaction with the southern Aegean 'world', principally the Cretan one, during the later MBA and early LBA, as well as with the Greek Mainland throughout the whole of the LBA.
However, unlike the Lower Interface, the Upper Interface still remains a loosely defined area in terms of cultural identities, being characterised by sparser occurrence of Mycenaean finds and a lesser degree of acculturation. In any case, subsequent research on local cultures showed, that Mountjoy actually managed to grasp a much broader phenomenon by identifying a cultural border somewhere around the Mykale mountain range.
Being aware of the fact that the culture of east Aegean islands and west Anatolian coast is a mixture of local traditions, south Aegean (Minoan and Mycenaean), eastern Mediterranean and central Anatolian influences, in this presentation we would like to target especially the 'Mycenaean' side of the development (time span corresponding to LH IIIA and IIIB). Based on the evidence known, we assume that the impact from the south Aegean was the strongest, manifesting not only in the acquiring of foreign things, but also in transformations in the area of the burial rites, local production and other spheres of life.
Thus, the Upper Interface, in terms of cultural identities, derives mainly from decoding phenomena comprised of multiple processes embracing the adoption, incorporation as well as rejection of non-local cultures. Following this path, the presentation will comment upon the mixing of various traditions and impacts resulting in creation of local styles and forms, not only in case of the pottery but also in case of other kinds of objects, such as metal weapons and tools (e.g., Sandars Siana-type), or Mycenaeanising seals.
By discussing these four elements - pottery, jewellery, metals, and seals - the authors seek to demonstrate that they represent an intentional selection of a Mycenaean material culture package that has been incorporated by the local population. However, compared to the preceding Minoanisation process, the Mycenaeanisation one in the NE Aegean did not produce the same result with the creation of a new full-blown hybrid culture, but rather a juxtaposition between the Mycenaean culture and local elements.
The reasons standing behind these different ways of reaction to south Aegean influences and different trajectories in appropriating of foreign elements along the Northern and Central Interface will be one of the topics addressed in the discussion.