On the basis of surface surveys, there was a substantial rise of 60.5 percenT in the number of sites between the Protopalatial period and the Neopalatial period in the Upper Pediada (cf. Figures 8.4 And 8.5).5 Not only did the number of sites increase, but several (i. e., 44, 82, and 139) also became quite large in the Neopalatial period. The expansion oF the city of Galatas following a period of abandonment in Middle Minoan II was the most significant, as it expanded to an area of around 25 ha in Middle Minoan III. The dramatic increase in the number of new sites and the substantial growth of others suggests that the local population increased dramatically at the beginning of the Neopalatial period, far beyond what could be accounted for by normal growth.6 For the most part, the Protopalatial settlement pattern was much like that of earlier periods (e. g., Neolithic and Early Minoan) in that sites remained fairly small (less than 1 ha) and were situationally dispersed from one another on hilltops, perhaps reflecting a concern for defense (Figure 8.4). The situation
Figure 8.4 Plan detailing all Protopalatial sites identified by the Galatas Survey Project (drawn by author).
In the Neopalatial period, however, was quite different as a number of larger sites (greater than 3 ha) - including 44 (Galatas), 82, and 139 - came to be spread out evenly across the landscape at distances of approximately 4 km away from their next-nearest neighbor (Figure 8.5). Such a settlement situation suggests that these larger settlements possessed agricultural catchments of about 2 km in radius (Figure 8.6). This distance of 2 km may perhaps be explained as the distance in which urban-based farmers began to experience diminished returns on their agricultural production owing to excessive travel times between home and field (cf. Marchetti 1994; Blanton 2004:212). A number of smaller sites - which probably represent small numbers of households or, perhaps, agricultural villages - were spread throughout every class of land within each one of these agricultural catchments. These smaller sites may be understood as the agricultural producers for the larger sites wIthin each catchment.
Several sites with seemingly specializeD functions also appeared in the Neopalatial period (Buell 2014b). Site 17, which is located on
Figure 8.5 Plan detailing all Neopalatial sites identified by the Galatas Survey Project (drawn by author). Sites mentioned in text are circled.
The periphery of Galatas's local catchment, is particularly important because a large, monumental multiroomed structure was found there. A mason's mark in the shape of a cross (+) was found on one of the building's ashlar blocks. Similar marks also appear on the monumental buildings at both Knossos and Galatas. The building's monumental size and its fine building materials, along with the presence of the mason's mark, suggest that it served some special purpose and that it was constructed at the behest of a central authority, presumably one at Galatas. Because the building's material assemblage consisted primarily of large storage vessels, its purpose may have been connected to storage. Taken at face value, this new Neopalatial situation - one that sees a number of smaller agricultural sites situated on all types of land and a number of seemingly special-purpose sites such as Site 17 - is indicative of a process of increased sociospatial stratification of the landscape.
In order to feeD the new, predominantly urban population and, perhaps, to meeT the demands for tribute imposed by the new
Figure 8.6 Plan of Neopalatial Galatas and its territory with agricultural catchments indicated (drawn by author). Sites mentioned in text are circled.
Political regime centered at Galatas, agricultural practices became more intensive in the Neopalatial period. As mentioned previously, Neopalatial sites in the survey zone were located in more diverse topographic positions (i. e., all classes of land) and, often, away from water, suggesting a desire to exploit all potential land. Furthermore, the land within close proximity to most Neopalatial sites was intensively utilized, for these sites possessed distinctive "haloes" of material remains; perhaps representing the residual artifacts that were spread on fields and gardens along with manure (cf. Bintliff and Howard 1999; Bintliff and Snodgrass 1988; Wilkinson 1982, 1988, 1989). The fact that the Minoans used manuring in their fields and gardens is known from the site of Pseira where fecaL biomarkers mixed wIth sherds were found in the excavation of a Neopalatial terrace (Bull et al. 1999, 2001). The use of manuring is indicative of a highly organized agricultural strategy, one that was aimed at achieving the maximum potential outpuT from fields and gardens because the use of manure encourages general productivity; it renews nutrients,
Improves root penetration, and it helps to both aerate the soil and keep it moist. One final correlate to this evidence for agricultural intensification is that the number of groundstone tools associated with agricultural production (e. g., rubbers, pounders, and querns) increased dramatically as more than 50 percent of all Neopalatial sites produced at least one of these objects.
THE rise of a
Minoan city
Other than cereals, olive and grapevine cultivation became important in the Upper Pediada during the Neopalatial period as many sites were situated in more marginal locations on the thin soils of hills; sites that were suitable for these types of agricultural endeavors (Foxhall 2007:112). The expansion of olive and vine cultivation is further confirmed by the substantial increase in the number of sites that produced storage vessels in the Neopalatial period (i. e., 75 percent of Neopalatial sites compared with only 19 percent of Protopalatial sites). Ethnographic work testifies to the significant proportion (greater than 60 percent) of storage pithoi being dedicated to olive oil and wine (Christakis 1999:6). The tending of vines and, perhaps to a lesser extent, olive trees, is a time-consuming and expensive endeavor, which requires some degree of specialized knowledge for successful harvests (cf. Hamilakis 1999; Stallsmith 2004:41). Because these practices may have been more suitable for people who had the ability to take risks and experiment, the palace itself may have sponsored certain individuals involved in these operations. The facT that wine, in particular, was a commodity that the palatial elite desired is confirmed by the later Linear B documents from Knossos, which do not record wine as having been a ration for lower-level personnel, but rather as a commodity used in banqueting and feasting within the palaces and some associated sanctuaries (Palmer 1989).
The intensified agricultural regime may be related to one part of Galatas's more general political economy. In short, these new practices may have been a product of the newly founded palace's demand for tribute. Movement of local products upward as tribute involved the functioning of three distinct types of storage: central, regional, and household (Smyth 1989). The end point in this mobilization, central storage, is represented by the storage magazines within the palace at Galatas (Christakis 1999:6). The presence of these architecturally recognized storage areas points to a formalized economic system of storage (Adams 2006:21). Regional storage may have been required because of the palace's limited storage capacity and the long distances in which bulky agricultural goods would have to
Travel before reaching it. Regional storage may have been conducted at Site 17, which, as described earlier, was positioned on the edge of Galatas's agricultural catchment and possessed suitable evidence for an official character and storage function. If Site 17 served as a storage facility, it would have expanded Galatas's local catchment significantly.
Once collected, surpluses - whether stored at central or regional locations - may have been used to support palace dependents (e. g., bureaucrats, priests, craftsmen, architects, laborers, etc.) and to fund various state enterprises, one of which was almost certainly feasting as evidenced by the deposits indicative of this activity found at Galatas (cf. Earle 1978:184-185; Brumiel and Earle 1987; Dietler and Hayden 2001:13; Hayden 2001:29-30). The direct control of storage equates to some control of the economy and, as a result, the livelihoods of individuals within this area (cf. D'Altroy and Earle 1985:192). There is thus an implicit ideological aspect in both centralized and regional storage because direction of the surplus and the mechanism of this control guaranteed the independence and viability oF the palace itself.
The presence of household storage in the Upper Pediada is reflected in the rise in the absolute number of storage vessels found on all sites. It may be that household storage was increased in order to meeT the demands for tribute imposed on the household by the newly developed polity. These developments, which include increased agricultural production and more complex storage strategies, may be related to the development of a system of staple finance, wherein obligatory payments (i. e., tribute) are sent to the state in the form of basic goods (cf. D'Altroy and Earle 1985:188; Earle 1997; Earle anD D'Altroy 1982:266).
It is noteworthy that amphibolite-stone drill guides, which are usually associated with the production of stone vases, were found at five sites: 22, 44 (Galatas Kephala), 48, 55, and 118 (cf. Bevan 2007:58, figure 4.13; Carter 2004:71-72, plate 21, nos. IC.389-393). As suggested by the close spatial proximity between stone vessel workshops and the palace itself, the stone-vase industry at both Site 44 (Galatas) and Site 22, which is located on a hilltop immediately to the south of Galatas, may have operated under direct palatial control, whereas the other three sites (e. g., 48, 55, and 118) seem to have been outside of its control - these were located far from the city of Galatas at distances upward of 6 km. Because stone vases were prestige objects, given
The labor and specialized knowledge involved in their production, they, like monumental architecture, served as a form of materialized ideology, whicH helped to structure and enforce unequal social relationships (Bevan 2007:i88-i92).7 Given the ideological value attached to these products, and the fact that some stone-vase workshops on Crete tended to be associated with elite buildings, it is reasonable to suggest that the other three centers of production in our survey area were attached to and working for local elites.8 If this is the case, then stone vessels may have circulated within a system of prestige exchange between the elites centered on the palace and those living in other areas oF the survey zone.
Stone vessels may therefore have formed part of a wealth-finance system in operation within the Upper Pediada (D'Altroy and Earle 1985). This is a system wherein a central polity employs high-value goods to fund state operations (Nakassis 2010:128). Craft specialists - those who did not have the opportunity or time to produce their own subsistence products because they worked at the palace or within its immediate locale (i. e., Site 22) - may have been supported by the staple goods that were collected through tribute and later stored within the palace (cf. Brumiel and Earle 1987). As such, some staple products, because they were used to fund dependent craft workers, were converted directly into wealth by the palace (cf. D'Altroy and Earle 1985:188; Halstead 1999, 2000). By directing the flow of these objects, the palace could use specialized products as a form of political currency because high-value goods may have been given to local elites in exchange for various obligations (Earle 1994:445). In other words, they may have been used to create reciprocal debt and to foster loyalty to the palace. These objects would have, in turn, been used by local elites as a means of displaying their connection to the palace, and thus legitimizing their own local social status (cf. Knapp 1997:49).
One activity that seems to have operated outside of palatial involvement is ceramic production, which was identified by the presence of kiln fragments and wasters at a number of sites (i. e., 28, 82, 143, and 147) within the survey zone. The Neopalatial sites possessing evidence for this activity were long-lived and all were situated on natural trade routes along the Karteros River, which connected the northern and southern coasts. Furthermore, the local potting tradition is long-standing, stretching from the Neolithic period to the present (e. g., Voyatzoglou 1984). With this stated, it is important
To note that there was an abrupt change in local production in the Neopalatial period as local potters began to make vessels imitative of those made at Knossos (cf. Rethemiotakis 2002:57). Because these vessels were found at both urban and rural sites, it may be that they formed some part of the local tribute system.
World History
