Late Helladic IIIC Pottery at Mycenae: Production Trends after the Collapse of Palatial Administration

Abstract

This dissertation examines trends in the production of pottery at Mycenae in the Late Helladic (LH) IIIC period (ca. 1200–1125 B.C.E) through the analysis of published ceramic material from the site. It includes my own study of select unpublished material from recent excavations on the Citadel (Building Kappa) and in the Lower Town. The LH IIIC period, considered the beginning of the Dark Ages in Greece, immediately followed the end of the Mycenaean palatial system, a phenomenon referred to as the Collapse. The Collapse is characterized by the complete destruction of many sites, possible loss of population, and a decrease in the number of occupied areas, and the subsequent LH IIIC period is associated with socioeconomic, demographic, and artistic decline. There are, however, notable indications of continued activity at many Greek mainland sites, a notable sign being the proliferation of elaborate vase painting. Through an examination of how certain pottery shapes and decorative styles were manufactured and utilized at LH IIIC Mycenae, key trends and developments can be discerned, and the changing preferences of the market for which these objects were produced can be understood. I conclude that these developments can be characterized as intentional responses of potters to the crisis that followed the demise of the palatial administration. Potters in LH IIIC were able to create and exploit a sustainable market, one that both reflected and influenced shifting political and social realities of communities now operating outside of a palace-dominated system; their advances would influence pottery production in Greece for centuries to come.