People, Ships, & the Sea: Seafaring in the Eastern Mediterranean Late Bronze Age to the Classical

The Department of Classics at Stanford University invites you to attend a public dissertation defense by Anja Krieger.

People, Ships, and the Sea: Seafaring in the Eastern Mediterranean from the Late Bronze Age to the Classical Period, c. 13th Century BC to c. 4th Century BC

This dissertation contributes to ongoing debates about the mechanisms of seafaring in the first Millennium BC in the Eastern Mediterranean. A lot of research dealing with the maritime world is centered on abstract notions like trade, networks, connectivity, or the movement of objects. On the one hand such abstractions are useful and necessary, and - in the case of modalities of exchange and trade - a certain level of abstraction is even required. On the other hand, as a consequence of this attention on abstractions, the people sailing the exact same ships - that form an important component of the maritime archaeological record - are often neglected. This thesis offers two alternative approaches to using and interpreting the rich data derived from shipwrecks. One is a different take on analyzing connectivity and movement within the Eastern Mediterranean. I propose tracing the movement of a ship through a catchment analysis based on all items found on board: cargoes, shipboard assemblages and personal items. The other is a deeper engagement with the sea, built upon archaeological material derived from shipwrecks, textual sources, iconography and experimental archaeology and within the broader theoretical framework of phenomenology and seascape studies, culminating in an archaeological narrative about life on board.

https://stanford.zoom.us/j/96208070557?pwd=R2RDaGNvT2JwQm9IeXczaU5laDdCUT09

Password: 662977