CLA230H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Cyclopean Masonry, Animal Husbandry, Lion Gate
Document Summary
Linear b: tablets are fired clay not fired intentionally (accidental fires, only still exist where fire occurred. Exclusively associated with the palaces (administrative documents) Palaces similar form: throne room = center (hearth flanked by four columns, same order of rooms building around throne rooms. Minoan palaces focused on group activities. Much of structure meant to impress cyclopean masonry. Animal sacrifice (same way as later greeks) Probably not quasi-divine: identified with religion but did not act like pharaoh. Three types of signs: syllabograms (syllables, logograms (word, idea, thing, numerals (decimal system) Purely administrative and economic (no law, letters, religious texts, private texts, etc. ) Temporary documents: taxation, land-holding (measure land in terms of productive capacity rather than size), labour recruitment, payment of rations, animal husbandry (records of large amounts of animals at pylos and. Knossos), craft production (numbers of teams (i. e. spinning-women), sons of captive women, ethnic demographics (brought based on need for workers)), palace inventories, religious festivals and offerings.
