Iron and Steel…
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Tag Archives: bronze age
Writing history
I have been reading The Sea Peoples, another book about the widespread destruction at the end of the Bronze Age in the eastern Mediterranean. From page 173:
There is a dangerous temptation to link destruction levels together in the interests of tidiness and economy, but history is seldom tidy or notably economical, however it may be with philosophy. This is one of the reasons why history should not be written by philosophers or sociologists.
From Bronze to Iron
The Bronze Age in the Eastern Mediterranean region ended suddenly and violently about 1200 B.C. The Hittite Empire and the Mycenaean Greek Civilization were destroyed. Most of the cities in Syria and Palestine were destroyed. Egypt was attacked and permanently weakened. The region entered a dark age that lasted for centuries.
Home alone
On Sunday morning mia_mcdavid and our son James left here for a road trip. They drove to Michigan, to see Mia’s mother and other relatives. I have been alone here, except for the cat, who apparently regards me primarily as her servant. So what have I been doing? Continue reading
Bronze Age Resources
Life in Late Bronze Age Greece
Notes on Mycenaeans, by Rodney Castleden
I have been interested in the Greek Bronze Age ever since I read Joseph Alsop’s From the Silent Earth back in High School (1964-1968). Mycenaeans is a very readable and recent survey (2005) and I was quite interested in seeing what is new. Quick summary: Some more sites have been excavated, there have been more digs at known sites, and more Linear B tablets have been
found and translated. So there are Lots of new details, but no revolutionary changes in what archeologists think and the big questions remain unanswered.
Minoans Among Ancient Canaanites
Via Explorator
A Royal Funeral
Sleuthing around the Great Death-Pit
In Ur, royal families ordered the violent deaths of dozens of young courtiers and servants so that they might continue to serve dead kings and queens in the afterlife.
So enough complaining about the Royal Wedding. Long before there was a Kate Middleton, long before there was a Princess Diana coyly courting the cameras and a Bertie Windsor wrestling with a stammer, there were royal families whose sense of entitlement truly knew no bounds.
Oldest known written record in Europe discovered
A Linear B tablet from between 1450 and 1350 B.C.
When Prehistory became History
The Dawn of Writing. An exhibit at the Oriental Institute.
I have been interested in this for a very long time. When I was in High School (1964-1968) I spent many hours at the Oriental Institute.
From Hilbert Space to Dilbert Space, and beyond 