Greek Archaeology

Archaeology can be defined as the study of past cultures through their material remains. These remains include the fossils of humans, food remains, the ruins of buildings, and human artifacts; items such as tools, pottery, and jewelry. From their studies, archaeologists attempt to reconstruct past ways of life. In this class we discussed and learned about the evolution of human being culture living in Greece and the surrounding Aegean Islands through the Paleolithic Age up until the Late Bronze Age. We got to see how archaeologists learn about the past through the study of material remains and how the different remains help us to understand the Greek civilization of the time period and how it has developed with the changing of the material
Pithos have been found throughout Ancient Greece in every village. Pithos were over six feet tall. Archaeologists have determined that the Pithoi have stored various large amounts of dry food which means that the villages in Ancient Greece population was starting to increase rather than in the Neolithic Ages and the Mesolithic Ages. It also tells us that communities are staying where they are and not moving from site to site because they are storing food to be used when food is not in abundance during the year. Pots are important to Greek Archaeology because they are a traditional means of establishing chronology. The designs and art depictions on pottery help us to understand what culture was like in ancient times. Some pottery shows us images either depicting nature or just abstract shapes. The typical pottery style gave the sense of movement and the freedom of decoration. The artistic traits of the pottery have been implied that Greek culture of the time was the freedom and mobility of society. People could create individualized pots and not obliged to create certain types of art. Other forms of artwork on pottery depicted competitions or mythological stories. Some pottery has depicted sports from the Olympic Games. The art work helps archaeologists understand how pottery acted as a way of communication among the people since there has not be much evidence of a publicly written
Architecture helps archaeologists reconstruct the houses the people lived in and what material they built the houses from. It gives us insight of how the people of the different civilizations lived and whether or not some were higher up on the social chain than others depending on the size of the house. Architecture and the sites of the houses help show how human cultures transformed from the Paleolithic Era to the Bronze Age. When human beings were first getting settling in Greece, they were nomadic people, meaning they did not live in one location permanently. During the Paleolithic and Mesolithic Periods, early humans lived in caves most notably the Franchthi Cave. This cave has been home to humans living through the Paleolithic through the Neolithic periods. The Franchthi cave is a true cavern, not a shallow rock shelter like the others during the Paleolithic era. The Franchthi cave is located on the side of a mountain in the Peloponnesus, in southern Greece a good distance away from the coast line. During the Paleolithic era occupation was small and periodic meaning that at the time the Franchthi cave was used for seasonal activities. The cave shows that early humans, did not create their own forms of housing, but instead used naturally forms of shelter to accommodate their living styles. Then when the period shifts to the late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, we start to see humans forming permanent villages. Sites at