Dickinson O. The Aegean from Bronze Age to Iron Age

New York: Routledge, 2006. — 320 p.Following Oliver Dickinson’s successful The Aegean Bronze Age, The Aegean from Bronze Age to Iron Age is an up-to-date synthesis of the period between the collapse of the Bronze Age civilisation in the thirteenth and twelfth centuries bc, and the great advances towards Greek civilisation in the eighth century BC.Breaking away from outmoded theories which give undue credit to Athens for Greek development, Dickinson offers a fresh examination of the latest material and archaeological eidence and forms the compelling argument that many characteristics of Ancient Greece developed in the Dark Ages.
In accessible thematic chapters, this highly informative text considers the structure and economy of the early Iron Age communities, their crafts, burial customs, external contact, trade and religion, with a separate chapter on the Postpalatial period, and comments on the relevance of Homer, revealing: the reasons for the Bronze Age collapse, bringing about the Dark Ages the processes that enabled Greece to emerge from the Dark Ages the degree of continuity from the Dark Ages to later times.Including chapter bibliographies, distribution maps and new illustrations, this book will prove to be essential reading for students and specialists alike, as well as an illuminating read for the interested general reader. This is an authoritative survey of the period from a leader in the field.Dr. Oliver Dickinson recently retired as Reader Emeritus from the Department of Classics and Ancient History, University of Durham, where he taught from 1976–2005. He is a specialist in Greek prehistory.