Late Minoan Representational Soft Stone Seals
Chronology, Contexts, Craft, and Cognition VOLUME 1 TEXT
This volume presents the first systematic study of a substantial yet under-researched corpus of Aegean glyptic, offering a rigorous analysis of over 1000 seals that were produced and used across Late Bronze Age Crete and the Aegean. It provides a detailed appraisal of the materials, tools, and techniques involved in soft stone seal production, presenting a model chaîne opératoire. A novel typological framework synthesizes seals from secure archaeological contexts with diagnostic criteria, providing a reliable method for dating the majority of unprovenanced seals from the Neopalatial through the Final Palatial periods.
Through the analysis of provenance and distribution patterns, alongside the relationship between soft stone seals, administrative practices, and other seal types, the objects are situated within their social settings and cultural frameworks. This volume concludes with a discussion of how these small, portable objects functioned as social proxies, leveraging the semiotic properties of their materials and representational imagery to negotiate group identity and navigate the evolving hierarchies of Late Minoan society. Complete with a comprehensive catalog of 1027 seals (vol. 2), this volume serves as an essential reference for the study of Minoan glyptic, situated within Late Minoan material culture and social history.
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- Publisher
- Presses universitaires de Louvain
- Author
- Diana Wolf,
- Collection
- AEGIS | n° 32
- Language
- English
- BISAC Subject Heading
- SOC003000 SOCIAL SCIENCE / Archaeology
- BIC subject category (UK)
- HD Archaeology > HDDK Classical Greek & Roman archaeology
- Onix Audience Codes
- 06 Professional and scholarly
- Title First Published
- 01 September 2026
- Subject Scheme Identifier Code
- : Archéologie
Paperback
- Publication Date
- 01 September 2026
- ISBN-13
- 9782390617082
- Extent
- Main content page count : 360
- Code
- 110508
- Dimensions
- 21 x 29.7 cm
- Weight
- 918 grams
- Packaging Type
- No outer packaging
- List Price
- 70.00 €
- ONIX XML
- Version 2.1, Version 3
- Publication Date
- 01 September 2026
- ISBN-13
- 9782390617099
- Extent
- Main content page count : 360
- Code
- 110508PDF
- ONIX XML
- Version 2.1, Version 3
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Contents
Volume 1
1. Introduction 1
1.1 Structure of the Work 1
1.2 Definitions 2
1.3 Aegean Glyptic: Research History and State of the Art 4
1.4 Sources of Evidence 9
1.5 Seal Chronology: State of Glyptic Research 10
1.6 Research Questions 10
1.7 Methodology 11
1.8 Seals not Included 12
2. Materials, Technology, Seal Shape and Morphology 13
2.1 Materials in Late Minoan Soft Stone Seal Production 14
2.2 Identification of the Materials 17
2.3 Cretan Soft Stone Sources 20
2.4 Technology - Crafting a Seal 22
2.5 Preservation 37
3. Provenance 39
3.1 Secure Cretan Provenance 39
3.2 Secure Mainland Provenance 69
3.3 Secure Provenance Aegean Islands 73
3.4 Reported Provenance 74
3.5 On Findspots outside Crete, the Mainland, and the Aegean Islands 76
4. Chronology 78
4.1 Chronologically Indicative Contexts 79
4.2 Chronologically Indicative Patterns 84
4.3 Chronological Framework 86
5. Chronology of Late Minoan Representational Soft Stone Seal Imagery 92
5.1 Soft Stone Seal Imagery: An Overview 92
5.2 Methodology: Seal Images as a Reference Point 96
5.3 The Precursors 98
5.4 MM IIIB/LM IA–LM IB 100
5.5 LM II–IIIA 133
5.6 Undatable Seals 157
5.7 Concluding Remarks 175
5.8 Plates: Undatable Seals due to Poor Preservation 176
6. Iconographic and Style Groups in Late Minoan Representational Soft Stone Glyptic 180
6.1 Introduction 180
6.2 Iconographic Groups 180
6.3 Style Groups 199
6.4 Regional Patterns 232
6.5 In Search of the Workshops 243
6.6 Summary 259
6.7 Iconographic Groups Plates 261
7. Understanding the Social Role of LM Representational Soft Stone Seals 285
7.1 Seal Distribution from a Social Perspective 286
7.2 Representational Soft Stone Seals in the Light of Administrative Practices 296
7.3 Soft Stone Glyptic and its Relation to Late Bronze Age Glyptic 304
7.4 Seals as a Social Proxy 317
7.5 Appendix I: Material Diversity Score of the Neopalatial Chamber Tombs at Poros-Katsambas 328
7.6 Appendix II: Material Diversity Score of Final Palatial Burials Including Representational Soft Stone Seals 329
8. Conclusions 331