Description: Situated between the worlds of the Near East, Europe and Africa, the archaeology and culture of Cyprus are central to an understanding of the ancient Mediterranean world. This book treats the archaeology of Cyprus from the first-known human presence during the Late Epipalaeolithic (ca. 11,000 BC) through the end of the Bronze Age (ca. 1000 BC). A. Bernard Knapp examines the archaeological and documentary records of prehistoric Cyprus within their regional context, paying special attention to the Levant and the Aegean. The appendix (compiled by Sturt W. Manning) analyses all published radiocarbon dates from the island, providing for the first time a comprehensive chronological framework for all of Cypriot prehistory. Focusing on key themes such as identity, insularity and connectivity, and society, community and polity throughout, this book provides a remarkably up-to-date and integrated synthesis of human activity on the Mediterranean's third-largest island.
Brief description: A. Bernard Knapp is Emeritus Professor of Mediterranean Archaeology in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Glasgow and Honorary Research Fellow at the Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute. He co-edits the Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology with John F. Cherry and Peter van Dommelen and is the general editor of the series Monographs in Mediterranean Archaeology. He is the author and editor of several books including, most recently, Material Connections in the Ancient Mediterranean: Mobility, Materiality, and Mediterranean Identities (co-edited with Peter van Dommelen) and Prehistoric and Protohistoric Cyprus: Identity, Insularity, and Connectivity.
Review Quotes: "... a very accessible text for students of Cypriot archaeology at all levels of study. The detail of coverage likewise ensures that this will be an invaluable reference tool for scholars."
Landscape History