Papers
Afficio Undergraduate Journal
Forging a Colonial Middle Ground: Evidence for Metalworking and Metal Artefacts at Pithekoussai
Runner Up, Upper Level Humanities
Author: Madison Kieffer
Introduction
Archaeological evidence from the early Euboean settlement of Pithekoussai (modern Ischia) in the Bay of Naples dates its foundation to the first half of the 8th century BCE (Buchner 1966, 4-6; Buchner 1971, 63; Ridgway 2004, 18-20,22,29-30; Hodos 1999, 61; Kelley 2012, 245). As the “oldest Greek settlement in the Western Mediterranean,” Pithekoussai has received considerable scholarly attention, and debate, regarding the function of the site as either an emporion (trading post) or apoikia (colony) and its significance within the wider context of Greek colonization (Hodos 1999, 61; Kelley 2012, 245-246; D’Agostino 2006, 218; D’Acunto 2020, 1291). While material cultural evidence indicates mixed occupation of the settlement, including both Greeks and Phoenicians, as Kelley (2012, 245) describes, the role of “native Italic populations [at Pithekoussai]… has [either] been overlooked or viewed as a fringe element” (Becker 1995, 275; Ridgway 2004, 16-18, 23; D’Agostino 2006, 222; D’Acunto 2020, 1291-1293, 1297). Evidence for metalworking of Italic ores at the site and the styles of metal artefacts discovered at Pithekoussai, including fibulae (clothing clasps) and Homeric-style cheese graters, and contemporary mainland settlements indicates a high level of interaction between Euboean settlers and local elites in the 8th and 7th centuries BCE (Ridgway 1997, 323-339; Hodos 1999 61-74; Kelley 2012, 245-256; D’Agostino 2006, 217-232). This paper addresses the importance of metalworking at Pithekoussai and the negotiation for metal resources on the mainland as a Middle Ground for intercultural contact and exchange between Italic populations and incoming Greeks during the earliest stage of Greek expansion in the West (Malkin 2002, 151-172; Kelley 2012, 245-246, 255-256).
Early Euboean Interest in the Western Mediterranean and Iron Age Italy
The earliest Greek contacts in Italy were the result of Bronze Age, Mycenaean trade networks (Kelley 2012, 245; D’Acunto 2020, 1288). The Euboeans, who were less impacted by the fall of the Mycenean civilization and the political restructuring of mainland Greece during the Dark Age, were among the first Greeks to reopen contacts along the Tyrrhenian coast in the late 9th century BCE (D’Agostino 2006, 201; D’Acunto 2020, 1290). The discovery of Euboean pottery at the Phoenician settlement of Tyre (modern Lebanon) from as early as the 10th century BCE and the foundation of a Euboean trading post at Al Mina (north of Tyre) in the late 9th or early 8th century BCE demonstrates the close relationship between Euboean and Phoenician traders during this period (Buchner 1966, 12; D’Agostino 2006, 201-203). D’Agostino (2006, 203) argues it was through their trading connections with the Near East that the Euboeans became familiar with the wealth of mineral resources in northern and central Italy. Although Mycenaean exchange for Italic ores – including copper – began as early as the Bronze Age, Euboean interest in metal deposits in the Tolfa mountains, northern Etruria (modern Tuscany), Populonia, and the island of Elba is considered the primary motivation for their presence in the region at the end of the 9th and early 8th century BCE (Ridgway 1997, 337; Hodos 1999, 73; Ridgway 2004, 17; D’Agostino 2006, 201-203,215; D’Acunto 2020, 1288-89).
Settlement along the Tyrrhenian coast and the Bay of Naples was structurally and culturally diverse during the Iron Age (D’Agostino 2006, 206; Amoroso 2016, 83-97). Major cultural groups include the Proto-Etruscans in Etruria and Northern Campania, the Latins (and Villanovans) in Latium Vetus, and the Fossa Tomb-people (Opicians/Ausonians) in Campania (D’Agostino 2006, 203-204; Amoroso 2006, 203-204; D’Acunto 2020, 1289-90). These groups are identified in the archaeological record based on burial tradition, with Proto-Etruscans practicing cremation and the Fossa Tomb-people practicing inhumation (D’Agostino 2006, 204; D’Acunto 2020, 1290). While settlements from this period display various levels of urbanization, regions with access to mineral resources were among the first to display evidence of “social stratification and wealth hoarding” (D’Agostino 2006, 204). According to D’Agostino (2006, 206), the emergence of an established social hierarchy and political elites in Italy in the late 9th and early 8th century BCE accompanied the growth of urban centres. This includes the Tyrrhenian coastal settlements of Tarquinia, Caere, Vulci, Veii, Capua, and Pontecagnano, which were connected by both land and sea routes by the end of the 9th century BCE (see D’Agostino 2006, fig. 2, 205) (D’Agostino 2006, 203,206; Jarva and Tuppi 2016, 132-133; D’Acunto 2020, 1290). The presence of Greek pottery, including Euboean skyphoi cups, at settlements such as Capua, Pontecagnano, and at Veii – which had trade connections with Etruscan mining regions to the north – indicates the establishment of positive commercial relationships between Euboean traders and local populations in the years leading up to the foundation of Pithekoussai (Malkin 2002, 159-160; D’Agostino 2006, 203, 212-213; D’Acunto 2020, 1290-91).
Pithekoussai: Site Overview
Pottery evidence from the north-western coast of the island of Ischia dates the foundation of Pithekoussai to the first half of the 8th century BCE (Buchner 1966, 5,11; Buchner 1971, 63; Malkin 2002, 151; D’Agostino 2006, 217; D’Acunto 2020, 1287,1291). Although Strabo (Geographica 5.4.9) credits the foundation of Pithekoussai to Eretrians and Chalcidians from Euboea, ancient authors provide few details regarding the settlement, its occupants, and their interactions with neighbouring groups (Hodos 1999, 66). As a result, most of our knowledge of the site comes from excavations conducted at the acropolis on Monte di Vico (modern Lacco Ameno), at the remains of an industrial complex in Mazzola, at a rural hamlet in Punta Chiarito, and in the Valle di San Montano cemetery (see D’Acunto 2020, fig. 5.9.1, 1292) (Buchner 1966, 5-12; Buchner 1971, 63-67; Ridgway 1997, 331; Ridgway 2004, 18; Hodos 1999, 61; Kelley 2012, 245-247; D’Acunto 2020, 1291-1292,1297-98). As of 2012, over thirteen hundred burials have been excavated at Pithekoussai, revealing rich assemblages of imported and locally-made Euboean, Corinthian, and Phoenician pottery, Near Eastern seals, Egyptian scarabs, Italian-style fibulae, and other metal artefacts (Buchner 1966, 6-12; Buchner 1971, 63-64, 66; Hodos 1999, 61-63; Kelley 2012, 247,249, 252-253; D’Acunto 2020, 1293-1298). Burials include men, women, and children and differences in age and wealth are articulated by the type of burial – including inhumation, cremation, and enchytrismoi burials (infants inhumed within pottery vessels) – and the richness of grave goods interred (Becker 1995, 279; Kelley 2012, 247; D’Acunto 2020, 1293).
While the character and variety of grave goods at Pithekoussai has been used to argue for mixed occupation of the site – including Greeks (Euboeans and Corinthians), Levantines (Phoenicians and Northern Syrians), and members of local Italic populations – the status of Pithekoussai as either an emporion (trading post) or apoikia (colony) has been heavily debated (Hodos 1999, 61,67; Ridgway 2004, 16-17, 23; D’Agostino 2006, 221-222; Kelley 2012, 245; D’Acunto 2020, 1292). Although imports from Greece, Rhodes, the Levant, and Egypt suggest Pithekoussai was well integrated within Mediterranean trade networks, Ischian soils were also well-suited for viticulture and transport amphorae (pottery vessels) from Pithekoussai indicate the production and export of local wine during the 8th and 7th centuries BCE (Strabo Geographica 5.4.9; D’Agostino 2006, 225; D’Acunto 2020, 1294-1296). In other words, surviving evidence suggests that the inhabitants of Pithekoussai were cultivating the surrounding landscape, and the presence of locally made pottery and evidence for metalworking in Mazzola indicates the inhabitants of Pithekoussai were not only engaged in trade, but manufacturing as well (Buchner 1971, 64-66; Hodos 1999, 72; Ridgway 2004, 23-26; D’Agostino 2006, 227-228; Kelley 2012, 248,252; D’Acunto 2020, 1292,1294,1296). The discovery of a rural hamlet at Punta Chiarito on the southwestern coast of Ischia also suggests that, by the 7th century, the settlement of Pithekoussai extended beyond the acropolis at Lacco Ameno (Ridgway 1997, 331; D’Agostino 2006, 224-225; D’Acunto 2020, 1297-1298). Based on evidence from the Valle di San Montano cemetery, David Ridgway – who, along with Giorgio Buchner, was one of the primary excavators of the site – estimates that the population of Pithekoussai by the late 8th century BCE was between five and ten thousand people (Osborne 1998, 258; Malkin 2002, 160; Dewan 2014, 1). In other words, despite our limited knowledge “about the actual settlement areas at Pithekoussai” (Osborne 1998, 261), by the second half of the 8th century BCE, commercial and domestic life was well underway (Ridgway 2004, 18).
Italic-Style Fibulae and Metalworking at Pithekoussai
The presence of Italic style fibulae in graves at Pithekoussai has traditionally been interpreted as evidence for intermarriage between Greek settlers and local Italic women (Hodos 1999, 61,64-65, 68, 74; Kelley 2012, 245-246; D’Acunto 2020, 1296). During this period, fibulae were used to hold together garments in a similar fashion to modern safety pins (Buchner 1966, 5). As Hodos describes (1999, 61-64), the styles of fibulae excavated from graves in Pithekoussai “are identical [at least stylistically] to examples from contemporary mainland cemeteries” – including leech, serpentine, and lozenge types at Veii, Tarquinia, Pontecagnano, and Capua (see Hodos 1999, fig. 2, 63). The styles of fibulae excavated at Pithekoussai are not known from Greece during this period, indicating that they could not have been introduced by incoming Euboean settlers (Hodos 1999, 61,67). As literary evidence and the results of biological profiling provide little information regarding the ethnicity of the women buried at Pithekoussai, attempts to determine their ethnicity have been based primarily on surviving material cultural evidence. Hodos’ (1999) analysis is based on the comparison of female grave assemblages at Pithekoussai and the later Greek colony of Syracuse in Sicily (Becker 1995, 276-280; Hodos 1999, 66-67). While strait pins – associated with the standard Doric peplos – are well represented in graves at Syracuse, only twelve have been found at Pithekoussai (Hodos 1999, 68-69). According to Hodos (1999, 69), the comparative lack of straight pins at Pithekoussai suggests women at the settlement were not buried in Greek clothing, and by extension, were not Greek. In this way, Hodos (1999, 74) argues that intermarriage remains the “most promising” explanation for the presence of Italic fibulae at the site.
While the occurrence of intermarriage at Pithekoussai should not be overlooked, Hodos’ (1999) analysis does not address the inclusion of metal fibulae in male and child burials at the site and, more importantly, it assumes that fibulae served a strictly practical, opposed to symbolic, function in graves (Kelley 2012, 245-246,249,255-256). Iron artefacts uncovered in contemporary mainland graves – including chisels, axes, spearheads, and fibulae – are associated with rich burials at Veii and Capua and the ‘princely tombs’ of Pontecagnano (Kelley 2012, 249-250). By the late 9th and early 8th century BCE, ironworking was an emerging technology in Italy and the production of bronze and iron goods would require considerable access to wealth and craft expertise (Kelley 2012, 248). In this way, the inclusion of metal grave goods in contemporary Italic burials not only constitutes conspicuous consumption but reflects wider Italic traditions for articulating wealth and status (Kelley 2012, 248-251). As discussed, metal fibulae are also only a single component of Pithekoussan grave assemblages, which often incorporate grave goods that are representative of a variety of cultural groups (Buchner 1966, 6-12; Kelley 2012, 247-249, 252-253; D’Acunto 2020, 1293-1298). For example, the wealthy burial of a female child at Pithekoussai (Tomb 483) contained nearly forty grave goods, including “imported Phoenician pottery … an Egyptian faience scarab as well as silver … and bronze fibulae of several types” (Kelley 2012, 249). In this way, Kelley (2012, 245-246,256) argues that the incorporation of Italic-style fibulae in wealthy burials at Pithekoussai – rather than indicating the ethnic identity or marginal status of those interred – represents the adoption of Italic modes of elite expression.
The influence of Italic traditions at Pithekoussai is further indicated by evidence for metalworking at the site. Excavations conducted by Giorgio Buchner and David Ridgway in the 1960s and 1970s at Mazzola have revealed evidence for smelting of Italic ores, including iron from Elba and northern Etruria, the remains of forges, a currency weight equal to the Euboean stater, and a miscast fibula – indicating that metal fibulae were manufactured at Pithekoussai (Buchner 1971, 63-66; Ridgway 1997, 337; Hodos 1999, 72; D’Agostino 2006, 222; Dewan 2014, 1; D’Acunto 2020, 1297). Artisans from Pithekoussai have also been credited with the introduction of new types of metal fibulae on the mainland, including covered fibulae and styles with longer feet (Hodos 1999, 77; D’Agostino 2006, 224). As Hodos (1999, 72) describes, covered fibulae “appear in Italy solely after the arrival of the Greeks at Pithekoussai” and the presence of both short and long-foot fibulae at Pithekoussai suggests their involvement, if not contribution, to the transition between popular forms. By the second half of the 8th century BCE, long-foot fibulae and other styles attributed to craftsmen at Pithekoussai could be found at sites across the Italian peninsula (Hodos 1999, 72; D’Agostino 2006, 224). In this way, D’Agostino (2006, 222-224,227) argues that artisans at Pithekoussai offered manufacturing and craft expertise – both on the island and on the mainland – in exchange for metal resources, resulting in the adoption, production, and innovation of Italic fibulae types.
Homeric-Style Bronze Cheese Graters and the Greek Symposium
Excavations conducted at the rural hamlet of Punta Chiarito in the 1990s have revealed two Homeric-style bronze cheese graters from the 7th century BCE (Ridgway 1997, 331). A similar grater is referenced in the Iliad (11.623-643) in the context of heroic drinking, when Nestor’s companion, Hekamede combines wine, grated cheese, and other ingredients to create an invigorating kykeon (mixture) for Greek warriors (Ridgway 1997, 326-328). Homeric-style graters have also been found in wealthy 7th century BCE tombs at Capua, Pontecagnano, Lavinium, Praeneste, and Caere (see Ridgway 1997, fig. 5, 335) ( Ridgway 1997, 331-335). According to Ridgway (1997, 331), the “uncompromisingly functional appearance” of these graters and their association with wine-drinking vessels in wealthy Italic burials suggests the adoption of Greek heroic drinking practices by local elite (Ridgway 1997, 331-335). While the bronze graters from Pithekoussai were discovered in domestic contexts – and may have been used for a variety of purposes – the discovery of a Late Geometric cup in Tomb 168 (late 8th century BCE) inscribed with, “Nestor’s cup … good to drink from…” in the Euboean alphabet suggests that the Euboeans at Pithekoussai were well acquainted with heroic drinking practices and the process of preparing wine outlined in Homer’s Iliad (see Ridgway 1997, fig. 1, 330) (Ridgway 1997, 331; Malkin 2002, 165; D’Agostino 2006, 226; D’Acunto 2020, 1294-1296). In this way, Ridgway (1997, 337-339) argues that Greek heroic drinking practices and associated objects – including Greek-style drinking vessels and Homeric-style cheese graters – may have been introduced to Italic populations during Euboean negotiations for metal resources with local elites on the mainland.
Various authors have discussed the importance of heroic drinking practices as a backdrop for elite interaction and exchange in the Bay of Naples during the Early Iron. According to Malkin (2002, 161,165), the “egalitarian and reciprocal nature of the symposium” created an ideal setting for the introduction and reception of cultural forms and may have contributed to Etruscan adoption and modification of the Euboean alphabet by the late 8th century BCE. While the presence of metal graters and Greek drinking-style vessels does not necessitate the “wholesale adoption” of the Greek symposium by local populations, the inclusion of these items in wealthy Italic burials suggests a deliberate association with, if not participation in, Greek modes of elite expression (Malkin 2002, 165; D’Agostino 2006, 215-217; Kelley 2012, 256). In this way – as with the incorporation of fibulae and other metal artefacts in graves at Pithekoussai – the inclusion of metal graters and Greek drinking-style vessels in wealthy Italic burials may have functioned as status symbols, highlighting the relationships formed between Euboean traders and local elites and the high-status contexts of these interactions (Ridgway 1997, 331-335; D’Agostino 2006, 212,215-217). According to D’Agostino (2006, 217), by the second half of the 8th century BCE, “the paraphernalia of the [Greek] symposium” were replacing weaponry as the dominant means of articulating wealth and status in Italic burials along the Tyrrhenian coast.
Conclusion: Forging a Colonial Middle Ground
As Kelley (2012, 245) describes, the role of “native Italic populations … has [either] been overlooked or viewed as a fringe element” at the early Euboean settlement of Pithekoussai. While Malkin (2002, 151-172) has argued that the Bay of Naples served as a Middle Ground for Etruscan elites and incoming Greeks in the 8th century BCE, Malkin maintains a primarily Greek perspective – exploring the role of the Greek symposium, the adaptability of Greek myth and heroic genealogies in new cultural contexts, and the Etruscan adoption of the Greek alphabet by the end of 8th century BCE. In other words, while Middle Ground theory emphasizes the accommodation of cultural difference and the “construct[ion of] a common, mutually comprehensible world,” the contributions of local Italic populations occupies only a small portion of his analysis (Malkin 2002, 152).
Evidence for metalworking at Pithekoussai and the styles of metal artefacts discovered at the site in comparison to contemporary mainland settlements indicates a high level of interaction between Euboean settlers and Italic elites in the 8th and 7th centuries BCE (Ridgway 1997, 323-339; Hodos 1999 61-74; Kelley 2012, 245-256; D’Agostino 2006, 217-232). The relationships formed between incoming Greeks and local Italic populations not only involved the movement of people and goods, but the exchange of technologies, practices, and ideas (D’Agostino 2006, 234; D’Acunto 2020, 1305). The incorporation of metal fibulae and Homeric-style graters in elite burials at Pithekoussai and along the Tyrrhenian coast represents the integration of new strategies for articulating wealth and status and implies a mutual respect for newly encountered cultural forms (Ridgway 1997, 331-335; D’Agostino 2006, 212,215-217; Kelley 2012, 245,256). The development of new fibulae styles at Pithekoussai using Italic ores not only highlights the influence of local traditions at the site, but suggests that metalworking and the negotiation for metal resources on the mainland served as a Middle Ground for intercultural contact, exchange, and innovation during this early period (Ridgway 1997, 337-339; Hodos 1999, 72; D’Agostino 2006, 222-224). Thus, evidence for metalworking and metal artefacts at Pithekoussai provides a valuable framework in which to consider the reciprocal relationships forged between incoming Greeks and local Italic populations during the earliest stage of Greek expansion in the West. And yet – beginning with the destructive foundation of Cumae (a former Opician settlement) in the second half of the 8th century BCE – by the 7th century BCE, Greek colonization of Sicily and Southern Italy was well underway (Hodos 1999, 62; Malkin 2002, 154; D’Agostino 2006, 232-33; D’Acunto 2020, 1298).
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