Minoan Society Study Day Excursion

Minoan Program 2015

MINOAN SOCIETY STUDY DAY EXCURSION

Dr Brian Brennan

9. 30am - 10.00am Answering the HSC question and new interpretations.
This introductory presentation will focus on recent HSC questions. The emphasis will be on practical strategies for answering the question put. How does a student show higher order thinking skills in extended response writing? We will examine the conflict between the traditional explanations of the Minoans – the “Evans Line” and the more recent scholarship. It is in this that students can gain great advantage in the exam. “It was once thought… now we think it is more likely that ….” We will discuss the integration of written sources and archaeological material.
short break
10.10am –11.00am Knossos and the more recently excavated palaces
We will start with a detailed tour of the “palace” of Knossos and a discussion of the various interpretations that have been made of the structure and the way that it was used. There will be some discussion of Phaistos and the more recent excavations of palaces at Zakros, Petras and Galatas. Notions of a “palace economy” and of social stratification based on an analysis of these structures will be critically examined. What can a building tell us?
MORNING TEA BREAK 11.00-11.30 (Morning Tea NOT supplied)
11.30 pm – 12.30pm The Minoan economy and ‘exchange/trade’.
This session will concentrate on the archaeological evidence that might be used to piece together a picture of the Minoan “economy” and exchange/trade. We will also explore what role the ports played in trade and consider the evidence for Minoan contacts, sources of raw materials and Minoan markets in the Eastern Mediterranean and far beyond in the Middle East.
12.30pm-1.30pm LUNCH BREAK (Lunch NOT Supplied)
1.30pm-2.30pm Archaeological evidence for religion and burial practices
Most of our knowledge of Minoan religious cults is based upon archaeological evidence that has been interpreted a variety of different ways. There will be detailed presentation of a range of theories about religious belief and practice. We will discuss the limitations of artefacts for reconstructing cult practices. In this presentation there will be a reflection of the most recent theories about religious practice put forward at the International Minoan Archaeology Conference held at the University of Heidelberg in March 2011. Burial and the cult associated with death and burial will be discussed and detailed information presented about the excavation and interpretation of Minoan cemeteries.
STUDENT NOTES ACCOMPANY EACH PRESENTATION