J. Lesley Fitton. Minoans.

J. Lesley Fitton. Minoans. 224 pages, 111 figures, 8 colour plates, 1 table. 2002. London:British Museum British Museum,the national repository in London for treasures in science and art. Located in the Bloomsbury section of the city, it has departments of antiquities, prints and drawings, coins and medals, and ethnography. ; 0-7141-2140-1 hardback 29.99 [pounds sterling]. The pace of archaeological fieldwork on Crete, uncovering new sitesand artefacts, has made the need for a replacement to SinclairHood's The Minoans (Hood 1971), ever more pressing. Accordingly,the publication of this work, the latest title in the BritishMuseum's 'Peoples in the Past' series, does notdisappoint. An important consideration for a book aimed at bothundergraduates and the general reader is cost, and the price should bewithin the budget of both students and holidaymakers, as well asacademic and non-academic libraries. The scope of this work allows Fitton to include an excellent rangeof colour and black & white photographs, many of them by the author.A particularly pleasing feature is the inclusion of illustrations ofsites in their landscape, rather than a focus purely on the standingremains. Although both undergraduate and general reader will appreciatethe inclusion of clear, well labelled plans of Knossos, Phaistos, Malliaand Zakro, as well as illustrations of some of the best-known Minoanartefacts, such as the 'Harvester Vase' and Ayia Triadasarcophagus sarcophagus(särkŏf`əgəs)[Gr.,=flesh-eater], name given by the Greeks to a special marble found in Asia Minor, near the territory of ancient Troy, and used in caskets. , Fitton has taken the opportunity to include illustrationsof more recently discovered sites, such as Petras, or more unusualartefacts, such as a potter's turntable from Gournia. Although it would be unrealistic to expect a general map (p. 8) tobe comprehensive, I was surprised to note that the important sites ofKommos and Monastiraki were not marked. Furthermore, it is sometimesdifficult to relate place names to locations, and although Pachyammos isnamed, there is no exact indication of its location. However, it waspleasing to see that many sites not shown on older maps, such asGalatas, are included. The book is divided into six chapters, and makes an outstandingstart with Chapter 1, 'Geography, landscape and chronology'.In this chapter, Fitton has competently taken account of the recentemphasis on landscape archaeology Landscape archaeology is a body of method and theory for the study of the material traces of past peoples within the context of their interactions in the wider (typically regional) social and natural environment they inhabited. , accompanying this section with somewell chosen illustrations. Furthermore, Fitton should be congratulatedon making the section on chronology extremely readable. She deals withthe contentious problem of absolute chronology in a comprehensive andfair-minded manner, summarising the various debates without succumbingto the pitfall pit��fall?n.1. An unapparent source of trouble or danger; a hidden hazard: "potential pitfalls stemming from their optimistic inflation assumptions"New York Times. of favouring one particular point of view. As Fittonobserves, scientific-based dating techniques will undoubtedly becomemore refined and may eventually provide secure absolute dates,accordingly making this section of the book obsolete. In the meantime Adv. 1. in the meantime - during the intervening time; "meanwhile I will not think about the problem"; "meantime he was attentive to his other interests"; "in the meantime the police were notified"meantime, meanwhile ,however, the comprehensive chronology chart will adequately serve theneeds of the book's readership. In the following four chapters, Fitton takes a sequential ratherthan a thematic approach, thoroughly reviewing the evidence of Minoansociety from the Neolithic period Neolithic periodor New Stone Age.The term neolithic is used, especially in archaeology and anthropology, to designate a stage of cultural evolution or technological development characterized by the use of stone tools, the existence of until the start of the Iron Age.Although much of the evidence is already accessible in otherpublications, Fitton has managed to bring a fresh approach to thesubject. For example, in Chapter 4, 'Neopalatial Crete',rather than separate descriptions of the four main palaces of Knossos,Phaistos, Mallia and Zakro, Fitton his compared and contrasted similarfeatures at the sites. In line with the book's title,'Minoans', which subtly places an emphasis on the people,Fitton makes a number of observations which encourage the reader toconsider the inhabitants in addition to the material remains. Forexample, in addition to a comprehensive discussion of the extantbuildings of the Second Palace period, Fitton invites the reader tovisualise the undoubtedly lavishly decorated and furnished interiors ofthe palaces. The final chapter, 'The mythological legacy and the receptionof Minoan Crete', reviews the colourful myths and legends Myths and Legends is a Collectible Card Game based on universal mythologies, developed in 2000 in Santiago, Chile. The game now has 0 editions and more than 3,000 collectible cards. associated with the island. Fitton has also taken the opportunity toinclude discussion of the reception of antiquity, a topic which hasrecently attracted much scholarly interest. Fitton cleverly links thissubject with the increasing awareness, fuelled by archaeologicalevidence, of the sinister elements in Minoan society. The book is well-indexed; I had no difficulty in finding referencesto general subjects, such as the various economic aspects of society orartistic media, or more specific items, such as chronological periods,sites or individual artefacts. Referencing, in the sense of citation ofother works, has been kept to a minimum, resulting in an unclutteredtext. This is doubtless welcome to the more general reader, but couldprove to be a source of irritation to students preparing essays,although the works included in the 'Further Reading' sectionprovide a good starting point Noun 1. starting point - earliest limiting pointterminus a quocommencement, get-go, offset, outset, showtime, starting time, beginning, start, kickoff, first - the time at which something is supposed to begin; "they got an early start"; "she knew from the for the more determined student.Nevertheless, additional footnotes might have been welcome in the fewinstances where the source of further information is not immediatelyapparent. Fitton should be congratulated for providing an extremelyaccessible yet scholarly work suited to both undergraduate studies andfor the serious traveller to Crete, which will surely provide a valuablesource of reference until continuing fieldwork on the islandnecessitates a successor. Reference SINCLAIR, H. 1971. The Minoans: Crete in the Bronze Age. London:Thames & Hudson GEORGINA MUSKETT School of Archaeology, Classics & Oriental Studies, University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool is a university in the city of Liverpool, England. HistoryThe University was established in 1881 as University College Liverpool, admitting its first students in 1882. , Liverpool, UK