“semitisches pantheon”. eine “männliche tyche” - MOSAIKjournal.com

DOMESTIC SPACE AND COMMUNITY IDENTITY |115
rolled up and put away during day time so that the space could be
reserved for working and living space. Greek domestic material
culture was highly portable: Even in the case of the strictly defined
domestic “shell” of the Classical and Hellenistic houses, very important
elements such as hearths and “kitchens” were not always
fixed, and those researchers who have looked for fixed activity areas
have noted that the archaeological evidence of mixed activities
which appear to have occurred in “kitchens” retain a high degree
of seasonal movement in the use of space. 119 A similar argument
has also been expressed by A. Rapoport who emphasised that
“non-fixed feature” elements which are not part of the architecture,
but which are evidently part of the household, surely constitute a
major contribution to insights into household behaviour and relationships
between social action and the material record. Additionally,
sleeping quarters might have been changed seasonally to warmer
or cooler places as well as changing with circumstances. 120 This
“seasonal” pattern has also been noted by a number of ethnographic
studies of Greek mountain communities in either the mainland
(Epirus) or the island environment (mountainous Crete). 121
We have already noted that the majority of Early Iron Age
households were relatively small in size. Within those households
strict status and gender divisions, spatially defined, might have been
extremely difficult to make. Short-term temporal divisions in the
use of space might hence be particularly important for maintaining
important social boundaries, in conjunction with body movements,
clothing, gesture and so on, and room function can be equally explained
in temporal rather than spatial terms. 122 Overall, households
are a particularly suitable context where short time-scales can
be shown to have had considerable impact on the formation of
material record. It is therefore important to emphasise the shortterm
patterns that led to the formation of these archaeological contexts,
in contrast with the long-term patterns which archaeologists
are frequently facing.
119 CAHILL (1991) 332–335.
120 JAMESON (1990b) 171–195; RAPOPORT (1990) 96–101.
121 HERTZFELD (1985); DUBISCH (1986).
122 FOXHALL (2000) 495.