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

72|ANASTASIA CHRISTOPHILOPOULOU
Finally, the importance of cross-cultural studies and comparative
methodologies in order to deepen our understanding of archaeological
assemblages has already been stressed by a number of
researchers. 8 For household archaeology specifically, there is lately
a growing concern that the practice of archaeology concerned with
the domestic environment should embrace cross-cultural studies in
order to encompass problems related to sociological questions
about archaeological material. Therefore, there is an increased possibility
of cross-fertilisation between the social sciences of archaeology,
social anthropology and environmental psychology. Archaeology,
having on the one hand already established a scientific discipline
in its methods of collecting, analysing and explaining data
and, on the other hand, recently turned to a more social archaeology,
could benefit a lot from working in collaboration with social
anthropology and environmental psychology. The study of social
space not only seems suited for interdisciplinary work but its success
actually depends on the ability of the relevant disciplines to
communicate and collaborate.
GREEK HOUSEHOLD ARCHAEOLOGY
Prior to the adaptation of the above ideas and methodologies into
Classical archaeology, material culture in the archaeology of Greek
houses was only used to illustrate the world already known from
the literary sources. 9 But lately, the true potential of the archaeological
data has been recognised, as the influence of new archaeology,
and more recently of social archaeology, has finally filtered through
household and classical studies. Most importantly, an increased
interest in recognising domestic assemblages as “contexts of behaviour”
as well as potential vehicles for illuminating aspects of the
social history of the Early Greek Iron Age, has quite an impact on
the study of households in this period. 10
At about the same time, a number of pioneering research cases
have successfully enlightened aspects of the Greek Dark Age
and Geometric societies on the basis of burial evidence. 11 The new
8 KENT (1990) 1–8.
9 NEVETT (1999) 2–3.
10 MORRIS (1998) 8–9.
11 WHITLEY (1987); MORRIS (1987).