TEA 34 - European Association of Archaeologists

Reports on Sessions at the Den Haag Meeting
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(Scales of) Space and Time in Mediterranean Prehistory
Athena Hadji and Stella Souvatzi
The idea for this session was triggered by three main observations: the ever growing interest in
space and spatiality in archaeology; the comparative theoretical and methodological neglect of the
issue of time or temporality; and the large amount of new information coming from Mediterranean
prehistory. Our aims were: a) to address and critically re-examine issues related to the
archaeological theorization of and approach to space and time; and b) to attempt to incorporate as
many scales of analysis of space and time as possible, drawing on prehistoric Mediterranean case
studies. Space is habitually used in archaeology simply as a backdrop for human interaction and
deemed as a neutral dimension, together with time, where things simply happen. The interactive
dimensions of space and time in the production of a social environment have often been
overlooked, whereas the interplay between different scales of space (and time) has rarely been
considered at all.
The session included eleven papers, mostly by archaeologists, but also by architects, which
addressed theoretical and methodological issues, discussed a variety of scales of space and time
(from landscape through to domestic buildings, and from longer term settlement patterns to shortterm
daily activities), covered several regions of the Mediterranean, and overall, presented
creative interpretations of space and time relationships in prehistoric sites.
In the first block of papers, addressing broader theoretical and methodological concerns,
Konstantinos Athanasiou examined the settlement at Akrotiri in Thera, using systemic functional
theory; Eimar Meegan stressed the significance of the body in archaeological inquiries and
reassessed the validity of phenomenological approaches; Magdalena Saura talked about the
necessity of physical form and the physicality of space and time, using data from northeast Spain;
and Celine Wawruschka focused on landscape regional analysis at a macro-level in the Cilician
plain, assessing the contribution of central place theory to archaeology.
The second block of papers focused on different scales and units of space. Alia Zorz discussed
ritual landscapes with the example of megalithic structures in Slovenia; Evita Kalogiropoulou
focused on the use of open-air spaces among houses in flat, extended Greek Neolithic
settlements; and Emmanuela Apostolaki addressed the long-neglected scale of domestic space
and everyday life in Neopalatial Crete.
The papers from the last part of the session were concerned with time and the movement of
bodies through time and space. Leslie MacFadyen discussed Chalcolithic enclosures from
Portugal and raised the point of the atemporal representation of sites and finds in archaeological
publications; Ellen Adams examined the relationship between space and time, using examples
from Minoan art, and discussed the idea of mobile and immobile time; Emily Miller Bonney
focused on the use and reuse of Early Bronze Age tombs in Crete and the interaction of living
communities with their ancestors; finally, Noah van der Beken examined Minoan palatial
architecture and iconography as expressive media and how they embodied social concepts of
reality.
As a whole, the session was successful in bringing together researchers from different research
contexts and theoretical backgrounds, and it attracted many attendees. Between the blocks of
papers, and particularly at the end of the session, we found sufficient time for lively discussions
and questions. Some of the diverse approaches to and meanings of space and time were
intriguingly outlined and new avenues for archaeological thought and research identified, and
above all, the need to engage in multiple scales of analysis and interpretation in order to
understand the lived space and time of past societies became obvious. The result, we felt, was an
important widening of our framework of thinking.
The European Archaeologist, Issue no. 34: Winter 2010