Abstract:
This study explores Minoan social power in the Neopalatial period through the control of metalworking processes. It uses political economy concepts to examine the potential for social power outside of structures deemed by past scholars to be ‘palatial’. This is achieved by investigating relationships of control within a spectrum of elite groups, with a focus on the metalworking processes of acquisition of metal materials, and the production of metal objects at Neopalatial period sites. Elite sub-groups are identified at the settlements of Mochlos, Gournia, and Palaikastro through the formation and application of an architecture-based model which examines common architectural features, and how these suggest past extensive and conspicuous efforts to concentrate of resources. The results show that elite sub-groups were present at all settlement sites, but the manner in which they concentrated resources into structures was diverse and, in some instances, more limited at some sites than others. Additionally, the results found that contrary to traditional interpretations, control of metalworking processes was not always the sole domain of the highest Minoan elite groups. Rather, metallurgical processes were often socially decentralised and settlement specific, as they were subject to local sociopolitical tensions. This suggests that in order to understand Minoan elites and different forms of social and economic power, we must move away from understanding 'elites' as a ‘palace’-based monolith, and instead examine how power may be understood through a heterarchical system.
