The detailed investigation of dwelling no. 14 (Precucuteni II phase) from the Isaiia site brings interesting and, in some instances, novel data concerning the building system and the internal architecture of the Early Chalcolithic housing. Also, the artefacts from inside the dwelling and from the surrounding features bear witness about prehistoric crafts like pottery manufacture, stone knapping and polishing, animal hard tissue working, about the relations with neighbouring cultural areas, and, last but not least, about the ritual behaviour of the Precucuteni communities.
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From antiquities to memorabilia: a standardised terminology for ancestral artefacts according to manufacture date
An ancestral artefact can be defined as any object of natural raw material made by a people following a lifestyle based on foraging and/or basic agriculture or pastoralism. A problem when cataloguing or reporting a research focused on an ancestral artefact is the absence of a fixed chronological terminology encompassing any age. The issue of terminology of age of objects is especially relevant when a researcher wants to study museum collections. Consequently, putting into practice a standardised terminology for ancestral artefacts according to manufacture date is required to avoid misinterpretations, which can even jeopardise legal actions. In this paper, a standardised terminology is presented for such kinds of original artefacts, from prehistory to the present. Subsidiarily, ancestral peoples have been arranged in concordance with the terminology for ancestral artefacts. While this terminology is centred on ancestral artefacts and is primarily addressed to people engaged in museum specimens―from curators to researchers―it is applicable to other collectable objects and, accordingly, also relevant to tribal-art dealers, antiquarians, and cultural heritage legislators.
Diagenetic analysis and historical interpretations. Case studies from eastern Romania
Interdisciplinary investigations of the human osteological remains help us to understand the genetic diversity, the mobility or the paleodiet of the past communities and offer us insights on the diagenetic processes. The present study aims to assess the results of chemical, mineralogical and microscopic analyses performed on different human osteological remains selected from archaeological sites situated in Eastern Romania in order to understand the diagenetic transformations involved in the site formation processes and to estimate their influence on the historical interpretation.
The mysterious expedition of Thrasybulus of Miletus
A cursory mention of a mysterious expedition against Sicyon, mounted by Thrasybulus, the tyrant of Miletus, can be found in Frontinus’ “Strategemata”. The author of the present article is of the opinion that in this way Thrasybulus was helping his ally Periander, the tyrant of Corinth. The probable aim of Periander’s military campaign was to reinstate the exiled Isodemus as tyrant of Sicyon and to include the Sicyonians’ territory in Corinth’ sphere of influence.
Chasing Hygassos (Anatolia): Settlement under epigraphic evidence
Although the epigraphic records do not attest an exact toponomy to confirm where exactly Hygassos is but rather announce an ethnic, this paper aims to suggest further by chasing the
inter-relatability of some selected inscriptions. The supplementary data is also presented to find out and assess the question of settlement and chronology in a variety of contexts. The data repository attained from the close catchment of the Acropolis (in Kızılköy) give a lucid picture of a densely occupied “urban” zone and represents a flashback to the Hellenistic links of the deme, however it is quite a painful job to trace the earlier features that are highly disturbed or misrepresented in the khorai. Even though land use seems to be quite determined by the interplay of environmental and habitational dynamics (the settlement patterns hardly appear to be forcefully driven) in both, the inland deme of Hygassos and coastal/quasi-coastal Phoinix were the two diverse implantations in the Rhodian Peraia, in respect of attraction in the Hellenistic period. Changes within the spatio-temporal context are not that easy to explore, however, when architectural data and micro-plans are reviewed, mobility and/or seasonality could have been there, beyond the smooth layouts, particularly near the coastal hilly terrains of Hygassos. Still, crumbles of ceramic evidence which hint at Hygassos’ potential to offer links with the late Bronze Age and; cultic figures or linguistic rules that manifest her tendency toward a stronger Anatolian, hence Karian character in the Peraia, make her a lot more distinguished than the neighbouring demoi.
The Greek culture of dialogue and of political decision-making process at Hellenistic Kings’ court
The article deals with the problem of the political decision-making process at the court of the Hellenistic Kings. The Hellenistic Kings possessed a strong power and vast material and human resources. They took the administrative, legislative, juridical, military and other branches of power in their hands. Nevertheless in many cases when we have the possibility to follow the decision–making process one can notice that many kings preferred the collective forms of searching for the best solution of the state problems. The Hellenistic Kings involved courtiers who were their advisers and consultants in the decision-making process and in many cases were open for dialogue and for free discussions, for the alternative opinions of the advisers. The phenomenon of collective discussion could be easily explained as a political pragmatism, when dialogue, discussion or a brain-storm give much better result to find the right solution and to avoid mistakes. At the same time dialogue and discussion were the immanence of the Greek culture, the Greek cultural “code”. The culture of dialogue and discussion was highly developed in a Greek world. It influenced the education, the cultural and political life, etc. The Hellenistic Kings were educated according to the Greek tradition and they transferred the culture of dialogue and discussion into the political life of the state. Thus political pragmatism was combined with the features of Greek culture.
Cicero on the gods and Roman religious practices
The article analyses Cicero’s attitude to gods, religion, divination, and superstition. Cicero follows tradition in acknowledging the existence of the gods, considering them immortal, blissful, animate, and anthropomorphic. He is ambivalent about the interaction between the gods and people. Cicero considers religion important for the Roman people because this was the popular belief — it was not his own viewpoint. Cicero thinks that people obtain divination from the gods. According to Cicero, there are two types of divination: artificial (auspices, haruspices, divination by lightning, stars, and other signs of nature) and natural (predictions in a dream, in a state of ecstasy, before death). In relation to divination, we see how multi-dimensional Cicero’s beliefs were: as a philosopher, he can accept or deny divination; as a Roman politician, he regards divination as an important instrument of the Roman religious rituals. Cicero opposes superstition to religion in his theological works, but in his secular works, he uses superstition and religion as synonyms.
Jewish society and family tradition in funerary inscriptions
The aim of this article is to present the Jewish social and family values in Antiquity, as they can be perceived mostly through a reading of the funerary inscriptions. Details regarding the care and feelings towards the deceased, as well as wishes for the potential violators of the tombs are also envisaged. The content of the epitaphs also provides precious information on the names, titles and the age of the deceased, on the causes of death, and the epithets denoting close relationships between the members of the family.
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