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An Island Polity

The Archaeology of Exploitation in Melos

Colin Renfrew editor J Malcolm Wagstaff editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:8th Jan '09

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

An Island Polity cover

The case of Melos is relevant to the understanding of the processes of early state-formation and of the integration of small-scale societies into larger political units.

The Greek island of Melos in the Cyclades has been inhabited for at least five thousand years. Two periods of its history are well documented: the late Bronze Age, when it supported an important urban centre at Phylakopi and the late fifth century BC, when as an independent city-state it briefly defied and was then destroyed by the expansionist power of Athens. The case of Melos is thus relevant to the understanding of the processes of early state-formation and of the integration of small-scale societies into larger political units. As the contributors to this volume show, a small island provides a very suitable area - clearly defined, self-contained - in which to examine the processes of social, cultural and economic change and the forces - sometimes gradual and almost imperceptible in their effect, sometimes sudden and dramatic - by which changes are initiated.

ISBN: 9780521103909

Dimensions: 279mm x 210mm x 20mm

Weight: 850g

376 pages