MINOANS AND MINOANIZATION AT AYIA IRINI, KEOS by J. L. DAVIS University of Ilinois, Chicago, Ill 60680, U.S.A ‘At Ayia Irinj, a small peninsula inside the bay of Ayios Nikolaos in the northwest part of Keos, excavations by the University of Cincinnati since 1960 have uncovered remains of occupation extending from Neolithic through Roman times (Caskey 1971; 1972). The bay is large and well-sheltered; some of the most fertile land on the island surrounds it. The peninsula — easily defensible and with water readily available — was attractive to early setters The best preserved and most extensive levels which we have investigated can be ated in Minoan terms to the period between MM Ill and LM IB. The settlement at that time was surrounded by @ fortification wall (as in earlier phases of the Middle Bronze Age) and the entire area enclosed by the defenses was inhabited Ayia Irini was an important centre for commerce and life was cosmopolitan. Contacts between Crete and Keos had begun already by MM IB, but the quantities of imported Minoan pottery grew throughout the Middle Bronze Age until they reached a peak between MM III and LM IB. Ties with the mainland, strong in the Middle Bronze Age, were never broken (cf Overbeck 1975). In the time of LM IA much pottery of types characteristic of the Shaft Graves (especially Polychrome Matt- painted: “Mainland"")! was imported. In LM IB as much fine Helladic pottery was reaching Keos as fine Minoan pottery (Milburn 1965, 128). Vases from other Cycladic islands — probably both Melos and Thera —- have also been found?. There are probably several reasons that Ayia Irini became a major emporium. Keos lies on a natural shipping route between Crete and the Mainland. Bronze Age settlements in the Western Cyclades reflect the limitations of ancient seamanship as well as the dangers of the high seas (Renfrew 1972, 261-264). Major centres at258 JL. DAVIS ‘Akrotiri, Phylakopi and Ayia Irini are approximately a day's sal from each other under ‘good conditions and were convenient ports of call for merchants. It was probably in part this advantageous location which brought prosperity to the town, The beginning of exploitation of silver resources in Eastern Attica also contributed. Belgian excavations at Thorikos near Laurion have proved that silver was being extracted in the later Middle Bronze Age. Analysis of itharge found in our excavations has shown that Ayia Trini was an important centre for the extraction of silver? It has been suggested that during this prosperous period from MM Ill to LM 1B Ayia Irini was a Minoan colony (e.g. Hood 1971, 52. 118; Warren 1967, 37-56). Relations between Ayia Irini and Crete were no doubt close, but is it possible to determine that the settlement was under Cretan political control”? Many Kinds of local technology indeed were very Minoanized. Stone vases of Cretan styles were produced from local stones according to Minoan techniques, Cer- tain specialized ceramic vessels of Minoan types with domestic and industrial uses, such as fire-boxes, were made on Keos*. Not only technology but also the economic structure of the town was influenced by Cretan ways. A recent study of lead weights by K. Petruso has demonstrated that the Minoan metrical system was used’. The Linear A script was introduced in MM III and writing was practised locally (Caskey 1970, 109 £).. Other aspects of material culture were a blend of local and foreign traditions. Certain architectural features are evidence of familiarity with Minoan building methods: e.g. the largest building in the town, The basic constructional principles employed in most other buildings and generally in House A itself, however, are Cycladic and closely related to techniques of the earlier Bronze Age at Ayia Irini (Milburn & Commer). Wall-paintings are a mixture of influences. K.A. Coleman has observed that “the spirit and motives of the paintings seem to be Cretan; our closest parallels are found at Knossos. Certain other features, however, appear Mainland in spirit and subject"* (1970, 200), Potters turned out masses of pottery in imitation of Cretan wares, both decorated and plain (including thousands of unpainted conical cups), but local styles continued to be popular and there were no changes in techniques (Davis 1977, 129). Some industries were apparently not affected at all by contact with Crete. Cruci bles, chipped stone tools, spindle whorls and many articles of daily use were com- pletely Cycladic in form in MM III (dem, 120f), Which classes of artifacts, then, should we examine for evidence that Ayia Irini was under Cretan political control? ‘The introduction of Linear A at Ayia Irini and other Cycladic centres certainly is proof of close ties with Crete, but need not indicate Minoan domination. The acceptance by the islanders of the script can equally be explained as a natural response to a changing economic environment. With the growth of commerce probably came new organizational problems: how to record transactions and insure accuracy? Linear A would enable records to be kept more efficiently. In the same way the adoption of Minoan metrical standards (used throughout the Aegean at this time) would greatly facilitate the exchange of goods. It is difficult to evaluate the strength of Minoan influence on some other classesMINOANS AND MINOANIZATION OF KEOS 259 of artifacts because of environmental factors. For example, walls of dressed stone ‘masonry similar to those of Cretan palaces and country houses have been found at ‘Akrotiri and Phylakopi but not at Ayia Irini. The absence of this style of masonry on Keos, however, may not reflect the intensity of the relationship between Crete and the island, The geological formation of the Northern Cyclades is much different from that of the Souther, Whereas a volcanic island such as Thera has abundant supplies of soft stone which can easily be sawn into rectangular blocks, Keos is made up mostly of schist, which fractures into slabs of convenient size, and marble, which breaks into blocks which require little further working and could have been sawn only with great difficulty. How, then, can the relationship between Crete, Ayia Irini and other Cycladic centres be better understood? One way, I believe, is by constructing models of colonization with data gathered from the archaeological investigation of historic col- onies; in this way there may be detected patterns of change in material culture which regularly occur when an indigenous population is conquered by an outside power. The model could then be used to explain the totally prehistoric record which has been uncovered in the Cyclades. Another way is by examining different kinds of data. If we can find, for example, that Cretans had distinctive items in their diet not regularly eaten by the islanders, it should be possible to answer many important questions through the study of plant and animal remains: did Cretans live in the islands perma- nently, and if so, what percentage of the population of Ayia Irini, Phylakopi or Akrotiri did they make up? Were there Cretan enclaves in Cycladic towns? It cannot be doubted that in the years from MM III through LM IB the town of Ayia Irini and settlements in the Western Cyclades in general were very Minoanized. Itisnot, I feel, at present possible to define more closely the relationship between this Minoanization of material culture and change in the behavioural elements of Cycladic culture such as politics. This will remain a challenge for future research in the Aegean, NOTES 1. See French 1972; the ware is especially characteristic of LM IA deposits at Ayia Irini but is still found in LM IB. A bird jug inthis ware similar in style to one from Thera published by E. Andreou (1974, 4161) has been found at Ayia Iii in a LB I context. Richard Jones of the Fitch Laboratory has informed ime thatthe vase from Thera seems to be of Mainland composition, 2, See Davis 1977, 144-149, Several fabrics are probably Melian, Pottery inthe Naturalistic, Black and Red, and Red and Black styles is common, Nippled jugs, in style like many published from Akrotsi (e.g, Marinatos 1971, Pls. 69. 71), are found in LM IA deposits, Petrographic study of these probably imported vases is now in progress. 3. A report on mctal-working at Ayia Irini is now being prepared by J. Mubly. Cycladic pottery of Melian types has been found to the north at Brauron (Davis, forthcoming), but has not yet been reported in the Laurion area 4. H. Georgiou has studied the objects of this kinda report is in preparation, 5. The resulls ofthese investigations are summarised in his Indiana University dissertation (1977)