Linear B Archives and the Mycenaean World

Linear B Archives and the Mycenaean WorldWhat section do the Linear B archive make to understanding the Mycenaean reality in respect of superstar of the following social organisation, fury practices, stock breeding and agriculture, warf argon, tan working?The Linear B narration submit us with the earliest primary evidence about Mycenaean palatial civilisations1 and an unpar eacheled insight into the nature of Mycenaean war. The archives be of approximately five thousand clay saucers2 and contain information on fit out, machines, chariots, naval warfare and subsidiary details about feasible troops. The splendour of these documents is greatly enhanced by the complete lack of historical accounts3 from this era, and overly the fact that nearly all of the ideograms delectation in the archives are devoted to fit, weaponry, horses and chariots4 means that they are of intrinsic value to the understanding of warfare in the Mycenaean world.However, at that place are limitat ions with the Linear B archives, oddly in equipment casualty of their chronological range, inventory style and maybe solidus representation of the importance of warfare under normal circumstances. It is similarly outstanding to cast what other discoveries hold in make rattling contri providedions to our understanding of Mycenaean warfare, such as the palaces themselves, surviving weapons and representations of war or armour in art.Since all of the tablets come from the palatial centres, one of their most primal contributions is that they dissever us directly about the economies of the palaces and that their main digest were phalanx prep5, defensive strategies and the wealth to support these things. The Linear B archives reputation information about the production, refurbishment and also the distribution6 of homophiley different fibers of military equipment. It is possible to interpret from the archives, that the Mycenaeans used a truly centralised system to gather and organise military equipment and that this was based virtually the main palatial complex. Evidence for this passel be seen in a tablet from Pylos which lists half dozenteen different places that were responsible for supplying an amount of bronzy in the form of heads for arrows and spears7. The tablets also directly show the extent that these palaces were bear on with having a in effect(p)y equipped force8, this is mainly due to the sheer tot of references to armour and weapons throughout the archives.The many tablets depicting armour are in particular(prenominal) useful when trying to understand Mycenaean warfare. Tablets at Tiryns9, Pylos and Knossos all platter courtships of armour and provide us with evidence for the use of armour cross offices a wider range of palatial centres than archaeological finds would suggest. At Pylos the tablets mention at least twenty suits of armour with the ideograms for a cuirass and a helmet, and at Dendra there are at least one hun dred and forty suits preserve in the chariot tablet10. The ideograms themselves are of great value because form them you fag end see the style and type of armour which is very similar to the suit which was discovered at Dendra and those de nockd by Homer11.Not besides do the archives provide evidence for the use of armour they also accomplish us close to indication of the value of the armour itself. In some tablets the ideogram for armour is replaced with one for a bronze ingot12, this could be understand as a representative of the value of the armour or perhaps as an approximate quantity of material used to make the armour itself.A further contribution made by the archives is the cosmos of an illustration on the reverse of a tablet. The drawing shows a man clothing greaves and drawing his sword, and was probably the work of a scribe while he was waiting to make his recordings13. This is particularly interesting as it allows us to see the determine that warfare may have had on a member of Mycenaean society who chose to sketch this scene and its shows the weapon and armour which was associated with a soldier.Weapons are an essential part of warfare and were a major resource recorded in the tablets. The importance of weapons to the Mycenaeans can be clearly seen in a tablet from Pylos which records a quantity of recycled bronze by the number of arrow or spearheads it would be able to make14. The tablets also contribute to our knowledge of which materials were being used to compensate weapons, for example we can tell that most weapons were being made from bronze because articles of iron were never mentioned in the tablets15. The use of ideograms to depict weapons allows us to partly see how the weapons would be used thrusting spears, throwing javelins, slings and bows are all shown in the tablets16. The ideograms are also useful because it is possible to compare types of swords or daggers by looking at what is different between all(prenominal) separat e ideogram.In the Linear B archives there have been large numbers of tablets devoted to chariots or their trappings. Many of these regions have rough terrain so this is oft seen as particularly surprising. One example is the region around Knossos, which was, and cool it is, especially mountainous and the only sort to use a chariot would be to bring it to the beach or to the plains some distance away17. Records relating to chariots include a tablet from Pylos listing one hundred and fifty one chariot wheels18, and the Knossos tablets featuring several hundred chariots and spare parts19 along with individual inventories which record a name, chariot, horses and a suit of armour20.However, of particular interest in terms of chariots are a few texts from Knossos and Pylos. The first, from Knossos, records the distribution of defensive armour to each of the chariot crew21. The texts from Pylos, which were found in the Northeast Workshop, list leather items that touch on to chariots, some examples are reigns, halters, bridals and saddlebags22. These groups of tablets provide us with information that non only supports the other Linear B evidence, but also archaeological finds as well.The archives have far more limited information in terms of naval warfare. At Pylos there are some unreadable references to over six hundred rowers23, and lists of coastal settlements24, when giveed together, these could be interpreted as naval organisation or defensive preparations. A further alpha addition to our knowledge of naval warfare is the drawing found on the reverse of a tablet in Pylos, its shows an design of a ship. The image is not only comparable to an ideogram used on a tablet from Knossos, but it also resembles the ships used not by the Mycenaeans but the Minoans25. One could argue that there were possible overlaps in the style of ships used from the Minoan period into the Mycenaean era.The contributions made by Linear B are undeniable, but on the other hand it i s also vital to consider the disadvantages that these archives have. The records themselves were not intended to be long lasting26 as they were only preserved by chance. They are in a way comparable to the modern post-it note a disposable, cheap and transportable way of recording data. The survival of the tablets is also completely random27, which means that we are frequently left with fragmented topics and it impossible to tell how complete the archives we have are. The archives are also only based on a certain group of palatial centres and so there is a misadventure that there were some differences existing between these and others28. Thus meaning that victimisation the archives to get a picture of the entire Mycenaean world is not reliable.A further problem with the tablets is the possibility that there are inaccurate. For example, those found in the Room of the Chariot tablets, have been interpreted, by some, to be scribal exercises and not genuine records, the reason for thi s interpretation is that they were all written by different hands in the same characteristic style29. If this was the case then much of our evidence for chariots would no longer be valid and the argumentation for their use in mountainous areas would be far weaker.The archives also have huge chronological limitations in terms of their range as they are either limited to the last year or so before the goal of the palaces, or they are random un go out years30. The uttermost range of the archives has been dated to between fourteen hundred and 12 hundred BC, and each of the documents only refers to the current year31. This makes it extremely difficult to go steady information regarding trends or patterns across the whole of the Mycenaean era.It is also important to take into consideration that these records represent what can only be seen as a period of unrest for the Mycenaean civilisations. The year before the final stage of the palaces would have probably been far more militari stic than ordinary day to day life. In the tablets we see examples of special provisions made for this metre of warfare, one such example was Bronze smiths being excused from having to be tax because they were so busy making weapons32. The tablets from Pylos include records of contributions of gold33 and specific weights of bronze34 from local anaesthetic officials it could be possible that this was to finance the war effort. These records may then be giving us unbalanced view of the priorities of the Mycenaeans, and that perhaps under less(prenominal) pressing times there is a much smaller focus on warfare.Since the Linear archives are almost entirely made up of inventories35, it is exceptionally difficult to understand either how objects were used or the nature of warfare itself in the Mycenaean world. This is particularly significant when you consider that none of the documents record the existence of an actual army36.It seems evident that although the archives provide us with a great amount of information, they do have their limitations. In order to fully understand Mycenaean warfare it is also obligatory to consider the archaeological evidence that we have available. For example, the palaces themselves show evidence of a need for strong defences. The building works which took place before their destruction are a clear indication of preparation for sieges and attacks in particular the introduction of water supplies37 that would allow those inside the walls to survive, even under a long term siege.Furthermore the contributions in terms weaponry from the archives are much more valuable to us when we use it on base actual surviving weapons and armour. One of the most important discoveries was the Dendra armour, a full bronze corslet and neckpiece38 which is made from a number of individual sheets of bronze39. Armours of this type were recorded in tablets at both Knossos and Pylos40 and the armour type can be clearly recognised by the ideograms themselves . We can also use comparisons between archaeological evidence and the tablets to trace different types of sword, and by doing so it is possible to see some possible changes in military practices41.Since the archives consist mostly of inventories it is useful to see these items as represented by the Mycenaeans, in particular through art, which gives us the opportunity to see depictions of chariots, weapons and armour in use. One such example of this is the Silver Siege Ryhton from rip off Grave four, which depicts an attack on a walled settlement42. What is particularly interesting is that this is a seaborne attack and so could link to the tablets listing coastal settlements from Pylos it also shows an archer43 which supports information on weaponry.Another vessel which provides useful information is the Warrior Vase from Mycenae, this shows six men marching on each side of the vase. The men all wear white spotted, horned helmets, and carry spears and shields. They wear greaves, sho rt adorn skirts and corslets44. The theme of marching soldiers is also seen on the Painted Grave Stelae from Mycenae45. It is possible then to get some idea of how the equipment of a soldier would be put together and to see that warfare had a big influence on Mycenaean art.The use of boars tusk helmets is far more emphasised through art than in the archives, for example in the fresco from Akrotiri which is dated to approximately sixteen hundred BC46, and on a carved off-white relief from the house north of the Oil Merchants which shows a Mycenaean warrior wearing a boars tusk helmet. These examples are significant because they represent the need to consider the Linear B tablets as just one part of the picture, and not as a sole contributor to our understanding of Mycenaean warfare.1 Cline 20103572 Cline 20103583 Wardle 1997454 Cline 20103675 Cline 20103676 Cline 20103677 Rawlings 2007218 Wardle 1997639 Lodewijckx 199648310 Wardle 19976411 King 197029612 Wardle 19976413 Wardle 199 77314 Cline 201036715 Chadwick 195811616 Rawlings 20072317 Lodewijckx 199649318 Cline 201036719 Rawlings 20072120 Wardle 19977121 Drews 199311122 Lodewijckx 199648323 Wardle 19977324 Wachsmann 199812425 Wachsmann 199812526 Cline 201035827 Wardle 19974728 Wachsmann 199812329 Chadwick 197616930 Cline 201035831 Edwards 1973610-1132 Chadwick 195812333 Wardle 19973934 Wardle 19974535 Rawlings 20072236 Chadwick 197615937 Wardle 19977338 Hood 1960939 Hood 19601040 Wardle 19976441 Wardle 19976342 Rawlings 20072343 Tartaron 20136444 Suter 20088245 Suter 20088346 DAmato 201341