Exploring local and regional dynamics in the Bronze Age Kythera Island, Greece, through an analytical approach on archaeological data from Kataphygadi cave

Trimmis, Konstantinos P., Fouriki, Stavroula, Quinn, Patrick, Dunne, Julie, Evershed, Richard P., Faillace, Katie, Madgwick, Richard ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4396-3566, Andersen, Morten ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3130-9794, Millet, Marc-Alban, Nederbragt, Alexandra J., Knowles, Timothy, Monaghan, Paul, Lazaridis, Georgios, Fernée, Christianne L. and Trantalidou, Katerina 2026. Exploring local and regional dynamics in the Bronze Age Kythera Island, Greece, through an analytical approach on archaeological data from Kataphygadi cave. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 73 , 105798. 10.1016/j.jasrep.2026.105798

PDF - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (9MB)

Abstract

Interactions between islands and mainland has long been the subject of numerous archaeological projects in the Mediterranean and beyond. The island of Kythera in Greece has been a focal point for such studies over the last century. This paper re-visits Kythera and presents an analytical study on pottery and skeletal assemblages from the Kataphygadi cave excavations in the central west Kythera, in order to further explore insular dynamics and long-range interactions in the area, during the Bronze Age. The range of analyses, from organic residue and petrography to archaeological isotopes, employed to identify the role of the cave and the island in the Bronze networks, can be a pilot study for similar research questions on the role of cave sites in insular environments. Outcomes present a more diverse picture of interactions and regional dynamics than previously thought, with local traditions surviving long into the later Bronze Age and amalgamating with practices and material culture arriving from both the mainland and Crete.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Earth and Environmental Sciences Schools > Architecture
Publisher:	Elsevier BV
ISSN:	2352-409X
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	26 May 2026
Date of Acceptance:	29 April 2026
Last Modified:	26 May 2026 11:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/187207

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item