Social arenas in Minoan Crete : a regional history of the mesara in south-central final neolithic to the end of the protopalatial period.

Minoan archaeology is dominated by the study of Palaces. The establishment of such
monumental structures with assumed central authority across the island of Crete at the
beginning of the MBA has promoted historical questions which focus exclusively on the
emergence of social complexity. Almost without exception such studies have been
framed within a regional background. However, although Region has been considered
the scale of analysis par excellence for understanding the rise of the Palaces, a more
thorough investigation of the dynamics which generate regional patterns seems to be
lacking in current studies.
This thesis argues that the directionality imposed to Minoan studies by the focus on
palatial emergence generates inadequate accounts of social change. Moreover, the
uncritical equation of regional conformities with social integration, reduces regionalism
to an accidental phenomenon and impedes the investigation of the relationship between
local and wider processes. An alternative approach is put forward whereby social
practices are at the centre of inquiry. It is argued that social relations are negotiated
through particular social practices which prove more relevant for the articulation of
identities, thereby becoming social arenas. The recurrent investment in common social
arenas through time generates particular understandings of region as a sense of
community. Region is perceived here as an ongoing process of belonging and not as the
concentration of people and objects in a bounded geographical area.
The Mesara in south-central Crete has been considered the 'ultimate' region in Minoan
studies by virtue of its distinct topography and its unique cultural pattern. The thesis
examines the social processes which generated such an impression of regionalism for
the Mesara, from the FN to the end of the Protopalatial period. It is argued that the scale
at which belonging was practised, marked the extent and the density of the relevant
region. The emergence of the First Palace of Phaistos is re-evaluated through this
alternative perspective. It is suggested that the geographical distinctiveness of the
Mesara did not always warrant the social cohesion of its communities. Instead the
Mesara consisted of different regions throughout its history, which reflected the scale at
which community was felt and actively performed.