No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
The Combat Archaeology of the Fifth-Century BC Kopis: Hoplite Swordsmanship in the Archaic and Classical Periods
Abstract
‘Traditionalist’ scholars of historical Greek warfare assert that hoplites formed a close-order formation that moved slowly and deliberately to overwhelm its enemies. Opposing them the ‘revisionists’, claim that hoplites fought in an ‘open-order’ formation resembling Homeric combat well into the Archaic and even early Classical periods. Existing studies of the physical remains of Greek arms and armour, iconographic representations of hoplites in combat, and literary descriptions of Greek warfare are not decisive. Combat archaeology, i.e. the reconstruction and testing of arms and armour, remains a largely untapped source of evidence. This article presents the results of an experimental archaeological reconstruction of the kopis , a curved sword used in Greek combat from the mid-sixth to fourth centuries BC. A more complete understanding of the use of the kopis sheds light on the realities of hoplite combat and offers strong support for the traditionalist position.
Indigenous American shield-making traditions are best known among the peoples of the Plains and Southwest cultural provinces, where shields were used in martial and ceremonial contexts. In these regions, shields are frequently represented in images cross-cutting a range of visual media including rock and mural paintings, and pictographs and petroglyphs, some of which exhibit considerable antiquity. Actual shields, however, are almost unknown archaeologically. This article presents new data resulting from an analysis of five coiled basketry shields recovered from archaeological sites in the northern Southwest. Digital image enhancement clarifies the nature of early shield decoration, while evidence for use in combat contributes to knowledge of shield evolution and function. Improved dating suggests the possibility that basketry shields predate the proliferation of shield imagery in the AD 1200s. These observations help reorient discussion of shield form, function, and iconography within the context of wider cultural developments during the AD 1200s and beyond.
In this study, a series of Tisna's coins dated to the 4th century BC are discussed. It is known that Tisna, a less known city of Aiolis which is one of the important Iron Age cultural regions of Western Anatolia, gained polis status in the 4th century BC. The archaeological surveys we have been continuing in the site proved that Tisna was inhabited since the end of the 3rd millennium BC. An item depicted in the coins, which are among the most important finds of the city, constitutes the main subject of this study. This item was often described as a sword or a scabbard in previous publications. However, when the object is examined iconographically, it is surprising that it is actually a Scythian-Persian sword, akinakes. As a result of our examinations and comparisons it has been suggested that coins with depiction of akinakes may be related to both Persian identity in the region and the cult of Ares.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.