| This study is an examination of the wall paintings from Crete, the Cyclades, and the Mainland with the purpose of creating a greater understanding of the social roles of Bronze Age Aegean women. Chapter 1 introduces the topic, provides a detailed historical account of existing scholarship, and offers a theoretical analysis of gender studies in archaeology. Chapter 2 addresses the roles of women depicted in Minoan painting as well as ways in which men and women appear to interact. Chapter 3 investigates frescoes from the Cyclades, noting in particular the prominent positioning of the female figure. Chapter 4 presents a study of the roles of women depicted in Mycenaean painting with an emphasis on the procession and the hunt. Conclusions are drawn in Chapter 5, for which I provide a detailed statistical analysis of the frescoes by activity, region and gender represented as well as supporting information from the Linear B tablets and burial remains.;The painted human figure provides the archaeologist with aspects of ancient culture that are without material record. Clothing types, gesture, and human interaction are among the informative details provided by Bronze Age Aegean wall painting. These communicative devices, however, have been (and continue to be) interpreted from a standpoint plagued by gender bias. The present study investigates the iconography of Bronze Age Aegean wall painting with the aim of determining women's social roles by employing a theoretical framework free of that bias. |
