What are these queer stones?
Subtitle: baetyls : epistemology of a Minoan fetish
By: Sam Crooks
Series: BAR international series -- 2511; BAR international series -- 2511.
Publisher: Archaeopress
Published: 2013
Place of publication: Oxford
Language: eng
Number of pages: 79
ISBN-13: 9781407311296
Subjects: Sacred stones; Fetishes (Ceremonial objects); Minoans; Rites and ceremonies; Antiquities
Description: "This monograph examines the aniconic cult stones, or baetyls, of the Aegean Bronze Age. Minoan baetyls are commonly understood by reference to the interpretive vocabularies of ancient Near Eastern traditions developed by comparative ethnographies popular in the early 20th century. This study presents and interrogates the Aegean evidence for baetyl cult, providing a catalogue of archaeological evidence attesting to this cultic practice. Contextual analysis provides the basis for interpreting and (re)constructing aspects of the cult. It is argued that the ambiguity inherent in these aniconic stones renders them uniquely flexible in serving multiple cultic, ritual and ideological functions across different contexts." -- Abstract.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.