Koine and Regional Variation in Mycenaean Tableware Pottery: From Theory to Case Study

This contribution discusses koine and regional variation in Mycenaean tableware and examines the importance of these terms for our understanding of cultural and socio-political developments on the Greek mainland during the late formative, mature, and final phases of the Mycenaean palaces. To do so, based on recent theoretical work by M. Dietler, this article proposes a contextual study of drinking and eating vessels from Pylos, Mitrou, and the “Serraglio” on Kos. Located in different areas of the Mycenaean world, these sites represent diverse case studies, including a palatial center from the southwest Peloponnese, a secondary center from central Greece, and a regional center from the southeast Aegean. Throughout this research, analytical emphasis is placed on the critical comparison between these three sites and other important sites in the northeast Peloponnese, the undisputed home of the so-called Mycenaean koine. While not denying the increased uniformity in tableware vessels during the formative and full Palatial phases of Mycenaean civilization, the case studies examined in this article reveal multifaceted patterns of material interactions. The leadership of Argive workshops in manufacturing a shared vocabulary for Mycenaean eating and drinking practices cannot be overlooked. However, no direct link can be established between this role and the existence of socio-cultural unity under Argive political control. Instead, the evidence suggests different degrees of participation in a shared Mycenaean identity, which appears in the making during LH IIB, at its peak in LH IIIB1, and under challenge during LH IIIB2. It is also clear that each one of the sites examined in this article followed specific individual patterns. This indicates that local agency had an important role and that the social meaning of Mycenaean tableware vessels was continuously negotiated and manipulated according to the agendas of local communities.