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ZENODO
Preprint . 2025
License: CC BY
Data sources: ZENODO
ZENODO
Preprint . 2025
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Preprint . 2025
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
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Systematization of Minoan Lighting Devices and an Archaeological Anomaly

Authors: Revazyan, Arman;

Systematization of Minoan Lighting Devices and an Archaeological Anomaly

Abstract

This study argues that the corpus of 543 Minoan lighting-related artefacts compiled by Bastien Rueff (2020) contains a structural anomaly: the complete absence of shell-based oil lamps. In our view, this zero-presence phenomenon cannot be explained by environmental, technological, or accidental factors. The analysis proposes a cultural–semiotic explanation grounded in domain purity: within the Minoan conceptual system, marine shells belonged to the water domain, while lamps belonged to the fire domain. Their combination would have constituted a violation of elemental order. This interpretation accords with Mary Douglas’s anthropological model of “matter out of place.” Thus, the absence of shell lamps is not a gap in the archaeological record, but a material expression of a coherent symbolic logic that structured the separation of domains in the Aegean Bronze Age.

Keywords

Minoan archaeology; Minoan lighting corpus; shell lamps; Charonia shells; domain purity; semiotics; Mary Douglas; matter out of place; Aegean Bronze Age

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average
Green