Hallo everybody  !!!!
I'm on vacations and so you wan't see me a lot here , but from September I'll be back !!!
Now Cadmus the first think I did in Greece is re-reading Hammond's HoM.
Once you've asked me about the route of the proto-Greeks and what does Hammond exactly says ....here you go ...I translated in English what I found in the Greek edition : He says that the proto-Greeks from Kosovo passed from the Kacanik pass and then followed the valleys of the rivers Tresca & Saletska ..avoiding the Vardar valley and ending straight up to Lychnidos lake. There the proto-Ionians moved west to the Albanian coast and the rest of the "continental" proto-Greeks have settled in Pelagonia and Dassaretis (Maliq). Quote: | N.G.L. Hammond : A History of Macedonia Volume I
Chapter VIII :
THE SETTLEMENT OF KURGAN PEOPLE IN MACEDONIA AND ALBANIA
The Early Helladic Period (EHP , 2500-1900 BC) , parallel with which the late Macedonian Neolithic period was propagated in different places in different moments, has been characterized by a great change , that initially has influenced only southern Macedonia. The whole coastal region and the central plain have changed cultural orientation. During the Late Neolithic of Greece proper , as weve seen , these regions had close contacts with Thessaly and the rest of the south , and so , Kritsana , Olynth and Akropotamos ,for instance , were considered branches of the Thessalian Culture. But from the EHP , these regions had contacts only with the cultures of Troy and the rest of the northwestern Asia Minor cultures [] . If I can borrow a phrase of S. Weinberg , these regions of Macedonia are totally included in the cultural area of Middle East. Something similar has occurred in the eastern side of Greece and the Cyclades , with only the difference being the fact that in south Macedonia there was a big scale cultural stagnancy , characterized by lack of invention and isolation.
A change of the genre can only be attributed in the arrival and settlement in south Macedonia of a new people (or group of different people) who were minimally inventive with no commercial and navigational skills. It seems that they spread from the eastern side of the central plain , and so far , Kritsana in Krousis is their earliest settlement with their culture.
[] It is obvious that the new comers have dominated in the region due to their numerical superiority, since their cultural level was very low.
[] The new comers reached the western limit of the central plain , where settlements from the earlier inhabitants were abandoned . These earlier inhabitants moved to northwestern Macedonia. In the meantime, people with the same origin with the new comers have settled in eastern Greece, especially south of the mount Othrys. It is obvious that the invaders moved southwards through Pieria and not through Elimeia.
[] In northeastern Macedonia ,[] the newcomers have not settle north of Amphaxitis. Instead , other invaders have reached the valley of Upper Axios/Vardar , coming from the north and bringing with them the culture Bubanj Hum I , from south Serbia. Their culture was extended from mount Zrna Gora to Demir Kapu and one of their settlements was in Skopje , over a rock typical position for Bubanj Hum poplulations- , and another one was in Vrsnik near Stip. In the northern parts of the Vardar Valley the Bubanj Hum people have destroyed the Predionica culture in Kosovo and drove away its inhabitants in the mountainous zones.
In West Macedonia , the last settlement of the Late Neolithic Period in Servia has survived until the beginning of the Early Bronze Age. [] It seems that the destroyers of the Servia settlement were members of the new population of the central plain.
In northwestern Macedonia , the Crnobuki culture in Pelagonia starts declining gradually , with out doubt due to the turmoil in the East and Southeast and reached its end when Bubanj Hum II populations were settled near Tsepikovo and Suvodol. In this phase , the Armenokhori settlement was already founded and presented influences from the Macedonian bronze age , meanwhile its influence was spread to the north and east , gaining ground on Bubanj Hum II cultures. The new centers were Bukri and Kravari in south Pelagonia. It seems that the populations of north Lyncus and Pelagonia acquired a new vitality and created a special type of Middle Macedonian Bronze Age culture , as it was also noted by Heurtley.
The general view in West Macedonia of the time is the gradual subversion of the very advanced and artistic cultures of Servia and Crobuki by two uncouth cultures who asserted themselves over the local populations , originating one from Central Macedonia and the other from the valley of Upper Axios/Vardar. [] Crnobuki culture ended with the invasion of Bubanj Hum II populations who created their own settlements in Pelagonia. Finally, already from the Middle Bronze Age , the culture of Macedonian Bronze Age , modified by the earlier cultures of Lyncus and Pelagonia , has dominated in the whole Lyncus and Pelagonia. The pressure of these invasions must have pushed many of the earlier settlers of West Macedonia westwards , in central and south Albania and from the valley of Haliakmon towards Epirus , regions who were functioning as transhumance destinations when the climate in central Macedonia was hostile. During this period , a convergence and mixture of ideas has occurred in west Macedonia. The weapons were improved , the use of slingshot was spread and the horse that was already known in Porodin and Tsiplevets from the Late Neolithic Period has reached central Macedonia.
[] Bubanj Hum culture presented unusual types in shape and construction of pottery that is almost similar to Minyac of central Greece , during the Middle Helladic Period. The pottery of Bubanj Hum in central Balkans was known in Pelagonia earlier with respect of Greece. When this type of pottery became familiar to the gifted people of Pelagonia , they created a hybrid pottery of Bubanj Hum and Early Macedonian Bronze Age. That alloy was even closer to the Minyac Pottery. When Heurtley wrote in 1939 that : it is extremely interesting to find minyac type pottery in shape and construction it became possible to produce in Pelagonia without external influences , he had in his mind later situations in Greece. Its extremely important and interesting the fact that two of the characteristics that are typically related with the coming of the Greeks , that is the Horse and the Minyac Pottery , have appeared in West Macedonia long before their appearance in South Greece.
More west, the great and prosperous settlement Maliq IIa has entered in a lesser prosperous period , but by maintaining its continuity. This new period is called Maliq IIb , and it seems that it began after the invasion of the new comers in Central Macedonia and the interruption of the commercial paths with the Thermaic Gulf and later , with Thessaly.
Parallel, we have the appearance of metallic vessels similar to that of the Kurgan people of the north, who buried their chiefs in pit graves covered with tumulus (Kurgan means tumulus in Russian).
This decisive change in pottery can be explained by the arrival in Maliq and maybe more west in central Albania , of a population vehicle of the Kurgan Culture. Another territory with culture similar to Maliq IIb was found in the cave of Tren , in the southwest coast of the Little Prespa lake.
In its last phase the Maliq IIb culture is overlapped by Maliq IIIa. [] This fact guide us to date the beginning of Maliq IIIa around the Early Helladic III (2050-1900 BC) respectively parallel to the last phase of the Macedonian Bronze Age and the appearance of the Kritsana settlement. The existence of the relief decoration in Maliq shows that some part of the population of Porodin in Pelagonia had moved through the corridor of the lakes and participated in the formation of the culture in Maliq and the nearby territory. Their movement was undoubtedly a result of the invasion of Bubanj Hum populations in the region. But the predominant people in Maliq , at the beginning of the Middle Helladic Period (1900-1600 BC) ,were the northern invaders who brought with them hammer-axes , hammers and double-grip cups. It seems that these populations have avoided Pelagonia , following the valleys of Tresca and of Saletska and later the interlake corridor.
[] [Judging the burials of that people] the similarity between Servia and Lerna is very close , but even closer chronologically is the similarity between Servia and the earlier burial tumulus in Leukada. [] this type of burial is unknown in central and eastern Macedonia , but a similar type has been found in Vergina , immediately southwards of the lower Haliakmon. The similarities with the pit grave of Servia are astonishing. [] Searching for indications of common origin of these burial modalities between Servia , Vergina and Leukada during the EHP I-II , we must look westwards , since some of the objects of the first burial in Serbia are also found in Maliq IIa. [] It seems that we can locate the common origin of the burial modalities in Servia and Leukada in the territory of North and Central Albania.
[] From the testimonies of Servia , Leukada , Pazhok , Vajze and Vodhine we can conclude that the tribal chief (phylarch) sepulture of the Kurgan mode , was already instituted during the EHP I (2500-2250 BC) in central Albania. This culture reached Servia and due to commercial activities, Thessaly. Other tribes were buckled in Navigation , maybe initially in the lake Skodra and later , by following its fluvial river , to the Adriatic Sea and from there have also settled in Corfu (Aphiona), Leukada and the plain of Nydri , the continental part that faces Leukada. The Corded Ware Pottery , a sign of Kurgan culture , has been found in the Ionian islands during this period (Late Neolithic- Early Bronze Age).
[] The characteristics of the Kurgan people were the Horse and the sculpted representation of the horse head and those characteristics have reached very early Porodin in Pelagonia , during the latest phase of the Late Neolithic Period . They were the so called Kurgan IV and their coming is dated around 2500 BC.
These chiefs of the Kurgan tribes and their followers , during the EHP , were more gifted and inventive from the people who have spread from the East to Central Macedonia and from the Bubanj Hum invaders that came from the north to the Vardar Valley. At the end of the EHP , it seems that these two were the last to advance respectively at Armenokhori and at Bukri in northwestern Macedonia. The pressure that they generated it seems that have driven away westwards somepart of the Pelagonian population in Albania , taking the course that had took earlier the inhabitants of the earlier Porodin culture. So , it is very possible that the population that has come from Albania and Leukada has constructed the low tumulus in Lerna and in this population is attributed the transition from EH-II to EH-III , as it is shown by the use of the perforated ax.
[] The Gajtan settlement is located in the valley about 5km east of Skodra in north Albania. [] Someone could postulate that Gajtan Ia and Gajtan II were almost synchronous respectively to Maliq IIa and Maliq IIb , with the last phase of Gajtan II overlapping the beginning of the Maliq IIa . The settlement in Gajtan was abandoned at the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age (1900 BC).
| CONCLUSIONS:
1) Around 2500 BC the Anatolians/Luwians have invaded from south Thrace the Central Macedonian Plain and the rest of Eastern Greece parallel with their invasion in Asia Minor.
2) During their invasion they drove away the earlier inhabitants (Pelasgians) , who were gathered in Pelagonia.
3) Contemporarily with the Anatolian invasion we have the Bubanj Hum invaders from the north. Bubanj Hum I can be identified with the Paeonians and their culture was extended from Skopje to Demir Kapu in the Upper Vardar valley. Other Bubanj Hum populations , named Bubanj Hum II have invaded the Tetralimnion (4 lakes area) from Kacanik , following the valleys of the rivers Tresca and Saletska to the north side of lake Lykhnidos[. These Bubanj Hum II invaders can be identified with the proto-Greeks. Some Pelagonian Pelasgians were driven away by the proto-Greeks and moved through the interlake corridor and formed the prosperous Maliq IIa culture. At the northern coast of Lykhnidos the proto-Greeks were divided in two : the proto-Ionians followed the later Egnatia westwards and finished in central and north Albania. There they formed the Gajtan II culture and in the lake Scodra gained navigations skills that permitted them to navigate the Adriatic and settle later in the Ionian Islands and from there in the west Peloponnesus. The other group moved eastwards to Pelagonia and mixed with the earlier inhabitants and formed the Bukri and Kravari cultures. The relation of the tetralimnion region with the proto-Greeks is shown by the arrival of Horse and the pro-Minyac pottery that later will evolve in Minyac pottery in Greece proper during the Middle Helladic.
4) The Bubanj Hum I from the Vardar Valley and the Anatolians from the Central Macedonia have pushed some new Pelagonian populations (hybrid of proto-Greek and Pelagonian Pelasgians) to move southwestwards through the interlake corridor and mix with the earlier Maliq IIa Pelagonian Pelasgians and form the new Maliq IIb.
5) Maliq IIb burial modalities have been found in Leukada (Ionians) , Servia , Vergina and later Lerna. This phase indicates the diffusion of the mello-Greeks in Greece proper around 1900 BC. Im calling them mello-greeks because they are already a mix of proto-Greeks (Kurgans) and Pelagonian Pelasgians. The later mix of the mello-Greeks with the Anatolian Indo-Europeans of east Greece will form what we call ancient Greeks.
6) The Gajtan settlement was abandoned around 1900 BC and that can indicate the Ionian migration in south Greece. Quote: | Chapter IX:
THE FINDINGS OF MIDDLE BRONZE AGE AND THEIR RELATION WITH THE TUMULI AND THE CHAMBERED GRAVES IN SOUTH GREECE"
[] Weve seen that it was in Pelagonia where the combination of the Bubanj Hum and Crnobuki style that created the so called Macedonian Minyac Pottery. Even in the Middle Helladic Period (MHP , 1900-1600 BC) Pelagonia continues on being densely populated and with far more findings in relation with the rest of Macedonia.
It is also true that the hellenophon people of the Indo-European group (proto-Greeks) have invaded the greek peninsula during the MHP. With respect to the latest theories Pelagonia was the first station of this people. We must also consider that the new invaders must have lived for a long period in a transitional climate between Central Europe and Mediterranean Greece , before reaching south Greece during the MHP.
The first important characteristic of the Middle Bronze Age in the west is the occupation of north and central Epirus , regions that earlier were rarely inhabited , by pastoral populations whos culture derives from Macedonia and the expansion of a population with a similar but more advanced- culture in Corfu , Leukada , Ithaka and coastal Aetolia.
Its interesting that from the early MHP around 1800 BC- we have populations of the same culture and the same manner of life in a territory that extends from Pelagonia to Dassaretis and the Inner Khaonia until Molossis towards Dodona and Terovo.
Maliq IIIa began at EH-III and extended in MH
Maliq IIIb ,similar to IIIa , but different in some ways
Maliq IIIc , characterized by a remarkable progress in the artistic skills
[] Maliq IIIc belonged to the MHP (1900-1600 BC)
[] The tumuli in Greece are monuments originating from the populations of Albania and Leukada , who by colonization have created new kingdoms. [] In many cases these MH tumulus have been found near Akropolises of the Mycenaean centers of the Late Helladic Period (LHP , 1600-1150 BC) , and probably the deads of the tumuli lucked of the same respect ,just like their fathers-founders.
[] In the cemetery of Vergina , in the south side of the lower Haliakmon , there are indications of Middle Helladic graves. [] So there are indications that in Vergina there were burial conditions similar with those of central Albania during the Middle Helladic Period. A single finding in Arnissa by professor F. Petsas seems to be the connecting ring between Vergina and Middle Helladic tumulus in Albania.
[] There are so far many reasons that justify the fact that the people at whom the kings of Mycenae belonged , had lived during the Late Neolithic Period in Porodin of Pelagonia or in nearby territories.
Chapter X :
SOME ETHNOLOGICAL CONCLUSIONS ABOUT THE HELLENOPHON POPULATIONS OF THE EARLY AND MIDDLE BRONZE AGE
It is widely accepted that the Kurgan people have migrated at the territories north and west of the Black Sea during the period 3000-2500 BC and that from there some groups, that were already using horse chariots and weapons like the war ax , moved southwards to the Danube region and became masters in the existing populations. The new testimonies, that are based in the tumuli of Albania, Servia and Leukada , are in agreement with that widely accepted opinion. There the earliest traces of Kurgan invaders are dated in the period 3000-2400 BC , and in my personal opinion , the first burial in Servia can be dated around 2600 BC.
[] The group of Kurgan people in central and western Yugoslavia must have spoken the Illyrian language and not the greek one. From the other hand , the group of Kurgan people that came to central Albania and later infiltrated the Greek peninsula during the MHP , obviously spoke the Greek language and not the Illyrian language. In fact there is an interesting overlap , later , in central Albania. Because in my opinion , the valley of the river Mat has tumulus from both groups. Middle Helladic tumuli of the hellenophon Kurgans and Early Iron Age tumuli of Illyrian Kurgans that spread from Western Yugoslavia.
[] At the moment of their arrival , the first group of hellenophon Kurgans gained control of Servia and probably of Vergina in the valley of Haliakmon and the nearby territories and gradually has initiated the earlier populations in the use of the greek language. The next step , that is the diffusion of the Greek language in the southern part of the peninsula , has occurred after almost 700 years. During this long period the greek language was differentiated in strong dialects , which proved to be capable to survive and resist to position shift not only between 1900 and 1100 BC , but also between 1100 and 550 BC.
Chapter XI :
LATE BRONZE AGE
[] In northwest Macedonia , the cities of Pelagonia who were continually inhabited from the Late Neolithic Period , were abandoned at the end of the Middle Bronze Age and it seems that their inhabitants have moved to the mountainous zones and probably became pastoral nomads. [] Heurtley concluded that a settlement in Bobousti southwest of Argos Orestikon was a daughter of the culture of the hills of Pelagonia. [] Another daughter of that culture was the Lianokladi III culture in Sperkhios River. So I conclude that this type of pottery was developed lately in MHP in the Maliq region and from there via Albania reached the upper valley of Haliakmon in Bobousti , Epirus and from there Lianokladi. [] So Maliq IIId seems to be in charge in this school of pottery and Bobousti is a branch of that school. In Tren , in the southwest coast of little Prespa it was foud a culture that is considered a descendant of Maliq III. If my datation of MaliqIIId is correct then the beginning of the Tren culture was around Late Helladic III (1200-1150 BC).
In a passage from Telegonia or Thesprotis of Eugammon of Kyrene , that was written around 565 BC , Odysseus went to Thesprotia and helped the Thesprotians in heir war against the Briges , who were initially winners. In the myth of the foundation of Epidamnos , some of the activities of Hercules in the region are followed by the arrival of the Briges , who were coming back from the Phrygians. [] This come back from the Phrygians is indicating a nostos (return in home) and so these Phrygians are the ones mentioned in the Iliad as Trojan allies and dwelling near the lake Ascania , in the south coast of Propontis. [] The Phrygians were not an Illyrian tribe , but a different one that came earlier than the Illyrians. During classic times , some Bryges were inhabiting the Inner parts of Epidamnos. Further more , there were Briges in the western parts of the Balkans , north of Pelagonia , and these Briges were different from their neighboring Penestians, Pelagonians and Paeonians. There were also some Thracian Bryges somewhere north of Khalkidike ,who attacked the Persians in 492 BC(Herodotus VI,45). One of the leaders of the Phrygians in the Iliad (III,186) was Mygdon , and later we find a certain Mygdon , eponymous hero of the Mygdonia region.
Chapter XIV :
MACEDONIA AND ITS WESTERN , NORTHERN AND EASTERN NEIGHBORS DURING THE EARLY IRON AGE
Near Scodra the settlement Gajtan III presents a long phase in the Iron Age. Bep Rebani considers its elements of pure Illyrian type. [] So we can postulate a common origin , probably Illyrian , between the grips in Chauchista , Vergina and Gajtan.
[] These findings cover a gap between the tumulus of the valley of the river Mat and the Illyrian type of Glasinac near Sarajevo , in West Yugoslavia. A communication path between central Albania and Yugoslavia crosses the Drin at Kukes and passes higher from the White Drin , in Prizren and Pec. In this region two very strategic points have been inhabited for the first time during the Early Iron Age : the Qytet I Skanderbegut , in an altitude of 1225m , south of the Drin , and north of the Drin at the same altitude with Rosuje , near Kukes. It seems that a new and warlike people has moved southwards using this path to the valley of Mat and occupied some high posts of the area.
The famous cemetery of Glasinac was named by the plain where its located. There are more than 20.000 tumulus. [] The main weapon there was the spear with the Iron head. Every warrior was buried with seven sometimes ten spears.
[] There are other archaeological sites with many tumulus in northwestern Yugoslavia who follow the culture of Glasinac or its variations.
[] The most important region with that culture , from chronological point of view , is the home place of the Liburnians. A decisive datation is around 900 BC , when was destroyed the county of the Liburnians. Thats why from then and on the Liburnians occupied new posts and begun their expansion. The formation of the Liburnian culture is dated around 900 BC.
[] Appian quotes that the Illyrian Taulantians drove away the Briges from Epidamnos. The Taulantians appear in the genealogical myth of Illyrius , who is of early date because some of the tribes that it mentions had no importance in classic times. The six sons of Illyrius were Enkheleus , Autarieus , Dardanus , Maedus , Taulus and Perrhaebus and the first of his daughters was Partho. [] This genealogy was created in modern South Albania.
[] This part of the foundation myth of Epidamnus is related to the first expansion of the Illyrian tribes. Some of them invaded Peuketia around 1000 BC . Others invaded Pikeno at the end of 9th ce. BC. Since Peuketia includes the gulf of Bari , we can conclude that the Illyrians had Epidamnus at least around 1000 BC. So we will not be too far if we consider the occupation by the Briges of the Mat and Epidamnus around 1080-1050 BC and the arrival of the Parthini and the Taulanti around 1050-1000 BC. The foundation myth continues with the Liburnians driving away the Taulanti. So we can date the arrival of the Liburnians in Epidamnus around 900 BC and their occupation of Corfu during the period 850-733 BC. So we can consider the expansion of the Illyrian people as a large scale migration that begun around 1050 BC and lasted until the 8th century BC.
[] One of the entrances of the Illyrians was undoubtedly from Pec and Prizren to Kukes , by the river Drin , where the guarding posts of its mountainous zone were occupied for the first time.
Chapter XV :
THE CHRONOLOGICAL FRAME OF THE EARLY IRON AGE
Period I , 1100-950 BC : first Phrygian phase in Vergina
Period II , 950-900 BC : prosperous Phrygian phase in Vergina
Period III , 900-800 BC : Illyrian cemetery in Vergina
Period IV : 800-650 BC:
Period V : 650-550 BC : Vergina makes no contributions and the Illyrian cemetery ceased to be used near 650 BC and was never used until the early Hellenistic period. (*Andrew's note* arrival of the hellenophon Macedonians from the Pierian mountains and foundation of Aegaea)
Chapter XVII :
"THE HISTORICAL FACTS OF THE EARLY IRON AGE UNTIL 800 BC"
I. The Dorian Invasion
With the term Dorian Invasion we are referring to the invasion of tribes that spoke one of the six subdialects of the northwestern Greek dialect, tribes who reached northwestern Thessaly about 60 years after the destruction of Troy and occupied Peloponnesus about 80 years after it. [] It is widely accepted that Pelagonia in west Macedonia expressed very early some samples of the elements that characterize the invaders : the chambered graves , the arch porps and the rings with spiral limits.
[] The new occupiers of Mycenae had certain relations with the relatively backward 12th century BC culture of west Macedonia , central Albania and central Epirus. This region was the nucleus of the greek-speaking tribes and had a norh-western geometrical rhythm in the pottery.
[] It was the powerful Briges with their Lausitz culture who pressed in Pelagonia and caused the south migration of North Western greek tribes from Pelagonia and Lyncus. The total body of the invaders passed west of Pindos. It didnt infiltrated in the valley of Haliakmon , in the Lower Macedonia and the northeastern Thessaly.
II. The Phrygians in Macedonia
Around 1140-120 BC the Phrygians reached Vergina. Around 1080 BC they lost their lands east of Axius ,but maintained the fluvial communication with Thessaly and the Troad , during the whole submycenaean period 1120-1030 BC. During this relatively short period of time , the Phrygians were the most powerful people in the north Aegean territory and theres no doubt that they were requested as mercenaries and metallurgists.
[] Around 800 BC theres a great change. The Phrygians have moved to Asia Minor due to the Illyrian pressure.
III. The Eordeans
At the beginning of the EIA , the kingdom with Pateli settlement as center was independent from the Phrygians , who controlled Pelagonia and the central plain. The inhabitants of this kingdom are called by Thoukydides Eordoi. Most of them were exterminated later by the Macedonians. [] The Eordoi were obviously descendants of a Bronze Age population. Their name survived in the region Eordea , the river Eordaikos (Devol) , the settlement Ordaea below Naousa and in a part of Mygdonia called Eordaea. All these post names are positioned near a lake.
IV. The Epidotic tribes in Macedonia
Hecataeus around 500 BC names many tribes of the Epirotic group of Ephorus classifying them as Molossians , Khaonians and Thesprotians. For example the Orestes are mentioned as a Molossian tribe meanwhile the Dexares as a Khaonian one.
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__________________
Μακεδῶν ἐξ Αἰγιδίου
...οἶά τε φύλλα μακεδνῆς αἰγείροιο
"...like the leaves of a very high poplar"
(Odyssey VII,106)
κακοὶ μάρτυρες ἀνθρώποισιν ὀφθαλμοὶ καὶ ὦτα βαρβάρους ψυχὰς ἐχόντων
"Bad testimonies are the eyes and the ears for persons having barbarian souls"
ΗΡΑΚΛΕΙΤΟΣ
Last edited by Andrew; 10-14-2008 at 06:07 PM.
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07-31-2008, 12:51 AM
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