American Journal of Archaeology

Throughout late antiquity, long after the collapse of the Roman administrative system, Augusta Emerita (Mérida, Spain) retained its role as a primary center for economic, political, religious, and social exchanges. However, the nature and the physical setting of many of those interactions changed significantly in this period. In particular, Emerita’s archaeological record from the fourth and fifth centuries confirms a trend away from the classical ideals that had contributed to the city’s early urban structure. This article argues that the sweeping urban changes experienced by the city are not just symptomatic of economic decline but that these changes should also be taken as important examples of the ongoing vitality of the Late Antique city center. As residents and officials encountered a new set of economic, political, religious, and social demands, they reshaped their urban environment to adapt to these new circumstances. The end result is most clearly distinguished in the remains of the late fifth-century city, but this post-Roman city has its roots in the Late Roman context of the fourth century.

It is generally accepted that Cretan transport stirrup jars were the preferred bulk liquid transport container of the Late Bronze Age Aegean, but the reasons behind their invention, relatively rapid dissemination and widespread use, and sudden disappearance are not well understood. To explain the rise and fall of the transport stirrup jar, this article offers a quantitative comparison of the distribution and production of Cretan transport stirrup jars in relation to the amphora, the other major transport container on the island, from the Middle Minoan II to the Late Minoan (LM) IIIC period. Based on these data, it seems that the mode of production and distribution patterns remained relatively consistent for amphoras, but production of the transport stirrup jar fluctuated greatly, rapidly reaching an apex during the LM IIIB period. In the LM IIIC period, however, the production and distribution patterns of both shapes changed, and the amphora was reestablished as the dominant transport container. I suggest that the comparatively short lifespan of the transport stirrup jar may be due to political intervention in the LM IIIA2–B periods. This article therefore contributes to our understanding of the sociopolitical underpinnings of changes in broad ceramic trends visible in the archaeological record.

Although the importance of seal use on the Greek mainland during the Early Bronze Age has long been recognized, its significance still remains difficult to grasp. The pervasive priority given to the analysis of social complexity has meant that seal use is addressed as part of an early administrative apparatus employed to control the distribution of goods. The failure of the material to meet the expectations raised by this interpretation is often ignored and has yet to spur a reconsideration of the theoretical grounds on which analysis of seal use was built. Highlighting that such difficulties are the result of particular demands placed on this material, demands that are shaped, in turn, by untested assumptions about the function of the sealings, this article proposes the significance of seal use as a value-producing and transformative material practice. In this framework, it brings forward and discusses the employment of Early Bronze Age II (Early Helladic II) sealings in the organization of food practices as sustaining the circulation of agricultural labor. This reorientation is consonant with a more general shift from seeking to identify predetermined social formations with their concomitant modes of material management to placing strategies of goods reallocation within a continuous, and significantly open-ended, process of social association.

In my final letter from the editor, I would like to call your attention to some of the recent design innovations in the AJA and to thank those of you who have been so stalwart in your support of me, particularly over the past year. Following on the complete redesign of the cover, there is now a new look for the journal’s interior. In addition to a redesigned article title page, the January 2015 issue debuted the restructured masthead and table of contents pages. AJA Online has also been completely revamped to offer a more streamlined mobile experience and to better reflect the new look of the journal itself. I thank Madeleine Donachie, Katrina Swartz, and Vanessa Lord for all their hard work and creativity; it has been a real pleasure and an honor to work with such a devoted staff.

I would like to thank my advisory board for their sage advice and support during my tenure as Editor-in-Chief. Their commitment to the discipline and their willingness to give of their time to ensure the high quality of the journal has been inspiring. Let me also express my gratitude to the Book Review Editors for their long service to the journal, and to my editorial assistants for all their hard work. I feel very fortunate indeed to have such dedicated and professional colleagues. I wish all the best to the next Editor-in-Chief, Jane Carter, who I am sure will continue to improve the quality of the journal as she introduces innovations and changes of her own. My final issue as Editor-in-Chief will be October 2016; the next editor’s first issue will be January 2017.

Finally, while archaeology may be a study of the past, it is a discipline that operates in the present. We have learned the hard way this year that the study and protection of the past and its material remains can be a very dangerous, even deadly undertaking. To all our colleagues currently working under exceedingly difficult circumstances to manage, preserve, and protect the archaeological heritage of the Mediterranean world in this period of horrific warfare, political instability, and crushing financial austerity, we honor your service and we hope for better and more peaceful times.

Sheila Dillon
Editor-in-Chief

This work examines the use of memory and tradition in the Christianization of the Peloponnese based on the evidence of the location and topography of churches. The different processes of conversion in the area have already been discussed, and the focus of this work is to show the extent of continuation of religious practice from the Roman to Late Antique periods. A diachronic analysis of the evidence for towns and sanctuaries from the fourth to seventh centuries is presented. It is argued that throughout the different Christianization processes memory and tradition were managed by the church in terms of its location, architecture, and rituals. It is likely that the church consciously maintained certain traditions of place, imagery, and action in order to retain and use memory traces from the established religious structures, which helped situate the Christian church as a central element of community life and identity. Therefore, it is contended that an essential element of the Christianization process was to maintain earlier memories and traditions not only to enable an efficiently unobtrusive conversion for its long-term success but also to ensure the maintenance of existing social structures, which in turn sustained the church.