University Honors

Swords and other weapons had been placed into Athenian graves for over 700 years when thepractice was abandoned in the late 8th century BCE. The Greek world during this periodwitnessed several dramatic shifts in political, economic, and cultural realities from centralizedMycenaean authority to the “Bronze Age Collapse”, and four centuries of fragmentation andpopulation decline followed by an unprecedented explosion of literacy, art, and geographicalexpansion in the 8th century. How is it that these so-called “warrior graves” were a persistentfeature of such a dynamic cultural landscape? And if the practice was so persistent throughoutchanging cultural circumstances, why was it finally abandoned? Through a comprehensiveliterature review, this paper recontextualizes swords as bearers of meaning that, when used infunerary contexts from ca.1450-720 BCE, co-constituted Athenian communities’ social realities.Synthesizing and following work in social funerary archaeology and theorizations ofentanglement, this paper argues that burials with swords ceased in late 8th century Athensbecause power was no longer attached to elaborate funerals incorporating swords as multitudesof new objects were being made and traded, and political and religious institutions opened upnovel arenas for display and competition. This case study illustrates that the transformation andrecasting of time-honored traditions is part of the complexity of living culture, and does notreflect loss of authenticity or corruption of heritage. These insights are relevant to the fiercecontemporary debates surrounding decolonization of the political, economic, and academicinstitutions that shape public discourse and policy.