Changes and Burial Practices. Social Interaction on Cyprus Between LC IIC and LC IIIB

Many contradicting models have been applied so far to interpret the interactions between the Mycenaeans and the Cypriots, starting at the turn of the 12th century BC. The current state of research forces us to adopt a different and multidisciplinary approach in order to obtain a more complex perspective on the cultural dynamics in a crucial moment of protohistoric Cyprus and thus go beyond the classic monolithic view of ancient interactions. That outdated view was based on the assumption of a Cyprus being colonised by the Aegeans, who imposed architectural, cultural and social models that superseded and marginalised the old ones. The aim of our research is to analyse social dynamics by looking at the burial practices adopted in the major urban Cypriote centres, namely Palaeopaphos, Kition and Enkomi. The funerary choices will be considered in light of the architectural and structural change that simultaneously take place in the settlements and of the economical transformations in which Cyprus is involved at the end of the LBA. While regional differences can be observed, common traits can be identified in the context as a whole between LC IIC and LC IIIB. This allows us to investigate the ideologies promoted by the Cypriot elites of the time, and the social impact of the external influences that occurred on Cyprus towards the end of the Bronze Age.