Robert LAFFINEUR & Philip P. BETANCOURT (Ed.), ΤΕΧΝΗ. Craftsmen, Craftswomen and Craftsmanship in the Aegean Bronze Age. Proceedings of the 6th International Aegean Conference. Philadelphia, Temple University, 18-21 April 1996. Liège, Université - Austin, University of Texas, 1997. 2 vol. 21 χ 30 cm, 548 p., 198 pi. (AEGAEUM, 16).

With the series Aegaeum, R. Laffineur has, since its conception in 1986, provided an excellent forum for the meeting of Aegean prehistorians, in each case concentrating on specific topics and reviewed in the present journal (Thanatos, 1987 ; Transition, from Middle to Late Bronze Age, 1989 ; Thalassa, on maritime trade, 1991 ; Eikoon, on iconography, 1992 ; and Politeia, on state and society, 1995). Craftsmanship is a topic which was bound to invite contributions from different angles, both of a theoretical nature and material-related. The success of the Techne- meeting can be measured by the number of contributors, with 56 papers withheld for publication. The two volumes are thematically organised with seven specific topics. The first part, perhaps a bit unfortunately titled «Context and Chronology», comprises eight papers dealing with a variety of topics ranging from general stylistic theory (Wedde, Crowley, Walberg) to specific period-related productions (Kalogirou, Elster, Andreadaki, Dickinson, Rehak). The second topic, «Figurative Arts», is comprised of papers on clay figurines (Karetsou, Kourou, Rethemiotakis, Gesell, Saupe), frescoes (Blakolmer) and ivories (Kopeke, Krzyszkowska). Then comes a collection of papers dealing with various other materials, especially obsidian (Betancourt), stone vases (Warren, Lilyquist) and metal (Boss, Laffineur, Pini). A fourth topic, «Architecture», surprisingly received attention from only two researchers (Hitchcock, Belli) whereas the fifth topic, «Pottery», the archaeologist's main tool, unsurprisingly is dealt with in 14 papers. There are good papers on Minoan (Whitelaw, Day, Wilson, Kiriatzi, Kilikoglou, Haggis, Poursat, Knappett, Floyd, Carinci, Shaw, Van de Moortel, Vallianou) and Mycenaean production (Niemeier, Stefani, Meroussis, Andreou, Dimitriadis, Kotsakis, Cosmopoulos, Thomas). Four papers deal with «Written Sources» (Shelmerdine, Gregersen, Palaima, Burke) although both Shelmerdine and Burke combine these with archaeological information. Finally, twelve papers are compiled into a general topic called «Craftsmanship, Economy, Trade and Society» (Soles, Dimopoulou, Bloedow, Papadopoulos, Evely, Dabney, Tsipopoulou, Vagnetti, Shaw, Gillis, Barber, Kopaka, Nordquist) where some other papers, included in earlier sections, should also have been retained (Foster, Bass). Other papers would have benefitted from their inclusion in earlier sections since they concentrate on specific materials (Tsipopoulou, Vagnetti, Shaw, Barber) or are largely based on written sources (Gillis). Most papers are of a high standard and here only those papers with topics dear to the reviewer are briefly hinted at. Thus, it should be applauded that some recent and extremely interesting excavations are treated here in detail for the first time. This is especially the case for Dimopoulou' s account of workshop activities at Poros, illustrating how even small-scale rescue excavations can add to our knowledge of obsidian, metal, sealstone and other jewellery