Frying pans

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''For the modern utensil, see frying pan.

Frying pans are ceramic objects of unknown purpose from the archaeological strata called Early Cycladic II in the Aegean islands and the Early Helladic I and II elsewhere in the Aegean. There has been much speculation over the mysterious purpose of what are clearly prestige goods. Characteristically highly decorated much care has gone into their making. They have been found at sites throughout the Aegean but are not common: around 200 have been unearthed to date.

Contents

1 Description
2 Proposed functions of \"Frying Pans\"
3 Factors in interpretation
4 References

Description

They somewhat resemble a skillet (hence the name 'frying pan') in that they have a diameter of 20 to 28 centimeters, a raised lip and a handle. However, all the decoration tends to be on the outside rim and on the 'bottom'. The decoration is stamped or incized. The handles vary a great deal (more so on the mainland). It is worth noting that some think the term 'handle' may be slightly misleading as some of the handles seem more decorative than utilitarian. They are usually found in graves, although they are very uncommon grave goods; their rarity does not help to indicate their specific purpose.

Two types of "frying pans" are distinguished. One the so-called "Kampos type" is Early Cycladic, characteristically with its straight side decorated with incised lines framing spirals; its rectangular handle with a crossbar; the main circular field commonly decorated with incised running spirals around a central star (ref. Dartmouth). The other is the "Syros type" with a concave undecorated side, and a two-pronged handle; decoration of main circular field with stamped concentric circles or spirals, often accompanied by incised depictions of longboats or what is sometimes interpreted as female genitalia (ref. Dartmouth)

Common patterns and designs on these "frying pans" include:

large stars with circles or bands inside
triangular patterns in rows (very common, called "kerbschnitt")
concentric circles
wheel-like patterns
many small spirals grouped together
ships (with paddles and fish banners)

Proposed functions of \"Frying Pans\"

Proposed functions of "frying pans" vary widely, but some of the more common theories include:

plates
cooking utensil (i.e. an actual frying pan)
mirrors
drums
a specifically religious or ritualistic object
libation vessel

although some of these theories are not widely accepted. The plate interpretation is fairly neutral, as a plate could be anything from a decorative object to a religious one. It is unlikely that they are actual cooking utensils, as there is no signs of food or fire, and as previously stated, they are usually found in burial contexts. That they were mirrors is a much more interesting interpretation: ceramics are quite obviously nonreflective, but it has been suggested that filled with water or oil, they could function as a mirror. The drum theory is fairly unlikely as one would expect a drum to have holes around the edges so that the hide could be stretched across it. Furthermore, with many of the handles found on these objects, it would be very hard for the drummer to hold the artifact in the style suggested. The weakness of the religious/ritualistic explanation is that it is the old standby of archaeologists to explain anything that is not obvious. However given that they are found in a burial context, even if they did have a mundane every day purpose, the ones we find most likely did have a deeper symbolic meaning.

Factors in interpretation

A few things to keep in mind about the interpretations:

The decoration is on the side we consider to be the bottom (when one thinks of them as frying pans)
There is regional variation, especially in the handles, but there is a certain amount of consistency
They have a 'storage' shape, in that they could, in theory, hold something (the raised lip, no holes in the bottom, etc.)
They are intricately decorated. This required much effort and suggests they had a certain level of importance
Last but not least is the burial context. This once again indicates a certain level of importance.

References

John E. Coleman, 1985. "Frying Pans of the Early Bronze Age Aegean" American Journal of Archaeology 89, pp 191-219. Includes a full scholarly bibliography.
http://projectsx.dartmouth.edu/classics/history/bronze_age/lessons/les/4.html#16 (Dartmouth College) Early Cycladic pottery]

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