Archaeologist · Scholar · Cataloguer
Priscilla Schuster Keswani
fl. 1989–2016 · United States
Archaeologist of Bronze Age Cyprus who wrote the tomb-centred study Mortuary Ritual and Society in Bronze Age Cyprus (2004) and has studied Late Bronze Age pithoi from the south-west.
Biography
Priscilla Schuster Keswani wrote Mortuary Ritual and Society in Bronze Age Cyprus, a study of Bronze Age tombs that later scholars cite as the standard synthesis. It was published in London by Equinox in 2004 as number 9 in the series Monographs in Mediterranean Archaeology1. Her date and place of birth are not recorded, and no university post is recorded for her; the programme of a workshop in 2015 styled her an independent scholar7.
In 1989 her name appeared with those of Alison K. South and P. Russell on Vasilikos Valley Project 3: Kalavasos-Ayios Dhimitrios II. The volume covers ceramics, objects, tombs and specialist studies, and the Catalogue of Finds, pages 94 to 147, is credited to Keswani in one citation and to all three authors in another5. The chapter on Tombs 1 to 7 and 10 is attributed to South and Russell6.
Tombs and kin
In 2003 she and A. Bernard Knapp published "Bronze Age boundaries and social exchange in north-west Cyprus" in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology4. In the same year she is named among the specialist contributors on the title page of The Sydney Cyprus Survey Project, by Michael J. M. Given and Knapp14. A year later came the mortuary book, whose fourth chapter surveys Early and Middle Bronze Age tombs and whose fifth surveys those of the Late Bronze Age1. In 2005 she published "Death, Prestige, and Copper in Bronze Age Cyprus" in the American Journal of Archaeology 109, pages 341 to 4012. For a volume edited by Edgar J. Peltenburg in 2013 she wrote a chapter on burial practices in third-millennium Cyprus13.
Later scholars summarise her argument as follows. Counts reports her view that collective secondary burial in the Early and Middle Cypriot periods reflected kin groups, and that Late Cypriot urban immigrants at sites such as Enkomi and Kalavasos kept their ancestors close to the households10. H. W. Catling, in the Kouklia tomb volumes published in 2020, praised her emphasis on the secondary treatment of the dead and her combination of raw information with interpretive ideas. He added that her knowledge of the south-west of the island was slight beside her knowledge of the east and south coasts, and that her work had taken her to Alassa and Yeroskipou8.
Pithoi from the south-west
From 2011 Keswani studied the large storage jars, or pithoi, of the Late Bronze Age with Eleni Nodarou. Her part was the typology and Nodarou's the compositional analysis. The material came from Alassa (Paliotaverna and Pano Mandilaris), Episkopi-Bamboula, Kouklia (Hadjiabdoulla and Evreti) and Maa-Palaeokastro7. On 19 September 2015 she presented "Pithos Production in Southwestern Cyprus: Perspectives from Palaepaphos" at an ARIEL workshop7.
Her chapter "Fragmentary pithoi" appeared in 2016 in Feasting, Craft, and Depositional Practice in Late Bronze Age Palaepaphos: The Well Fillings of Evreti, edited by C. von Rüden, Artemis Georgiou, A. Jacobs and P. Halstead3,11.
Life and work
- 1989With Alison South and P. Russell, co-author of Vasilikos Valley Project 3: Kalavasos-Ayios Dhimitrios II (Ceramics, Objects, Tombs, Specialist Studies); Keswani is credited (as Keswani / Schuster Keswani) with the 'Catalogue of Finds' (pp. 94-147, in one citation joint with South and Russell) and co-authors a chapter on tombs.
KalavasosSouth et al. 1989, pp. 94-147South & Russell 1989, pp. 41-57
- 2003With A. Bernard Knapp published Bronze Age Boundaries and Social Exchange in North-West Cyprus (Oxford Journal of Archaeology 22.3, 213-223).
- 2004Published Mortuary Ritual and Society in Bronze Age Cyprus (Equinox, Monographs in Mediterranean Archaeology 9). Chapters 4 (Early and Middle Bronze Age, pp. 37-83) and 5 (Late Bronze Age, pp. 84-144) survey the tomb evidence; Catling (2020) praises her handling of secondary treatment of the dead and notes her knowledge of the south-west was slight compared with the east and south coast, though her research took her to Alassa and Yeroskipou. Catling's text gives the date as 2007 (London).
LondonKeswani 2004Catling 2020
- 2011Initiated with Eleni Nodarou a comparative study of Late Bronze Age pithoi (compositional, technological and stylistic analyses) from Alassa Paliotaverna and Pano Mandilaris, Episkopi Bamboula, Kouklia Hadjiabdoulla and Evreti, and Maa Palaeokastro; Nodarou's archaeometric programme also sampled Kalavasos-Ayios Dhimitrios and Maroni.
SW and south-central CyprusUnit & Cyprus 2015, p. 6
- 19 September 2015Presented 'Pithos Production in Southwestern Cyprus: Perspectives from Palaepaphos' at the ARIEL workshop, styled Independent Scholar.
- 2016Contributed 'Fragmentary pithoi' to Feasting, Craft, and Depositional Practice in Late Bronze Age Palaepaphos: The Well Fillings of Evreti, eds C. von Rüden, A. Georgiou, A. Jacobs and P. Halstead (pp. 217-234 per one citation).
KoukliaCrewe & Georgiou 2018, p. 17Kearns & Manning 2019, p. 227
In the field
1 recordWhere they worked in the field
- Ground above 200, 500, 1,000 m
Sites
- 1Politiko-Phorades (approx.)
Politiko-Phorades
ExcavatedKeswani participated in the ongoing excavations at Phorades.
Bronze Age smelting siteKeswani & Knapp 2003, p. 218
Connections
8 peopleScholarship
- Wrote with Alison K. South1989
- Wrote with Pamela Russell1989
- Wrote with A. Bernard Knapp2003
Colleagues & contacts
- Worked with A. Bernard Knapp2003
- Worked with Michael Given2003
- Connected with Lindy Creweprobably2004
- Worked with Eleni Nodarou2011–2015
- Worked with Edgar J. Peltenburg2013
- Worked with Artemis Georgiou2015–2016
Recording and study
16 records- Catalogued1
Priscilla Keswani grouped common jewelry types under ‘various’ or ‘other’ and itemized more remarkable objects from Enkomi tombs.
Enkomi finds, including gold jewelry typesKeswani 2004, p. 232
- Studied14
1996Keswani examined surface finds collected by Wallace's survey of the Akhera area.
surface finds from the Akhera areaKeswani & Knapp 2003, p. 216
1996Keswani examined grave goods from the Akaki Trounalli tombs.
grave goods from Akaki Trounalli tombsKeswani & Knapp 2003, p. 216Pezzi 2017, p. 105
Keswani investigated regional variation in LCII-III pithoi, comparing Alassa and Kalavasos.
Keswani studied published tomb ceramics, including Plain White vessels from Enkomi.
Plain White pottery in tomb assemblagesCrewe 2007, p. 109
Priscilla Schuster Keswani compared pithoi from Alassa with those from Kalavasos Ayios Dhimitrios.
Pithoi from Alassa and Kalavasos Ayios DhimitriosAlassa and Kalavasos Ayios DhimitriosHein 2009, p. 107
Priscilla Schuster Keswani examined evidence for social hierarchy in Enkomi’s mortuary record.
Mortuary data from EnkomiKeswani 1989, p. 49Keswani 1989, p. 57
P. S. Keswani examined a sample of 197 Plain White bowls from diverse Enkomi tomb groups.
Keswani 1991, p. 101Keswani 1991, p. 104Keswani 1991, p. 112
P. S. Keswani evaluated the distribution hypothesis using small samples of Plain White ceramics from three sites.
Angastina-Vounos, Ayios Iakovos-Melia, and Kalavasos-Ayios DhimitriosKeswani 1991, p. 114
Show 6 moreShow fewer
Priscilla Keswani observed wear on Mycenaean pottery from Enkomi.
P.S. Keswani listed figurine examples from tomb groups of differing status at Enkomi.
figurines from tomb groupsKnapp 2009, p. 139
Keswani examined the mortuary record from Enkomi in a processual fashion.
Priscilla Keswani was analyzing pithos samples from Aredhiou for an island-wide project.
P. Keswani studied variabilities in Enkomi tomb architecture and find assemblages.
variabilities in tomb architecture and in find assemblagesWijngaarden 2002, p. 150
Priscilla Keswani studied the pithoi fragments.
pithoi fragments from the Evreti wellsPalaepaphos-EvretiRüden et al. 2016
- Drew1
Priscilla Schuster Keswani drew the Red Polished shrine model from Kotchati.
No. CM1970/V-28/1Keswani 2012, p. 315
Discussed in documents
- Barlow et al. (1991). Cypriot Ceramics: Reading the Prehistoric RecordStudies Late Bronze Age production and distribution
- Jones. Oxhide Ingots, Copper Production, and the Mediterranean Trade in Copper and Other Metals in the Bronze AgeInterprets Cypriot metal production and exchange
- Webb and Frankel (1994). Making an impression: Storage and surplus finance in Late Bronze Age CyprusAssisted in identifying pithos sherds
- Kling (2000). Mycenaean IIIC:1b and related pottery in Cyprus. Comments on the current state of researchDiscussed production and local exchange
- Talalay and Cullen (2002). Sexual ambiguity in plank figures from Bronze Age CyprusAnalysed Lapithos mortuary practice
- White (2002). Marsa Matruh II: The objectsClassified Cypriot pithoi
- Negbi (2005). Urbanism on Late Bronze Age Cyprus: LC II in retrospectProposed regional polities
- Iacovou (2007). Site Size Estimates and the Diversity Factor in Late Cypriot Settlement HistoriesSettlement and mortuary interpretations reviewed
- Bushnell (2008). The wild goat-and-tree icon and its special significance for ancient CyprusDiscusses trade, hierarchy and elite status
- Steel (2008). Creation and expression of identity in Cyprus at the end of the Late Bronze AgeDiscussed for mortuary interpretation
- Steel and McCartney (2008). Survey at Arediou Vouppes (Lithosouros), a Late Bronze Age Agricultural Settlement on Cyprus: A Preliminary Analysis of the Material Culture AssemblagesCited on exchange and pottery typology
- Crewe (2009). Feasting with the dead? Tomb 66 at EnkomiStudied mortuary evidence and tomb wealth
- Crewe (2012). Beyond copper: Commodities and values in Middle Bronze Cypro-Levantine exchangesDiscussed mortuary evidence and social change
- Knapp (2013). Revolution within evolution: the emergence of a 'secondary state' on protohistoric Bronze Age CyprusInterprets mortuary practices and social organisation
- Steel (2013). Cyprus during the Late Bronze AgeProposes models of copper control and social hierarchy
- Steel (2013). The social world of Early-Middle Bronze Age Cyprus: rethinking the Vounous BowlWrote on mortuary practice and ancestors
- Webb (2013). Cyprus during the Early Bronze AgeInterpreted burial practices and animal husbandry
- Fisher (2014). Making the first cities on Cyprus: urbanism and social change in the Late Bronze AgeStudies mortuary practice and urban organisation
- Crewe (2015). An Early-Middle Cypriot Bronze Age zoomorphic figurine from Kissonerga-SkaliaDiscussed animal husbandry and ritual
- Webb (2015). The production and distribution of plank-shaped figurines in Middle Bronze Age Cyprus: The role of LapithosAssociates pins with women
- Andreou (2016). Understanding the rural economy of Late Bronze Age Cyprus: a diachronic perspective from the Vasilikos valleyProposed local exchange and redistribution systems
- Lorentz (2016). Challenges for funerary taphonomy viewed through prehistoric CyprusProposed multi-stage Bronze Age burial
- Andreou et al. (2019). Reconsidering coastal archaeological sites in Late Bronze Age Cyprus: Tochni-Lakkia and the south-central coastscapeAuthor of a heterarchical model
- Andreou (2019). Gray economics in Late Bronze Age CyprusViews on settlement hierarchy and finance discussed
- Meyer and Knapp (2021). Resilient social actors in the transition from the Late Bronze to the Early Iron Age on CyprusCited on mortuary practice and social hierarchy
- Knapp and Meyer (2023). Merchants and Mercantile Society on Late Bronze Age CyprusDiscusses exchange and regional centres
Also named in
On Ancient Cyprus
30 pages- Ashlar and the First Towns: the Late Bronze AgeArticle
- Bernard Knapp and the Cyprus He Keeps RewritingArticle
- Cyprus and Ugarit - Book ReviewArticle
- Enkomi Tomb 66: The Tomb with Lamps on Its WallsArticle
- Houses for the DeadArticle
- Mortuary Ritual and Society in Bronze Age Cyprus - Book ReviewArticle
- The Bull Was a Newcomer: A Two-Headed Bronze Age Vase from CyprusArticle
- Two Birds, Two Necks: A Vounous Jug, Its Louvre Cousin, and a Lost One from Tomb 46AArticle
- Vounous: the Bronze Age society we know only from its deadArticle
- Makronissos TombsSite
- Bronze Age Chamber TombsCompendium
- Complex VesselsCompendium
- Copper Metallurgy in Ancient CyprusCompendium
- EgyptCompendium
- Food Storage in Ancient Cyprus: Pits, Pithoi and StoreroomsCompendium
- Food and Diet in Ancient CyprusCompendium
- Fortifications in Ancient Cyprus: From Khirokitia to the Siege of PaphosCompendium
- Gold, Silver, Tin, Arsenic and Iron in Ancient CyprusCompendium
- Mycenaean Imports and Local ImitationsCompendium
- Neolithic and Chalcolithic Burial in CyprusCompendium
- Plain White WareCompendium
- Population and Demography in Ancient CyprusCompendium
- Red Polished Zoomorphic Vessels and Animal FigurinesCompendium
- Tulip Bowls and Cult VesselsCompendium
- Ugarit and the LevantCompendium
- Village Life in Early Bronze Age CyprusCompendium
- Village Life in Late Bronze Age CyprusCompendium
- Village Life in Middle Bronze Age CyprusCompendium
- Vounous and Early Bronze Age BurialCompendium
- Weapons of Bronze Age CyprusCompendium
Sources
- 1.Priscilla Keswani (2004). Mortuary Ritual and Society in Bronze Age Cyprus. London, Equinox.
- 2.Priscilla Keswani (2005). “Death, Prestige, and Copper in Bronze Age Cyprus”. American Journal of Archaeology 109, 341-401.
- 3.Priscilla S. Keswani (2016). “Fragmentary pithoi”. Feasting, Craft, and Depositional Practice in Late Bronze Age Palaepaphos: The Well Fillings of Evreti, 217-234. Rahden, Verlag Marie Leidorf.
- 4.P. S. Keswani, A. B. Knapp (2003). “Bronze Age boundaries and social exchange in north-west Cyprus”. Oxford Journal of Archaeology 22, 213-223.
- 5.A. K. South, P. Russell, P. Schuster Keswani (1989). Vasilikos Valley Project 3: Kalavasos-Ayios Dhimitrios II. Ceramics, Objects, Tombs, Specialist Studies. Göteborg, Paul Åströms Förlag.
- 6.A. K. South, P. Russell (1989). “Tombs 1-7 and 10”. Vasilikos Valley Project 3: Kalavasos-Ayios Dhimitrios II. Ceramics, objects, tombs, specialist studies, 41-57.
- 7.Archaeological Research Unit, University of Cyprus (2015). ARIEL Workshop, 19 September 2015: programme and abstracts. Archaeological Research Unit, University of Cyprus.
- 8.H. W. Catling (2020). Kouklia: Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age Tombs at Palaepaphos 1951-1954. Oxford, BAR Publishing.
- 9.Giampaolo Graziadio. The Earliest Production of Aegean-Type Pottery in Cyprus.
- 10.M. K. Toumazou (ed.), P. N. Kardulias (ed.), D. B. Counts (ed.) (2011). Crossroads and Boundaries: The Archaeology of Past and Present in the Malloura Valley, Cyprus.
- 11.L. Crewe, A. Georgiou (2018). “Settlement nucleation at the beginning of the Late Bronze Age in Cyprus: the evidence from Palaepaphos”. Structures of Inequality on Bronze Age Cyprus: Studies in Honour of Alison K. South, 53-70.
- 12.Catherine Kearns (ed.), Sturt W. Manning (ed.) (2019). New Directions in Cypriot Archaeology. Ithaca, NY, Cornell University Press.
- 13.Edgar Peltenburg (ed.) (2013). Cyprus.
- 14.M. Given (ed.), A. B. Knapp (ed.) (2003). The Sydney Cyprus Survey Project: Social Approaches to Regional Archaeological Survey. Los Angeles, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles.
- 15.E. Pezzi (2017). “The Contexts”. The Earliest Production of Aegean-Type Pottery in Cyprus, 91-115. Pisa, Pisa University Press.
- 16.G.-M. Andreou (2014). Traversing Space: Landscape and Identity in Bronze Age Cyprus. The University of Edinburgh.
- 17.Lindy Crewe (2007). Early Enkomi: Regionalism, Trade and Society at the Beginning of the Late Bronze Age on Cyprus. Oxford, Archaeopress.
- 18.I. Hein (ed.) (2009). The formation of Cyprus in the 2nd millennium B.C.: Studies in regionalism during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages. Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften.
- 19.P. S. Keswani (1989). “Dimensions of Social Hierarchy in Late Bronze Age Cyprus: An Analysis of the Mortuary Data from Enkomi”. Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 2, 49-86.
- 20.P. S. Keswani (1991). “A preliminary investigation of systems of ceramic production and distribution in Cyprus during the Late Bronze Age”. Cypriot Ceramics: Reading the Prehistoric Record, 97-118.
- 21.P. S. Keswani (2012). “Mortuary practices and burial cults in Cyprus from the Bronze Age through the Early Iron Age”. Parallel Lives: Ancient Island Societies in Crete and Cyprus.
- 22.A. B. Knapp (2009). “Representations: Female figurines and social identity on protohistoric Cyprus”. Finds and results from the Swedish Cyprus Expedition 1927–1931: A gender perspective, 137-144. Medelhavsmuseet.
- 23.Sturt W. Manning (1998). “Changing Pasts and Socio-Political Cognition in Late Bronze Age Cyprus”. World Archaeology 30.
- 24.L. Steel (2016). “Exploring Aredhiou: New Light on the Rural Communities of the Cypriot Hinterland During the Late Bronze Age”. American Journal of Archaeology 120, 511-536. Online
- 25.G. J. Van Wijngaarden (2002). Use and Appreciation of Mycenaean Pottery in the Levant, Cyprus and Italy (1600-1200 BC). Amsterdam.
- 26.C. von Rüden, A. Georgiou, A. Jacobs, P. Halstead (2016). Feasting, craft and depositional practice in Late Bronze Age Palaepaphos: The well fillings of Evreti. Verlag Marie Leidorf.