Identity, Power and Group Formation in Archaic Macedonia (600-400 BC)

The first ever large-scale synthesis on identity and social dynamics across archaic Macedonia (600-400 BC), Christos Giamakis’s book provides a detailed narrative exploring the role of power as displayed through material culture in the formation of group identities across the region. Giamakis focuses on data from nine cemeteries in the region combining multiple datasets including grave goods, osteological evidence, burial rites, tomb types and the organization of the cemetery space in order to explore both inter- and intra-site competition that led to the emergence of different group identities across the region. By doing so, he proposes a new theoretical framework for the study of the region as an alternative to past, ethnicity-based, approaches.

Identity, Power and Group Formation in Archaic Macedonia (600-400 BC) encourages the reader to explore the ways in which social inequalities, power dynamics and social interactions all affect the potency of specific identities at the expense of others. The present monograph will be of great interest to researchers working on ancient Macedonia and the wider ancient Greek world but also to scholars interested in power dynamics and identity formation in other parts of the ancient Mediterranean.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. The Land and the People: A re-examination of past approaches
3. The intricate relationship between Identity and Power
4. A ‘full funerary kit’: The cases of Sindos and Archontiko
5. Mechanisms of Power across the Region
6. Towards a new narrative: Identity and Power in Archaic Macedonia
7. An epilogue

Christos Giamakis holds a PhD (2022) in Archaeology from the Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield. His studies in Sheffield were supported through a White Rose College of the Arts and Humanities AHRC competition studentship and a Doctoral Academy maintenance award, University of Sheffield.

Before coming to Sheffield, he studied History and Archaeology (BA 2015), specialising in Ancient History (MA 2018) at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. After receiving his PhD, he was a WRoCAH Postdoctoral Engagement Fellow at the University of York/Yorkshire Museum while he is now working for York Museums Trust. He is particularly interested in identity formation, social inequalities and power dynamics in the ancient Greek world.

His key publications include On Class and Elitism in Archaeology (with Artur Ribeiro) and Not another paper on Lefkandi and Eretria! A communo-centric approach to the creation of collective identities in Lefkandi and Eretria.