Glossary Society, writing and trade
Prestige goods
Rare or costly objects whose value lay in the status they conferred, used by leaders to display rank and build alliances.
The idea comes from anthropology: in societies without money or formal states, control of exotic materials and fine craftwork was a route to power. Archaeologists look for such goods in graves and hoards, and read their uneven spread as evidence for growing inequality. In Cyprus the term is applied to Chalcolithic picrolite figurines, Bronze Age imported metalwork, faience and ivory, and the inscribed luxury objects of Iron Age kings.
The model has limits. What counts as prestige is inferred by the archaeologist, and a costly object in a tomb may say as much about family ritual as about political power. See mortuary practices.
Full entry: Society, Ritual, and Identity in Ancient Cypriot Mortuary Practice
Related terms
- Picrolite
A soft blue-green stone, a variety of serpentinite from the Troodos, carved into pendants, beads and figurines in prehistoric Cyprus.
- Obelos
A long metal roasting spit, often found in sets in rich Iron Age tombs (plural obeloi); the Greek coin name obol derives from it.
- Basileus
The Greek word for 'king', used for the rulers of the Cypriot city-kingdoms; the plural is basileis.