killen

SOME FURTHER THOUGHTS ON 'COLLECTORS'

Oneof themostcontroversialof all questionsin currentMycenaeanscholarshipis theidentityof theso-called'owners'or 'collectors':clearlysignificantfiguresin theMycenaeanstate,whosenamesappearin connexionwith flocks of sheepandtextileworkshopsatbothPylos andKnossos,andwho thereis increasingevidenceto suggestalsohave'interests'inotheraspectsof theeconomy.Thus on thePylos sheeprecords(classifiedas Cn), we findreferencesto flocks 'of' fourdifferentindividualsa-ke-o,a-ko-so-ta,a-pi-me-deandwe-da-ne-u (aswell asto largenumbersof flocksnotattributedto any'owner');we find referencesto whatappearto becomparableindividualstothesePylian 'owners'on thesheeprecordsatKnossos(classifiedasDa-Dg,Dv); someof the'owners'on thesesheeprecordsareattested,togetherwith otherpersons,as 'owners' of workgroupsin the A and L WOMAN andCLOTH recordsatKnossos;andtheindividuale-me-si-jowho is namedasan 'owner'bothon theD andtheNL recordsatKnossosis alsoattestedonE 843andE 7338asthe'owner'of considerabletractsof land(orof largequantitiesof wheatorbarley).

Thereis notsufficientspacehereto enterintoa full discussionof theidentityandroleof these'collectors'.Thereare,however,threepointswhichwe needto bearin mindwhenwe areconsideringwhotheyare:

1.Their activitiesarerecordedin thecentralpalaces,which indicatesthatthecentreshaveacloseinterestin andalmostcertainlycontroloverthem.

2. 'Their' flocksandworkgroupsaretreatedby thecentraladministrationsin apreciselysimilarmannerto all otherflocks andworkgroupsrecordedin thearchives(giventhesamerations,assignedthesametargetsfor production),exceptthatseparatetotalsarekept for'collector'and'non-collector'activity.

3. In somecontexts,referencesto 'ownership'by 'collectors'arefoundin parallelwithreferencesto 'ownership'by divinities.Thus in theDI(l) SHEEP andWOOL recordsatKnossoswe find referencesto 'owners'suchas ra-wo-qo-noande-se-re-a2andin parallelpositiononotherrecordsin thesamegroupreferencesto sheep'of' thegoddessPotnia(po-ti-ni-ja-we-jo).

To my own mind,theexplanationof the'collectors'whichbestfits with thisevidenceis thattheyareprominentmembersof theruling elite (membersof theroyal family, highpalaceofficials andthelike) who havebeenassignedpartof theproductivecapacityof thekingdomsfor theirownbenefit(thatshare,however,still beingmanagedon theirbehalfbythecentralauthorities)1. Encouragementfor thebeliefthatthisexplanationmaybe on theright lines is providedby comparativeevidence:in recordsfrom Ur III Mesopotamia,thefollowing arementionedasownersof sheepandwool besidestheking himself:thequeen;

J.T. KILLEN, "The Knossos Ld(l) tablets", Colloquium Mycenaeum.Actes du sixieme colloqueinternationalsur lestextesmyceniensetegeens(1979),177.For a similarview, seeJ. CHADWICK, TheMycenaeanWorld (1976),129;L. GODART, "Les collecteursdansle mondeegeen",Mykenai'ka.ActesduIXe Colloqueinternationalsur lestextesmyceniensetegeens,BCH suppl.XXV (1992),283.(GODART'spaperis oneof fourveryusefuldiscussionsof the'collectors'whichappearin Mykenai'ka,theothersbeingby J. BENNET, P. CARLIER andJ. DRIESSEN).

214 J.T. KILLEN

prominentstateofficialssuchastheensi;andthetempleof Nanna2.Moreover,weknowthatone 'collector'atPylos,a-ko-so-ta,alsoperformsmajoradministrativeduties,includingtheinspectionof land-holdingsandthedistributionof raw materialsto unguent-boilers3; whileanother,a-pi-me-de, is in all probabilityan e-qe-taor 'follower', a high official of theMycenaeanstate4.

Thepurposeof thispaperis toaskthequestion:dowehaveevidencefor theactivityof'collectors' in spheresof the economyotherthanthosealreadymentioned?I begin byconsideringsomepossibleevidencefor 'collectors'in theIn seriesof bronze-workingrecordsat Pylos; then,in the secondsectionof thepaper,I examinewhatI believeto be strongevidencefor theactivityof a major 'collector'in therecordsat Knossosdealingwith themanufactureof aromaticunguents.

I.

On severalof theIn recordsof bronze-workingatPyloswehavereferencesto workers'of thegoddessPotnia.Invariably,thesearelistedafterthemaingroupof workersin theareain question.It is possiblethatwe alsohavereferencesto 'owner' or 'collector'groupingslistedin thesamepositiononotherrecords.

(a)On In 725.14,theterm]-nu-we-joappearsin initialpositionon theline,andclearlyservesto identifythesub-groupingof workerswhich is recordedon 11.14-16of thetablet.Thoughthismightbea place-name,anda recordof a groupof workersata placeotherthane-ni-pa-te-we,the locationof thegrouplistedon 11.1-8 of the tablet,it is perhapsmoreattractivelyinterpretedas a possessiveadjectivein -e-jo indicatingthe 'ownership'of thegroupin question5. The useof adjectivesof thistypeto designateworkgroups,flocks andperhapsalsoland'belongingto' 'owners'is widelyattestedelsewherein therecords.

(b) On In 832,lines 1-8of therecorddealwith ro-u-soka-ke-wea-ke-te-re,smithsspecialisingin finishing(?) workattheplacero-u-so6. Thenon1.9 comesa furtherheading,a-to-moka-ke-wea-~(j-te.Thoughsomescholarshavetakena-to-moasa furtherplace-name,parallelto ro-u-so,onall its otherappearancesonthetabletsa-to-mois thetitleof anofficial;andwhile it is obviouslypossiblethatthisis a caseof a homograph,andthattheunderlyingtermin eachof theseinstancesis a differentone,thepossibilitymustcometo mindthatthereferenceon 832is in factto thesameofficial title7, andthatthis is a workgroupwhich is'owned'by thea-to-moof ro-u-so.It is commontofind nominativesof rubricin the'owner'positiononrecordsatKnossos;andapossibleparallelfor 'ownership'of workersby amajorofficial describedby meansof his titleis providedbyLe 642atKnossos,whereon1.3 of thetablet,following the'owner'reference]ri-jo (possiblyi-se-we-]ri-jo) atthebeginningof theline,wefind thetermda-mo-ko[,whichis perhapstoberestoredasthetitleda-mo-ko-ro.

2 H. WAETZOLDT, UntersuchungenzurneusumerischenTextilindustrie(1972),34.3 SeePY Eq 213,PY Un 267.4 M. LEJEUNE, MemoiresdephilologiemycenienneIII (1972),107-Ill.5 For the suggestionthat]-nu-we-jo is more plausibly takenas a descriptionof the workgroupthan a

referenceto theplacewherethegroupis locatedseeM. LEJEUNE, Memoiresdephilologiemycenienne11(1971),184.For thesuggestionthat]-nu-we-jois apossessiveadjectivein -e-jo, seeC.J. RUIJGH, Etudessur la grammaireetle vocabulairedugrecmycenien(1967),268(who,however,takesit asreferringonlyto thesmithwhosenameimmediatelyfollowstheterm).

6 For thesuggestionthatthea-ke-te-reare/asketeresl,'finishers'(whichwouldexplainwhytheyreceivenoallocationof raw materials,andyet arenotdescribedasa-ta-ra-si-jo, 'withoutpensum'), seeKILLEN(supran. 1),166-167.

7 For thesuggestionthata-to-mois likely to havethesamesensehereasit doeselsewherein therecordsseeF. AURA JORRO, Diccionariomicenico1(1985),120.

SOME FURTHER THOUGHTS ON 'COLLECTORS' 215

(c) Finally, as P. de Fidio has recentlypointedout, it is attractiveto comparethereferencestothe5 men'of to-sa-noandthe31men'of a-ta-wo-noonIn 431.25-26,andtotheslaves'of pe-re-qo-noandarki-e-u onIn 605.10,tothereferencesto groupsof workersattributedto 'collectors'or 'owners'elsewhereatPylosandatothersites8.

11.

It is alsopossiblethatwe havea referenceto a (major) 'collector' in the recordsatKnossosdealingwiththemanufactureof perfumedoliveoil.

A numberof recordsatPylosbearwitnesstothisimportantMycenaeanindustry,whichhasbeenadmirablystudiedby E.D. Foster9, C.W. Shelmerdine10andothers,andwhichinvolves the macerationin olive oil of a varietyof aromaticsubstances.PY Un 267, forinstance,readsasfollows:

Un 267 .1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9-11

o-do-ke , a-ko-so-ta

tu-we-ta, a-re-pa-zo-o

tu-we-a , a-re-pa-teIT ' ze-so-me]

ze-so-me-noIT ko]

ko-ri-a2-da-na AROM 6

ku-pa-ro2 AROM 6 *!~!!6KAPO 2 T 5 VIN 20 ME 2LANA 2 VIN 2

vacant

'Thus Alxoitas (vel sim.)gaveto Thuestastheunguent-boileraromaticsfor unguentwhich is to beboiled:coriander,sixunits;cyperus,six units;etc.' (Theothercommmoditieslistedincludewineandperhapshoney,if ME standsforme-ri).

Evidencefor similarproductionatKnossosis providedby a seriesof recordsfoundincloseproximityto oneanotherin theWesternareaof thepalaceeastof theLong Corridor.Theseincluderecords,notonlyof oliveoil (in thePh series),butalsoof coriander,cyperusandhoney(in theGa andGg series).On severalof thetabletsin questionwefind thetermku-pi-ri-jo (The textsof the relevantrecordsaresetout in Appendix I below). What is theexplanationof thisword?

Therehasbeenmuchdiscussionof thisquestionof late.Followingthediscoveryof theterm~,!-pi-ri-iq"which may well contrastwith ke-re-si-ja,'Cretan', on the newly joinedOd 667+5898+8292+fr., J.L. Melenahasarguedthatku-pi-ri-jo,onall its appearancesatKnossos,is anadjectivemeaning'Cypriot' 11;andhehasbeenfollowedin thisviewby T.G.Palaima12.While, however,~~-pi-ri-iq,on Od667almostcertainlydoeshavethismeaning,andrefersto wool (probablyfor decoratingcloth)of Cypriotoriginor type,it is in my viewextremelyunlikelythattheoil withwhichku-pi-ri-jo is associatedon theFh, Fp tabletscan

8 P. DE FIDIO, Klio 71 (1989),23.9 E.D. FOSTER, Minos 16(1977),19-51.10 C.W. SHELMERDINE, ThePerfumeIndustryofMycenaeanPylos (1985).11 E.L. BENNETT etal.,Minos 24 (1989),202-203,216.12 T.G. PALAIMA, "Maritime Mattersin theLinearB Tablets",Thalassa.L'Egee prehistoriqueet la mer.

Actes de la troisiemeRencontreegeenneinternationalede l'Universitede Liege, Stationde recherchessous-marineset oceanographiques(StaReSO),Calvi, Corse (23-25avril1990), Aegaeum7 (1991),280-281,291-295.

216 IT. KILLEN

beof anythingotherthanlocalCretanorigin13.(Whileit is conceivablethathigh-gradewoolfor decorativepurposesshouldhavebeenimportedfromCyprus,it doesnotseemlikely thatlargeamountsof olive oil, which wasclearlyavailablein plentyon Crete14, shouldhavebeenbroughtfromoverseas).Furthermore,whileit is perhapsconceivablethatoil whichwasintendedfor exportto Cyprusshouldhavebeendescribedas 'Cypriot' 15, it would be lesseasyto understandsucha useof thetermin connexionwith spicesandhoneywhich areevidentlyintendedfor use,doubtlessin Creteitself,for theproductionof aromaticoliveoil,evenif theoil in questionwasdestinedlatertobeexportedto Cyprus.Moreover,notonly isku-pi-ri-jo clearlya personalnameKuprios, 'theCypriot',on thePylos recordsCn 131,Cn719andIn 320:thereis (asI arguedin 1979)16muchtobesaidfor takingit in thesamewayon the Fh, Fp and Ga, Gg records,and as a referenceto a palaceofficial who plays animportantrole in theperfumedoil industry17.As I pointedout,for example,in a numberofinstancesontheserecordsku-pi-ri-jois accompaniedby afurthertermwhichit is attractivetointerpretas a personalnamein thedative(seema-ro-neon Fh 347,Fh 5246,su-ko-neonFp(2) 5472andma-ki-ro-neonGg(1)995),or whichcouldbea dative,thoughthereis lesspositiveevidencethatit is (like ]-ki-ro onPh 5447,]o-se-ko-doon Fh 371andu-ne[onFh5446);andit is temptingto supposetherefore(a) thatku-pi-ri-jo is involvedin issuingthecommoditieslistedonthesetabletstothepersonsconcerned,and(b)thathemaythereforebyplaying the samerole in theperfumedoil industryat Knossosas is evidentlyplayedbypersonslike a-ko-so-tain thecomparableindustryatPylos. (OnPY Un 267,aswe havejustnoted,a-ko-so-ta is describedas giving aromatics,includingcyperusand coriander,toThuestastheunguent-boiler). I

A furtherargumentin supportof theviewthatku-pi-ri-jois a personhasrecentlybeenadducedby J.-P. Olivier 18.As hepointsout,theamountof oil listedin connexionwithku-pi-ri-jo onPh 372(150units)standsin aratioof roughly31:69totheamountof oil listedonthetotallingrecordFh 367,which lists 330.3unitsof thecommodity.The textsof thesetworecordsrunasfollows.

Fh 372 + 5440+ 5474+frr. (3)ku-pi-ri-jo / o-no OLE 150

Fh 367+ 5460+ 9083 + 9106to-so-ku-su-pa OLE 330 S 1

This numericalrelationshiphere is immediatelyreminiscentof the c. 30:70 ratiobetween'collector'and 'non-collector'animalson theDa-Dg sheeprecordsat Knossos19,andalsopossiblybetween'collector'and'non-collector'cloth(measuredin termsof wool)

13 For thesameview,seeJ.-P. OLIVIER in BENNEIT etat.(supran. 11),217.14 As witnesssuchrecordsin theFh seriesasFh 349andFh 5451,whichrecordthepaymentto thepalaceof

OLE 53V 3 andOLE 30[by theplacesru-ki-toanda-mi-ni-so,Amnisos,respectively.15 For thisexplanationof theterm,seePALAIMA (supran. 12),294-295.16 KILLEN (supran. 1),178.17 For theview thatk. is apersonalname,seealsoJ.-P. OLIVIER in BENNEIT etat. (supran. 11),217(and

earlierJ.-P. OLIVIER, BSA 62 [1967],327).L. GODART, SMEA 8 (1969),51-53andalso in BENNEITetat. (supran. 11),216alsotakesk. asa referenceto a person,butregardsit asa description,ratherthanasapersonalname.

18 J.-P. OLIVIER, "El commerciomicenicodesde la documentaci6nepigrafica" (Lecture given at theNationalArchaeologicalMuseum,Madrid,26February1992),forthcoming.

19 J.-P. OLIVIER, SMEA 2 (1967),71-93.


on theLc(1) CLOTH andWOOL tabletsatthesamesite20. If thereare 'collectors'in thetextileindustry,it wouldnotcomeasasurprisetofindthemalsoin theoliveoil (andunguentboiling)industry.Is in factku-pi-ri-joa 'collector'21;andarethelargenumberof referencesto him in theF andG series,andtheamountof oil withwhichhe is associatedon Ph 372,attributableto thesamecauseviz. thatwhereasin thesheepandwool industriesa numberofdifferent 'collectors'areactive,in theoil andunguent-boilingindustryonly one (major)'collector'hasresponsibilities,i.e.ku-pi-ri-jo?Note,too, in supportof Olivier's hypothesisthepossibleparallelism,just noted,betweentheroleof ku-pi-ri-jo in theKnossosunguent-boilingindustryandtheroleof a-ko-so-tain thecomparableindustryatPylos.Not only is a-ko-so-taclearlyanimportantfigurein theadministrationof theunguent-boilingindustry,andin Pylospalaceadministrationmoregenerally:heis alsooneof thefour 'collectors'namedinthePylosCn sheeprecords.

Moreover,thereis I believesomefurtherencouragementfor thebeliefthatku-pi-ri-jo isa 'collector'. On severalof the Fh OIL tabletswhich concernhim, including Fh 372mentionedabove,ku-pi-ri-jo is associatedwith thetermo-no.What is themeaningof thisterm?

In theircontributionsto theThird InternationalMycenaeanColloquium(Wingspread1961),John Chadwick22 andMichel Lejeune23 independentlysuggestedthato-no,hereandelsewhere,was mostplausiblyexplainedasa transactiontermcontainingthesamerootasClassicalGreekOVtVll'll, '1benefit'andthetermso-na-to,o-na-te-reonthePylos landtenuretablets.ChadwickfurthersuggestedthatonthePylosrecordsAn 35.5-6andUn 443.1,whereo-no is precededby thetermtu-ru-pte-ri-ja,plausiblyinterpretedas/strupteriiiJ,'alum',theeffectivemeaningof thewordis 'price'or 'consideration'.Here,ashepointedout,tu-ru-pte-ri-ja canneatlybeexplainedasa genitive,/strupterias/,indicatingthereasonfor givingthepriceor consideration('[price]for alum');whilethelistof commoditieswhichfollows tu-ru-pte-ri-jao-nocanplausiblybeunderstoodasthepriceorconsiderationin question:onAn 35,wool, goats,*146(almostcertainlya textile),wineandfigs;onUn 443,wool and*146.Thefull textsof An 35andUn 443aresetoutbelow:

An 35 .1.2.3.4.5.6

to-ko-do-mo, de-me-o-te

pu-ro VIR 2 me-te-to-deVIR 3sa-ma-ra-deVIR 3 re-u-ko-to-roVIR 4

vacat

a-ta-ro , tu-ru-pte-ri-ja, o-no

LANA 2 CApf 4 *1463 VIN 10 NI 4

20 For the suggestionthat the totalling recordsfor this seriesdistinguishbetween'collector' and 'non-collector' animals,seeOLIVIER (supran. 19),91; for confirmationof thesuggestion,seeJ.T. KILLENandJ.-P. OLIVIER, BCH92 (1968),137.Unfortunately,thefiguresonLc(l) 535,whichit is attractivetoguesswas thetotallingrecordfor the 'collector'tabletsin this series,havenot beenpreserved,andwecannotbe certainthereforethata 30:70ratiobetween'collector'and 'non-collector'output,measuredintermsof wool units,was maintainedin this instance.But thefigureson Lc(1) 536 (almostcertainly,thetotallingtabletfor the 'non-collector'records)andon thesurvivingindividual 'collector' records(Lc(1)532,551and7392)areconsistentwith theviewthatit was.Lc(1)536recordsclothweighinga totalof c.2528WOOL units;while thesurvivingindividual 'collector' records(assumingthatdottedfiguresarecertain)recordclothweighinga minimumof 769.6WOOL units:givinga ratiobetweenthetwo 'sectors'of c. 77:23.

21 For thatsuggestionsee,besidesOLIVIER (supran. 18),OLIVIER (supran. 17),327.22 J. CHADWICK, "Pylos TabletUn 1322",MycenaeanStudies.Wingspread1961(1964),19-26.23 M. LEJEUNE, "Sur le vocabulaireeconomiquemycenien",MycenaeanStudies.Wingspread1961(1964),

77-109.

218 J.T. KILLEN

Un 443 [+] 998.1

.2

.3

(pars inferior sinistra)

ku-pi-ri-jo , tu-ru-pte-ri-ja, o-no LANA 10 *146 10po-re-no-zo-te-n-Ja LANA 3

]


termwhich it is attractiveto identifyas containingthesamerootas we find in OVtVTH.Lt, 'Ibenefit'? Is thebasicsenseof o-no in fact 'benefit','advantage';andis it usedon Ph 372,with its recordof 150unitsof oil listedin connexionwithku-pi-ri-jo,andperhapselsewhereonthePh tabletswherethereis againmentionof ku-pi-ri-joando-no,toreferto the'benefit'in oil whichku-pi-ri-joreceivesfromthecentrein hiscapacityasa 'collector'?And whenwefind thetermonrecordslike An 35.5-6,Un 443.1andUn 1322.1-3,doesit referto a 'benefit'of a slightlydifferentkind:the'benefit'or 'advantage'(inourterms,'payment')givenby thecentrein returnfor commoditiesacquiredor servicesrendered:in thecaseof An 35 andUn443,in returnfor alum;in thecaseof Un 1322,in return,perhaps,for servicesrenderedbythenetmaker(s),weaver(s),etc.?It is possible,indeed,thatin a few instancesthereferencesto o-no on theFh tabletsrelateto paymentsof this latterkind. The small amountof oilrecordedaswe-wo-~Qo-noonPh 347mightbea 'payment'to a workerof a similarstatustothe netmaker(s)and weaver(s)on Un 1322,ratherthan a 'benefit' given to a minor'collector',or asharein thebeneficialinterestin thepalace'soil whichis enjoyedby ku-pi-ri-jo (who is mentionedon line 1 of thetablet,evidentlyas supplyingoil to one *ma-ro (anunguent-boilerin ku-pi-ri-jo'shousehold?).And ratherthanexplainingthereferenceto o-nade-'!l!-fJ!-joon therecentlyjoined Ph 5431+5449+7896+9104+frr. as 'benefits'or'payments'givento anindividualDemnios,it is perhapspreferableto takeit asa recordof'payments'for beds,/demnion/(gen.plur.of thereasonwhythepaymenthasbeengiven:cf.tu-ru-pte-ri-jao-no, verylikely, aswe haveseen,/strupteriasonon!, 'paymentfor alum').Not only is 'bed,beds'atleasta conceivablesensefor de-mi-ni-jo,de-mi-ni-jaelsewhereontherecords:if de-mi-ni-jowerea genitiveplural,indicatingthe(multiple)objectsfor whichthecompensationherewerebeinggiven,thiswouldneatlyexplaintheuseof thepluralof o-nobeforetheterm.Moreover,giventheevidenceof Un 1322,whichappearsto indicatethatthepalacemade'payments'(o-no)to a netmaker(or netmakers)anda weaver(or weavers),quitepossiblyin returnfor professionalservicesrendered,it wouldnotbe surprisingto findthepalacealsomaking'payments'for beds,atleastif thesewereof a simplekindneededforissueto workers(asthebedsprobablylistedon MY V 659,evidentlyas issuesto femaleworkersin thetextileindustry,mightwellhavebeen).Whereasit is clearthatthepalaceitselforganisedtheproductionof high-quality,luxurymanufacturedgoods,theevidenceof Un1322suggeststhatit mayhaveacquiredgoodsof a simplerkind(like nets)fromindependentor semi-independentworkerswhowerenotlocatedin palace-controlledworkshops.

In sum,then,I shouldlike to suggestthato-nodoescontainthesamerootas OVtVTlllt(andMyc. o-na-to,o-na-te-re,etc.);thatits basicsenseis 'benefit';andthatit is usedof'benefits'of variouskinds,including'benefits'givento 'collectors'by virtueof theirpositionand'benefits'(or 'payments')givenin returnforcommoditiesor service.Butbeforeweleavethis term,I shouldlike to offer onefurther,and(it shouldcertainlybe madeclearat theoutset)ratherspeculativesuggestion.

As hasfor longbeenobserved24,it is a curiousfactthatanassociationbetweenku-pi-ri-jo ando-no is foundnotonlyatKnossos,asit is in thePh series,butalsoatPylos, in thefirstlineof Un 443:

Un 443 [+].1.2.3

998 (parsinferiorsinistra)ku-pi-ri-jo , tu-ru-pte-ri-ja, o-no LANA 10 *14610po-re-no-zo-te-ri-jaLANA 3

]c;I-ke, ka-pa-ti-ja, HORD 2 te-ri-ja GRA ~ LANA 5reliquaparssineregulis

24 Seee.g.L.R. PALMER, TPhS (1958),32;CHADWICK (supran.22),22.

220 J.T. KlLLEN

How is thisphenomenontobeexplained,if it is notsimplya matterof coincidencethata recipient(?) of ano-noatPyloshasthesamenameasa 'collector'who is in receiptof ano-noatKnossos?

In his recentdiscussionwhichwehavealreadyreferredto,Jean-PierreOlivier suggestsananswer25.Notingmyobservationin 197926thattherearea numberof instancesin whichthenamesof 'collectors'appearatmorethanonesite(a-ka-i-joatThebesandKnossos;we-we-si-jo at KnossosandPylos; etc.),he suggeststhatthis is anotherexampleof thesamephenomenon:thatku-pi-ri-joatPylos, aswell asku-pi-ri-joatKnossos,is a 'collector',andthathe is associatedwith o-no for preciselythesamereasonashis namesakeatKnossosisassociatedwith theterm.

Now it will immediatelybe notedthat,if our previoussuggestionsarecorrect,thenatureof theo-nowhichku-pi-ri-joatKnossosis receiving(150unitsof oil, in his capacityasa 'collector')will clearlybesomewhatdifferentfromthatof theo-nowhichku-pi-ri-joatPylos is beinggiven:a 'payment'in clothandwoolin returnforalum.It is alsoseeminglythecasethatthepersonswhoarenamedonthetabletsasreceivingo-noareof a widelydifferentnature:a netmaker(or netmakers)on PY Un 1322;a major 'collector'on theKnossosFhtablets.Moreover,thereis clearlynoquestionof thetwootherpersonswho arecalledku-pi-ri-jo atPylos being'collectors':a shepherdon theCn tabletsanda bronze-smithon theJnrecords.Nonetheless,weclearlycannotexcludethepossibilitythatku-pi-ri-joonUn 443is a'collector';andif thisis indeedwhatheis,a furtherthoughtimmediatelycomesto mind.

As RuthPalmerhaswell observedin herthesisonMycenaeanwine27,thecommoditieswhicharelistedonUn 443andAn 35as(evidently)beinggivenin returnfor alum(tu-ru-pte-ri-ja o-no),i.e.wool, goats,*146,wineandfigs,donotstrikeoneasparticularlysuitableforoverseastradingpurposes.(Indeed,wemaynotehowregularlytheseitemsappearelsewhereontherecordsin thecontextof whatareseeminglyinternaltransactions,like the'payments'tothenetmaker(s)andtheweaver(s)onPY Un 1322).Palmerwritesasfollows:

Alum has to be importedinto Messenia(thenearestgood sourceis Melos), but the personsproviding thealum in thePylos o-no tabletsmayhavebeenmiddlemen,ratherthanthe actualproducersof themineral.The mixednatureof thegoodsacceptedin returnsuggeststhatthemensellingalumandgarmentstothepalacewerelocal.Althoughthegoodslistedin thesetabletsstorewell, theyarebulky. In particular,thefigs andthegrainarenot of high enoughvalue to repayshippingcostsin longdistancetrade.Theonlykindsof commoditynot listedarethearomaticsandperfumedoil, whichweremanufacturedfor theluxurytrade.

If, however,whatAn 35 andUn 443arerecordingis 'payments',presumablyby thepalace,not to an overseassupplierof alum,but to a personwithin thekingdomwho hasgainedcontrolof thecommodity,eitherthroughtradewhichhepersonallyhasconducted,orfrom a third partywho himselfwasresponsiblefor thetrading,and if oneat leastof thepersons in receipt of these(internal) paymentsis a 'collector' (ku-pi-ri-jo), is it theimplicationof thisthatoneof thefunctionsof 'collectors'wastoorganizeexternaltrade?If,as I havesuggested,the 'collectors'weremembersof theroyalfamily,highofficials of thestatevelsim.,it wouldcertainlynotcomeasa surprisetofind themorganisingexternaltradein a kingdomof thiskind. As Holly Morris haswritten28, 'theparamount[in kingdomsofthistype]maysponsorsomefreelanceexchangerswhoareforeignersor who otherwisehaveno lineagetiesin his region,or hemayinstitutionalizehisowntradingmechanism,madeup

25 OLIVIER (supran. 18).26 KILLEN (supran. 1),176-179.27 R. PALMER, Winein theMycenaeanPalaceEconomy(Diss.1989),96-97.28 HJ. MORRIS, An EconomicModelof theLateMycenaeanKingdomof Pylos (1986),56.


ofpeoplefrom elitelineages,thoseclosesttotheparamountlineage'.(My italics).Is perhapsthereforeku-pi-ri-jo atPylos theMycenaeanequivalentof a NearEasterntamkar;andis itmorethansimplyanaccidentthathis namesakeatKnossoshasa majorinvolvementin theproductionof perfumedoliveoil: oneof thecommoditiespar excellencewhichCreteis likelytohaveexported29 ? And (tobereallyspeculative)is it entirelya coincidencethatboththeseindividualsarecalledku-pi-ri-jo? As John Chadwick observedlong ago30, a proposofku-pi-ri-joandtu-ru-pte-ri-jaonPY Un 443,Cyprusis oneof theplacesin theMediterraneanwhich is knownto havebeena sourceof alum;andit is alsonotinconceivablethatCypruswas one of the placesto which Creteexportedits perfumedolive oil 31. Is it possible,therefore,thethoughtcomestomind,thatbothourku-pi-ri-josweregiventheirnamesfor thesamereason:thatthey(ortheirfathersorgrandfathers)weremembersof thepalaceelite,oneat Knossos and the otherat Pylos, who had a particularinvolvementin the tradewithCyprus32 ?

J.T. KILLEN

29 J.T. KILLEN, "The LinearB TabletsandtheMycenaeanEconomy",LinearB: a 1984Survey(1985),264.30 CHAD WICK (supran. 22),22-23.31 On potteryevidencefor Cretancontactswith Cyprus in theLate BronzeAge seeO. DICKINSON, The

AegeanBronzeAge (1994),252.32 It is notunparalelledin LinearB for personsto benamedaftertheirprofessions:notetheshepherdpo-me

(evidently/Poimenl)on KN Dd 1376.Bandthesmithka-ke-u(doubtless/Khalkeusl)on PY Jn 750.8.Andis it entirelya coincidencethatoneof themostprominentof all 'collectors'in thesheepandclothindustryat Knossos (who may also havea namesakein thetextileindustryat Pylos) is called we-we-si-jo i.e. anamewhichmightbeconnectedwiththewordfor 'woo!'?

222 J.T. KILLEN

APPENDICES

I.Textsat Knossoscontainingku-pi-ri-jo and/oro-no,o-na

(i)

Fh, Fp OIL records

(a)Textscontainingbotho-noandku-pi-ri-jo

Fh 347

.1 ma-ro-ne/ ku-pi-ri-jo aLE 6 S 2 MU 5

.2 we-we-r9, o-no aLE 1 a-ri-to-[' ~9 aLE v 2

Fh 361 + 9069 + 9096 +fr.

(141)

(141).a.b

aLE 21

ku-pi-ri-jo / o-no zo-aS 2 [ ] vac.

aLE ~ v ~

Fh 372+ 5440 + 5474 +frr. (3)ku-pi-ri-jo / o-no aLE 150

(141)

Fh 5447+ 5466 + 7787 +frr. (12)]-ki-ro / ku-pi-ri-joL p-no aLE 9 S[

(b)Textscontainingo-no (oro-na)butnotku-pi-ri-jo

Fh 348.1 o-no, i-su-ku-wo-do-to, aLE 1 S 1

.2 qe-te-o, ~ te-o~ aLE

Fh 5431+ 5449 + 7896 + 9082 + 9105 +frr.o-na , de-rpj-I)j-jo aLE 2 S 2

(c) Textscontainingku-pi-ri-jobutnoto-no

(141)

(141)

(141)

Fh 371 + 5448 (141)]o-se-ko-do/ ku-pi-ri-jo aLE 13 S I MU 10

MU 10 writtenbelow 13.

Fh 5246+ 8504 +frr. (4)ku-pi-ri-jo / ma-ro-ne aLE 100

(141)

Fh 5446 (141).1 ku-pi-ri-jo / u-ne[.2 to-ro-qa / a-nu-[

Fh 5490 (141)sup. mut.

]ku-pi-rH-jo

in! mut.


Fp(2) 5472 + 5476 + frr. (5).1 ku-pi-ri-jo /

.2 si-ja-rp~[

.3 )vest.[

.4 ] vacat

su-ko-ne

)

)de

9J,.J;

224 J.T. KILLEN

(on Fh 347,a MU entryfollows immediatelyaftertheOLE entryon line I), andthatthescribehasenteredo-noon theserecordsto preventambiguity:thatMU alsoindicatesa measure,ando-no hasbeenwritten'to preventconfusionbetweenthetwo systemsof measurement'.Not only,however,doesanexplanationalongtheselinesnot accountfor thepresenceof o-no on Fh 348,wherethereis no mentionof ku-pi-ri-jo: theremustberealquestion(a)whether'confusionbetweentwo systemsof measurement'couldhaveoccurredon a recordlike Fh361, wherethereis mentionof ku-pi-ri-jo anda-no, but, aswe cannow be virtuallycertain,no MU entryispresent,and indeed(b) whetherMU is a measureat all, ratherthana container.[As L.R. Palmer long agopointed out36, thereappearsto be a regularrelationshipbetweenthe figuresin theM U entries(which arealwayswhole numbers)andtheamountsin theOIL entrieswhich immediatelyprecedethem;andthis couldneatlybeexplainedif MU indicatesthevesselsin whichtheoil in questionwasheld].

3. A value'ass-load'for o-no is particularlydifficulttoacceptin thecaseswhereit is followedby LANA(wool) (andin somecasesalso*146,almostcertainlya textile).We canbe reasonablycertainthatthemajorWOOL unitweighsonly c. 3 kg.; andit is difficult tobelievetherefore,evenallowingfor thefactthatdifferentassesmayhavehaddifferentcarryingcapacities,thatthesmallamountsof LANA following o-no on MY Oe108.1(four units = 12 kg.) andKN M(I) 559 (two units= 6 kg.) can haveconstitutedthe entireload of adonkey37.Nor will mattersbehelpedmuchif o-noonM 559is tobetakenbothwith thewool on line 1andthetwo (?) unitsof *146on line 2. And notonly is it difficultto explaintheverysmallamountsin theo-noentrieson theserecords:it is alsonoteasyon the'ass-load'hypothesistoexplaintheverylargedifferencebetweentheamountsin theo-noentrieshereandtheamountof wool and*146(tenunitsof each)listedin theo-noentryonPY Un 443.

4. As M. Lejeunewasthefirst to pointout38,it is attractiveto takethetermo-na on PY Ua 158asthe(neuter)pluralof o-no.Althoughwe havenocertainparallelelsewhereon therecordsfor a genitiveof a man'sname,as ke-do-jo hereappearsto be, precedingo-no39, we do haveexamplesof an apparentnamein thenominativein this position (seee.g.we-we-rq o-no on KN Fh 347)40;and,muchmorecompelling,all thecommoditieswhich occurin thelist followingthereferencetoc-na here(*146,wheatandfigs) arealsoattestedin thelists of commoditiesfoundin o-no records(for *146,see(e.g.)An 35, Un 443;for wheat,see(e.g.)Un1322.1.2.3;for figs,see(e.g.) Un 443).The textof Ua 158runsasfollows:

Ua 158 .1.2.3

ke-do-jo , o-na , e-qa-na-q~[*14620 GRA 7 N14[

vacat

Moreover,thatthesesimilaritiesbetweenUa 158,withitsmentionof o-na,andtherecordswhichcontaino-no is notanaccidentis furthersuggestedby theevidenceof Fh 5431.Here,aswe havenotedearlier,a recentseriesof joins hasprovidedus witha referenceto o-nain a series(theFh OIL recordsin h. 141)wheretherearefrequentmentionsof o-no, andwhereit is attractiveto explaino-na, whichis herefollowedby de-,!!!-,:,!-jo,ashavingthesense'prices',just aso-no precededby tu-ru-pte-ri-jaon An 35 andUn 443is attractivelytakenasmeaning'price'.

Now, clearly,if o-na is thepluralof o-no,o-nocannotbeovo~or OVOl.

36 L.R. PALM ER, Language41 (1965),319.37 Note thatVeenhofcalculatesthatin ancientAssyriathepayloadof a donkeywas 'at leastsome90 kilos',

thoughit mayhavebeenatleastsome10-15kilos smaller'whentheloadconsistedalmostexclusivelyoftextiles'.SeeK.R. VEENHOF, Aspectsof Old AssyrianTradeanditsTerminology(1972),45.

38 LEJEUNE (supran. 23),84.39 Thoughit is possible(a) thata-ri-to-[1i.qbeforeOLE onFh 347.2is thegenitiveof a MN and(b) thatwe

shouldunderstandthis asdependenton a-no understood:notethephrasewe-we-rq-o-noin thepreviousentryon thisline.

40 With thisphrase,compare(asmanyhavedone)o-no-we-wo-rq[onKN Xe 657.2.

SOME FURTHER THOUGHTS ON 'COLLECTORS'

DISCUSSION

225

R. Palmer:I haveaquestionconcerninga-ko-so-taandhis oil. I foundit veryinterestingthatthesepeoplemaynotonlybecollectorsbuttheyareworkingfor whattheyaregettingaswell.a-ko-so-tais obviouslycarryingoutquitea lot of transactionsfor thepalace,maybeevenfor himselfatthesametime.So it is notjust oil-drums,sittingback,and lappingup theluxuryof theland,but theyareoutthereworkingfor it. Would you not agreewith that?

J.T. Killen: I think it variesactually,accordingto theperson.Our frienda-ko-so-taplainly is a majorpalaceofficial, so in a sensehe is workingfor his supper,asit were.But onesuspectswith othersof thesepeoplethattheyaremembersof therulingelite,theQueenMotheror somethinglike that,andthattheyarenotnecessarilyengagedin full-timeadministration.They aresimplybeneficiariesof thesystem.So I would tendto suspectatanyratethattherearedifferencesbetweenthesepeople.We havenofurtherclearevidence.a-ko-so-taatPylosratherstandsoutashe is clearlyinvolvedin all theseadministrativethings,yetnoneof theothersseemto havethesefunctions.But I will saythatthereis possibleevidencethatku-pi-ri-jo atKnossosis arathersimilarfigureto a-ko-so-ta.Thereis a fragmentarytabletin theclothserieswhichtalksof ]pi-ri-jo do-ke(!.e."gave")andIthinkthatmaywell be ku-pi-ri-jo again,in whichcasehewill beinvolvedin thisothersectorof theeconomyaswell.

T.G. Palaima:As usual,J.T Killen hasbrilliantlyorganisedsomeverycomplexmaterialandpresentedit in averyprovocativeway. The troublewith all of his papersis thatI normallyagreewith him totally; theyaresocompelling.This strikesmethesameway, eventhoughI wasoneof thepeoplewho hadbeforedefendedthealmostuniversaladjectivalfunctionof ku-pi-ri-jo. N. HirschfeldatthelastMycenaeancolloquiumin herstudyon Cypriotepot-marksarguedstronglythat,becauseof Cypriotpot-marksin theArgolid, therewasa Cypriotedirectedtradeand a very strongapparatusfor Cypriote trade.This requireswithin the Mycenaeanspheresomeonewhowasorganisingthattradespecifically.This wouldbein linewithwhatJ.T. Killen is seeinghereasfar as having an actual individual of high statusin the Mycenaeanadministrationwith this function. OnequestionI haveon thenewjoin fromKnossosthathasputri-nowith ke-re-si-jo,wouldyoubetakingke-re-si-jonow asa Cretan,asMr. /Kresios/ or would you still seeanadjectivalfunctionin thatparticularcontext?Thesecondthingis: I wasvery intriguedby yourparalleldiscussionof theD-Seriesat Knossoswhereyou showedra-wo-po-noparallel topo-ti-ni-ja-we-jo. If you look on Un 443 you not only haveku-pi-ri-jo with theleadentry,with thealumentry,butin line threeyouhaveka-pa-ti-jawho is thekeybearerat Pylos, a highly-placedwomanofficial. And theothercompellingthingaboutUn 443:younotonlyhaveo-no in thefirst line,butdo-ke,anotherkind of transactionalvocabularyfor ka-pa-ti-ja.So I thinkyour ideaabouto-no makessplendidsenseagain.So in manywaysbothwith regardto ku-pi-ri-jo andwith regardto o-no andwith regardto the entirepackage:it is anextraordinaryjob.

J.T. Killen:Thankyoufor thekind remarks.I thinkthatku-pi-ri-jo onthewool tabletwhichalternateswith ke-re-si-jo is in facttheadjectivein thatcase.That is nottheindividual.This, I think,doesliterallymeanspecialwool for decorationwhichis beingimportedfromCyprus,whichis beingcontrastedwith Cretanstuff.It is justconceivablethatit is a descriptionof atyperatherthantheactualprovenance:of Cypriotetype.But I thinkit ismorelikely thatit is actuallyan import.On theotherpointI agree.

H. Enegren:I just have a generalreflexionconcerningthe collectors,mainly at Knossos. Do we have atKnossosevidencemaybefor royal tradeagents,thatis to saya tamkarsystem.PeterWarrenhasfor exampleshownthatthereis evidencefor amerchantclassin Minoantimes.A tamkarsysteminvolvingsemi-independentmerchantscouldperhapsexplaintheinterestshownby thepalaceatall stagesof production,partof which wasperhapsultimatelyintendedfor trade.

J.T. Killen: I deliberatelydid not use thatterm-tamkar - but this is obviouslygettingratherclose to thatconcept.Actually, in thewrittenversionof thisI do mentionthatterm.Yes, I do thinkwe maybegettingcloseto somethinglike that.

J. Weingarten:I wasnotawareof theproductionof alumonCyprus.I wouldlike thereferencesplease.I havealwaysassociatedalumwithMelos (Melianearth)andEgyptaboveall.

J.T. Killen:The referenceis in Pliny, Naturalishistoria.

T.G. Palaima:L. Baumbachhasawholearticlemostrecentlyin Parola delpassato.

226 J.T. KILLEN

P. earlier: First, for a very long time we havebeenlooking for merchantsin the Mycenaeanworld in thepalaces.Killen hasfoundthelastlink in thechainof commerce:themiddlemanlinkedwith thepalace.I thinkthathis interpretationof thisaspectof theroleof thecollectorsis quiteconvincing.My secondpointconcernsthe terma-no. I agreeessentiallywith theetymology,thatit mustmean"profit" or "benefit".But to usethetranslation"benefit"is perhapsabit misleading,becauseo-no,if! understoodyoucorrectly,meansin factwhattheyreceivein returnfor whattheygive.So it is notexactlywhatwe meanin modernlanguagesby "benefit".The thirdpointis that,althoughwe nowhaveanotherveryvaluablebit of informationaboutthecollectors,therestill remainsanenigma,for we still do notknowexactlywhattheirownprofitsby thesystemwere,as theo-nois whattheyreceivefor whattheygive.Even if theywereonly functionaries- I agreewith you thattheywerenot- butevenif theyweremerefunctionaries,perhapsin thearchivesthetermo-no would beused.So o-no isnotexactly"benefit".Evenif it is thoughtof asa"benefit",it doesnotfunctionasthatwhichwecall a"benefit"today.The exactfunctionof the collectorsis still oneof themain problemsof interpretationin Mycenaeansocietyandremainsanenigma.

J.T. Killen: On thisa-no problem:I do notseea tremendousdifficulty in havinga termin Mycenaeanwhichhasslightly differentimplicationsin differentcontexts.Living in thekind of societyin which we do we feelperhapsthatthereoughttobea specialtermfor "price".But in thissocietyI cannotseewhy theycouldnotusetheterm"advantage"or "benefit"or "bonus"or whateverin onecontextfor whatonereceivesin returnfor acommodityand also in anothercontextfor benefitsof a differentkind. It is essentiallythe sameunderlyingconcept,I think,althoughit doesin particularcontextstakeon differentnuances.I do not seeanytremendousdifficulty with that.As far asyourlastremarkabouttheexactfunctionof thecollectorsstill beingenigmaticisconcerned,I quiteagree:therearestill enormousproblems.

H. van EtTenterre:In Frenchwe havea term:monnaiedechange.I amsorrythatit includestheword"money",butit is exactlywhatyoumean,I think,by o-no.

T.G. Palaima: The following questionfor J.T. Killen, which concernsthe irony of having theseimportantpersons,whose titles, as far as I can tell, we do not know. They are found in the genitiveand in all thesedifferentlocations,andwe call themcollectorsor owners,asyou havesaid,becauseof theterma-ko-ra. Buttheyarestill not specifiedasto theirtitle.Would youcareto speculateon this?Do you think thatit is becausetheirstatusis somehowconnectedto theroyalhouseholdor is anextensionof it? I think thatJ. Bennetmighthave somequalifying statementsto makeon thatdependingon whatone seesas working in Messeniaasopposedto Knossos.Could you imaginea situationin which theseindividuals,if theywerespecifiedby title,mayin facthavedifferenttitlesanddifferentadministrativefunctionswithin thebureaucracybutaresomehowin theseparticulareconomiccontextssimplylistedin thegenitive?

J.T. Killen: I think theremaybecasesof thesepeopleappearingelsewherein thedocumentationsimplyunderanofficial title,da-mo-ko-ro,or somethingof thatkind. I think theremayactuallybe oneinstancewhereonecanidentifyoneof thesecollectorswith theclassof e-qe-ta,the"followers,"who, whateverexactlytheymaybe, areobviouslypeopleof greatimportance.Onecanactuallyshow,andLejeuneshowedit a long timeago,thata-pi-me-de,IAmphimedes/,oneof thecollectorsatPylos, is alsonamedelsewhereasan e-qe-ta.I suspectthatthereareothercasesin whichwe simplycannottieupthetwothings,sinceit is simplya luckychancethatwe cando it in thecaseof a-pi-me-de.Someof thesepeople,I amsure,appearsimplyundertheirofficial titles.

killen

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