Reviews

This book is an extremely important piece of research that opens up new vistas in the study of painted plaster in the ancient Aegean and its influence and appearance throughout the eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age. The author has clearly opened the door for a relatively new and refreshing course of research.
Aren M. Maeir, Bar-Ilan University, American Journal of Archaeology, 114.3, July 2010

While the title emphasizes the ‘power of technology in the Bronze Age eastern Mediterranean’, the originality of the book relies on its subtitle, the ‘painted plaster’, where the author has to offer first-hand observations. As claimed in the introduction, Brysbaerst’s prime interest is to provide new insights into the whole tissue of interaction between human and social agency, technological production, and the transfer of knowledge within the eastern Mediterranean, through a multidisciplinary approach. Furthermore, the author argues that her present work combines issues of iconography, technology and style, moving a step forward from the traditional stylistic and iconographic studies.
Hariclia Brecoulaki, Centre for Greek and Roman Antiquity (KERA), The National Research Foundation, Athens, Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2010.12.27