Exploring culinary practices in Minoan Crete. A diachronic and volumetric study of the tripod cooking pot

The tripod cooking pot is the Minoan ceramic cooking pot par excellence, produced and used all over the island from the Prepalatial to the Postpalatial periods (2900-1180 BC). This shape presents a common morphological development throughout these periods and among the different regions of the island. It is then part of a broader Cretan pottery and cooking tradition, which is not much altered by external influences, except at a very advanced stage of the Postpalatial period (end of 13th c. BC). Its ubiquitous use in the Minoan domestic sphere makes it particularly prevalent in archaeological assemblages, while its sturdiness generally ensures a good state of preservation that enables a good understanding of its morpho-stylistic characteristics and developments. On the north-eastern coast of Crete, extensive excavations have been carried out at the site of Sissi by the Belgian School at Athens during thirteen campaigns (2007-2011; 2015-2019; 2022-2024). Ceramic vessels from all phases of the Bronze Age have been uncovered on this small coastal hill within domestic, communal and funerary structures, including a wide range of cooking pottery. Based on a large and representative corpus of Neopalatial, Final Palatial and Postpalatial tripod cooking pots, we here consider elements of change and continuity in the cooking practices of the Sissi inhabitants through a diachronic analysis of the volumetric data related to this essential type of Minoan cooking vessels. Combined with a morphometric, use wear and contextual analysis of this large set of Sissiot tripods cooking pots, this volumetric analysis of a single category of material culture will demonstrate how a more nuanced understanding of both the maintenance of social practices and the emergence of new traits in subsistence activities can be gained using a local-based approach.