BMCR 2009.04.64: Eckhart on Cunliffe, Europe Between the Oceans. Themes and Variations: 9000 BC to AD 1000

Barry Cunliffe, Europe Between the Oceans. Themes and Variations: 9000
BC to AD 1000.  New Haven:  Yale University Press, 2008.  Pp. ix, 518.
ISBN 9780300119237.  $39.95.

Reviewed by TammyJo Eckhart, Indiana University
([email protected])
Word count:  1258 words
-------------------------------
To read a print-formatted version of this review, see
http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2009/2009-04-64.html
To comment on this review, see
http://www.bmcreview.org/2009/04/20090464.html
-------------------------------

Barry Cunliffe was Professor of European Archaeology at the University
of Oxford from 1972 to 2007. Europe between the Oceans is the most
recent book in his prolific publishing career, which includes not only
academic work but also mainstream books educating the general public
about Europe's past. Although, as an archaeologist, Cunliffe is
concerned with human achievements and culture, Europe between the
Oceans has a theme familiar to scholars of the ancient world: Geography
determines culture.

The idea that culture develops in great part from the environment
around it can be found in Herodotus, Pliny, Plutarch, and most other
ancient authors who described and offered explanations for the variety
of human practices and beliefs, a connection that Cunliffe demonstrates
through numerous classical quotations in his first chapter. We
classicists and historians primarily concern ourselves with written
evidence, though we often utilize other fields to test our theories and
supplement what can be a frustrating dearth of information. Cunliffe
takes us far back into Europe's past before human settlements might
properly be called civilized. From this beginning he steers us through
ten millennia, looking at how geographic features aided or hindered
interactions between groups of people principally through trade and
competition for land and resources.

As the title suggests, Cunliffe looks at how the oceans around Europe
have aided and limited European development. Chapter two of Europe
between the Oceans lays out what Cunliffe will consider to be Europe
for the purposes of this book, and frankly his definition is standard.
The chapter and the book, though, are not solely focused on oceans as
the primary geographical condition that drives development. Bodies of
fresh water, be they lakes or rivers, also play a vibrant role in his
discussion, since these are areas where humans settle and via which
they trade.

Of course humans need more than water; they must have food, and so
chapter three goes back much further than our title suggests to explain
how diverse Europe is in terms of animal and plant life as well as
agricultural potential. Cunliffe's careful descriptions of changes in
climate and environment are very clear, with a good presentation of the
evidence. This clarity continues throughout the text, though
archaeological and geographical data seem the focus over written
evidence, an unsurprising fact, given Cunliffe's expertise.

Almost every chapter is written in a clear format that both laypersons
and scholars can understand. Introductions give a brief overview of
what each chapter will cover; the bulk of the chapter that follows then
contains geographical and sometimes political or cultural sections that
look at developments with multiple examples of evidence. Whenever there
are conflicting or competing theories for the observed realities,
Cunliffe lays these out clearly, though he often does not give specific
citations for whose theories these are and he usually argues for one of
the theories through application of additional evidence. All but one of
the chapters then ends with a brief summary highlighting the most
important facts he has discussed.

Chapters four through six do not use written evidence, even though
written evidence is extant for the period covered in chapter six. Of
course, as an archaeologist, Cunliffe is aware of the latest scientific
studies and evidence, and he lays these out in a logical fashion while
explaining these techniques for the readers. A point of special
interest is the use of DNA evidence to challenge or validate theories
about the movements of people through the centuries. Cunliffe briefly
describes the limits of DNA evidence in chapter four, then utilizes it
throughout without returning to address these limits. The common
threads found through both DNA evidence and artifacts is that by and
large men moved more than women across Europe, coming primarily to
trade, Cunliffe speculates, and then intermarrying with the local
populations in the earliest millennia of European history, only
exchanging women during periods of relative wealth and stability. I
think the evidence is suggestive, if not persuasive.

Similarly Cunliffe sees far fewer external influences on Europe than
cultural differences developing sui generis, an argument he supports
through the use of artifacts and DNA evidence. He demonstrates that
even those areas of Europe in greatest contact with Africa and Asia are
more selective in their adaptation of religious practices,
technological methods, and social forms than we would expect if there
were massive migrations or large-scale colonization. There is no
counter-suggestion that Europe exported its cultures into the rest of
the world, but then the focus here is on the development of Europe, not
its impact on the world. Trade and competition for resources are the
factors driving most of the minor movements of people that Cunliffe
sees in pre-historical Europe.

Beginning with the seventh chapter and the third millennium BC, written
evidence becomes increasingly important, but Cunliffe never ignores the
geographical, archaeological and DNA evidence employed for pre-history.
This approach offers good supplemental evidence since we know that all
written sources contain biases as do the artifacts and the
interpretation of them, as well as geographical and other scientific
evidence. Nothing is truly objective, so when Cunliffe can offer such a
range of information it supports his own arguments for why certain
practices or events occur. There was not much that one would strongly
disagree with in this book, though readers could come up with several
questions they would want more information about and different
interpretations of a few of the written sources he uses.

When we leave pre-history firmly behind and become entrenched in the
historical periods of Greece, Rome, and the early Medieval world, I
noticed that Cunliffe's opinions on differing theories and
interpretations sharply dropped, as did the amount of non-textual
evidence. He never completely leaves out the artifacts, geographical
considerations and DNA, but the largest percentage of the material in
these chapters is dedicated to a narrative similar to what we find in
good textbooks. I think this is a fine approach, since the target
audience of this book is so broad, and Cunliffe, like all of us, has
his areas of expertise and interest. What I did find lacking was a
discussion of how advances in technology may have decreased the role of
geography on cultural development and what may have replaced it.

The text is peppered with a multitude of photographs, illustrations,
and maps. The photographs are gorgeous, adding a great deal to the
discussion. The illustrations also add to the information of each
section. The maps are of varying quality, some lacking keys and others
poorly keyed; this seems true more for the historical chapters than for
those dealing with prehistory, but perhaps this reflects my areas of
expertise. Some of the archaeological diagrams also lack good keys,
making them almost impossible to understand without some basic training
in the conventions for marking things in such drawings. Oddly, this
book lacks a proper bibliography and instead offers a "Further Reading"
list; likewise, except for the occasional internal citation, there is
very little information about where each fact and theory Cunliffe uses
comes from. After dozens of publications it might be argued that
Cunliffe need not document everything, but one is surprised to see so
few citations. Fuller bibliographical indications would aid readers who
found a particular piece of information intriguing and wondered where
they could learn more.

Overall Europe between the Oceans is a beautiful book that covers a lot
of information in a readable fashion for both scholars and laypersons.
Cunliffe argues the idea of geography driving destiny very well while
allowing for and highlighting how human decisions determine cultural
differences and similarities.


-------------------------------
The BMCR website (http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu) contains a complete and
searchable archive of BMCR reviews since our first issue in 1990.

Please do not reply to this email as this is an unmonitored mailbox.
You can contact us by sending e-mail to [email protected]. To
subscribe to or unsubscribe from this list, visit
http://newmailman.brynmawr.edu/mailman/listinfo/bmcr-l. To unsubscribe,
you may also send a blank e-mail to [email protected] with
the word Unsubscribe in the subject line.

_______________________________________________
BMCR-L mailing list
[email protected]
http://newmailman.brynmawr.edu/mailman/listinfo/bmcr-l