Abstract
JUDGED by the declared aims of the author, who before his lamented death, was one of the brightest of Italian men of science, this is an eminently successful work. He is “convinced that it is worth while to excite the curiosity of those who are not archæologists,” and he never forgets the average reader. He is equally convinced of the independence of Mediterranean civilisation, and he has undoubtedly made out a very strong case. The author's enthusiasm sometimes makes the reader unnecessarily suspicious, but added to the popularising and argumentative motives of the author is a sincere respect for facts, and the wants of the specialist are also provided for in numberless references and footnotes. The author was himself an experienced explorer, and he has some interesting theories of his own to put forth, such as that Cyprus is not “the land of copper” and that the word bronze is a form of Brindisi (p. 208). On Minoan matters he writes from first-hand knowledge. In Italy he did excellent work in completing a survey of the known dolmens of that country. The dolmens illustrated are remarkably similar to our British cromlechs. The book is very usefully illustrated, and the translator's work is excellently done.
Article PDF
References
"The Dawn of Mediterranean Civilisation". By A. Mosso, translated by M. C. Harrison . Pp. xxii + 424. (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1910.) Price 16s. net.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
GRIFFITH, J. Mediterranean Civilisation and the Phaestos Riddle 1 . Nature 86, 385–387 (1911). https://doi.org/10.1038/086385a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/086385a0