Dr. Lynne A. Kvapil, Associate Professor of Classics here at Butler University, has been awarded a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities in conjunction with the American School of Classical Studies at Athens for the spring of 2020.
Dr. Kvapil’s project, called Negotiated Landscapes and Fields of Cooperation: Agricultural Terracing in Late Bronze Age Greece, focuses on how relationships between political centers and rural areas can be understood through the archaeological record. Her case study of the southern Greek settlement of Kalamianos suggests that the settlement and the nearby palace of Mycenae entered into a mutually-beneficial relationship. Kalamianos received investment in infrastructure in the form of agricultural terraces aimed at increasing agricultural yields, and Mycenae received access to Kalamianos’ deep harbor as well as surplus agricultural goods. It was a political and economic win-win for settlement and center, but one that was exceptional at this time and not replicated at other settlements.
The NEH recently renewed their partnership with the American School in Athens, which is remarkable at a time when threats to eliminate NEH funding are all too frequent. The renewal reflects the high quality of work that past NEH fellows have produced. Dr. Kvapil is proud to take her place among the distinguished scholars who have “contributed directly to the continual renewal of the humanities and their relevance for future generations” (ASCSA Winter 2019 Newsletter).