Analysis of Greek prehistoric combat in full body armour based on physiological principles: A series of studies using thematic analysis, human experiments, and numerical simulations.

Autor: Flouris AD; Department of Exercise Science, FAME Laboratory, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece., Petmezas SB; Department of Exercise Science, FAME Laboratory, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece., Asimoglou PI; Department of Exercise Science, FAME Laboratory, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece., Vale JP; Engineering Faculty, Transport Phenomena Research Centre (CEFT), Porto University, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, Porto, Portugal.; Engineering Faculty, Associate Laboratory in Chemical Engineering (ALICE), Porto University, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, Porto, Portugal., Mayor TS; Engineering Faculty, Transport Phenomena Research Centre (CEFT), Porto University, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, Porto, Portugal.; Engineering Faculty, Associate Laboratory in Chemical Engineering (ALICE), Porto University, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, Porto, Portugal., Giakas G; School of Exercise Science, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece., Jamurtas AZ; School of Exercise Science, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece., Koutedakis Y; School of Exercise Science, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece.; Faculty of Education, Research Centre for Sport, Exercise and Performance, Health and Wellbeing, University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, United Kingdom., Wardle K; Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom., Wardle D; Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: PloS one [PLoS One] 2024 May 22; Vol. 19 (5), pp. e0301494. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 May 22 (Print Publication: 2024).
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301494
Abstrakt: One of the oldest complete suits of European armour was discovered in 1960 near the village of Dendra, in Southern Greece, but it remained unknown whether this armour was suitable for extended use in battle or was purely ceremonial. This had limited our understanding of the ancient Greek-Late Bronze Age-warfare and its consequences that have underpinned the social transformations of prehistoric Europe and Eastern Mediterranean. In a series of archeo-physiological studies, merging knowledge in archaeology, history, human physiology, and numerical simulation, we provide supporting evidence that the Mycenaean armour found at Dendra was entirely compatible with use in extended combat, and we provide a free software enabling simulation of Late Bronze Age warfare. A group of special armed-forces personnel wearing a replica of the Dendra armour were able to complete an 11-hour simulated Late Bronze Age combat protocol that we developed from a series of studies based on the available evidence. Numerical simulation of the thermal exchanges in Late Bronze Age warfare extended this conclusion across different environmental conditions and fighting intensities. Our results support the notion that the Mycenaeans had such a powerful impact in Eastern Mediterranean at least partly as a result of their armour technology.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
(Copyright: © 2024 Flouris et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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