Time Sequence of Compilation of the Pylian Series Aa, Ab and Ad
Belikov A. M.
The paper deals with Pylian series Aa, Ab and Ad, which enumerate dependent women-workers and their children mainly in textile industry. A close analysis of their find-spots in the Archive complex shows that the tablets of the Aa series in which rations are not included yet were the intermediate stage of preparation of a ration-list similar to Ab. The out dated roll Ab was soon to be deleted from the Archive complex. The series Aa was probably composed in one month’s period after the series Ab. Variation in the number of women and their children might have arise because the Palace needed variably numbers of workers from month to month. Monthly fluctuations in the number of workers may be regarded evidence for their part-time employment.
Keywords: Pylos, linear B, Pylian Archive complex, social and economic status of women-workers