Late Geometric Period: 800-700 B.C.E. The late Geometric Period coincided with the rise of the Greek city-state or polis, and the emergence from the Dark Ages. The resultant prosperity of this time was felt clearly in the art of pottery, which built on styles known as Protogeometric (900s B.C.E.) and Early Geometric (800s B.C.E.). As the name suggests this early painted pottery featured abstract designs such as parallel straight lines, circles and semicircles, meanders, triangles, checkerboards, swastikas, as well as large areas of black glaze. Such controlled designs articulate the shape of the vase and emphasize various parts, such as its neck, shoulder, or belly. Many of these vases were used in a funerary context, sometimes containing the ashes and bones of the cremated, or precious objects owned during his or her lifetime. Such pottery was...