Cynthia Wright Shelmerdine is an American classicist and archaeologist, known for her researches into Mycenaean culture and history.
Her dissertation, guided by Emily Vermeule, was titled Late Helladic IIIA2-IIIB Pottery from Nichoria and the Bronze Age History of Messenia.
In 1988 she was the Gertrude Smith Professor at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens directing the Summer Session.
[3] Shelmerdine has been praised for her integration of archaeological, philological, epigraphic and anthropological data in Mycenaean studies.
[6] The fragrances there were made mainly from olive oil, were considered luxury items, and produced under palatial control in a centralised fashion (unlike bronze work, which was decentralised).
[8] Shelmerdine documented the ingredients used in several perfumes; these included henna, coriander, myrrh, honey, and "po-ni-ki-jo".
Mycenaean perfumed oils were exported to Saqqara for use among the Egyptian nobility, but later on took on the role of "ambrosial" clothing for the gods in Homeric hymns.
[11] Shelmerdine worked on the excavations at Iklaina, a secondary site within the Pylos region, as a pottery specialist.