Ethnicity, Entrepreneurship, and Exchange: Mediterranean Inter-island Relations in the Late Bronze Age

1990 ◽  
Vol 85 ◽  
pp. 115-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Bernard Knapp
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Copper Production ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
Production Distribution ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Bronze Age ◽  
Metals Production

New data on Late Bronze Age Cypriot and Aegean material found in the eastern, southern, and central Mediterranean significantly alter timeworn concepts about the scope and extent of Mediterranean trade systems. Recent geochemical and statistical analyses highlight the pivotal role played by the production, distribution, and consumption of copper oxhide ingots in the Bronze Age economies of the wider Mediterranean world. As a consequence, it is possible to propose some basic hypotheses on metallurgical origins, and on the possible orientation of Mediterranean Bronze Age trade and traders.Two basic issues are involved: 1) did increased trade with the eastern Mediterranean stimulate production and intensify exchange mechanisms in the central Mediterranean? 2) or did eastern Mediterranean traders simply plug into an existing politico-economic system that somehow monitored metals' production and exchange further west?This paper also evaluates the impact of new archaeological and metallurgical data on traditional interpretations of Cypriot copper production and exchange in its Late Bronze Age Mediterranean context. Whilst Cypriot copper production remained important to the economy of the Bronze Age Mediterranean, it also made key tactical and commercial adjustments to the coming Age of Iron. Mechanisms of Mediterranean trade are still difficult to pin down, and it is unrealistic to do more than propose basic models of entrepreneurship, ethnicity, and exchange.

The land of Hiyawa (Que) revisited

2016 ◽  
Vol 66 ◽  
pp. 67-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor Bryce
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Tenth Century ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
New Information ◽  
12Th Century ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
The Bronze Age

AbstractThe focus of this article is the recently published, near-duplicate ARSUZ inscriptions carved on two stelae found near İskenderun in southeastern Turkey and dating to the later tenth century BC. Particular attention is given to the historical section of these inscriptions, and its reference to a land called Hiyawa (Assyrian Que) in eastern Cilicia, previously attested in only one other Iron Age inscription, the Luwian-Phoenician bilingual found at Çineköy near Adana. The article discusses what new information can be deduced about Hiyawa, including its relationship with the land of Adana(wa) in eastern Cilicia, the implications to be drawn from the findspot of the stelae and the much-debated question of whether the references to Hiyawa reflect Greek settlement in southeastern Anatolia during the Early Iron Age. Fresh attention is also given to the two Akkadian texts from the archives of Late Bronze Age Ugarit which refer to a group called the Hiyawa-men, who were located at that time (late 13th to early 12th century) in Lukka in southwestern Anatolia. The controversial identification of this group with Ahhiyawans/Mycenaean Greeks is re-examined within the broader context of a comprehensive reconsideration of the Ahhiyawa-Hiyawa equation and the role played by ‘Hiyawans’ and the land of Hiyawa in the affairs of the eastern Mediterranean world from the end of the Bronze Age through the succeeding Iron Age.

SARDINIA AND CYPRUS: AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW ON CYPRIOTES IN THE CENTRAL MEDITERRANEAN

2017 ◽  
Vol 85 ◽  
pp. 1-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Russell ◽  
A. Bernard Knapp
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Current Literature ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Alternative View ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Tyrrhenian Sea ◽  
Cultural Impact ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Foreign Objects ◽  
Trading Network

Recent research reveals what we term a ‘discourse of certainty’ regarding an assumed predominant socio-economic and cultural impact of Late Bronze Age Cypriotes or Mycenaeans on the local peoples of Sardinia and/or Sicily and Italy, not least in terms of a systematic, seaborne trading network extending from the Cyprus to the Tyrrhenian Sea. ‘Minimalist’ approaches to such a phenomenon have a long and venerable but more limited pedigree. In this study, we question why minimalist views have been so summarily dismissed in much current literature that seeks to evaluate an eastern Mediterranean presence or influence in the central Mediterranean. We focus on Sardinia, and on the range of Cypriot or ‘Cypriot-type’ materials found there. We consider the nature of the Cypriot–Sardinian relationship, and suggest that we should decouple foreign objects from foreign agents. We question several of the perceived Cypriot influences on Sardinian artefacts, and consider possible alternative mechanisms and routes of exchange between the east and central Mediterranean. We outline and discuss the array of presumed or actual Cypriot artefacts found on Sardinia, and argue that these do not add up to a ‘significant’ corpus of Late Cypriot materials and connections.

Travellers' tales and science-based archaeology: ex oriente lux revisited

Antiquity ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 89 (343) ◽  
pp. 219-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Bernard Knapp
Keyword(s):  
Copper Oxide ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Lead Isotope ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Cultural Contact ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
At Will

Ling and Stos-Gale (above, p. 206) end their study on a safe, if rather vague, note: “[w]e could, perhaps, consider the maritime-themed rock art depictions [of ships and copper oxide ingots] as records of travellers’ tales, where representations of reality mingle with myths, magic and sailors' stories”. Yes, perhaps we could, since at least two of the ingot depictions (Kville 156:1 at Torsbo, Norrköping) look strikingly similar—as the authors note—to the ‘pillow ingots’ (Kissenbarren) known from the Mediterranean world. Or, perhaps, we could remain more cautious before even broaching the idea of interconnectedness between Late Bronze Age Scandinavia and the eastern Mediterranean. Such a suggestion requires a lot more faith in the basic arguments of Kristiansen and Larsson (2005)—namely, that Europe and the Mediterranean formed a massive, open network through which warrior elites and others travelled at will—than I am able to muster. For Kristiansen and Larsson, cultural contact and cultural change ultimately still flow ex oriente—thus, they return whence Childe began. Yet whereas their work is an attempt at synthesis, not analysis, Ling and Stos-Gale have a stab at analysis, of the lead isotope variety. The question is how well they succeed.

Evaluating the influence of climate on the Late Bronze Age collapse in the eastern Mediterranean

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydia Bowler ◽  
Tamar Hodos ◽  
Matthew Bosomworth ◽  
Matthew Jacobson ◽  
Melanie Leng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Archaeological Material ◽  
Cave Environment ◽  
Future Work ◽  
The Impact

<p>During the 13th and 12th centuries BCE (3.25-3.05 kyrs BP), the prosperous and globalized Late Bronze Age (LBA) world system came to an abrupt end in the eastern Mediterranean (EM). During this time, the EM witnessed the demise of powerful and well-established empires and state systems, including the Hittite empire in Anatolia and the Mycenean palace system in the Aegean (Yakar, 2006; Deger-Jalkotzy, 2008). The end of the LBA also saw the destruction and abandonment of numerous urban centres such as Mycenae, Troy, Ugarit, across an area of approx. 6 million km<sup>2</sup> (Knapp and Manning, 2016). The causes of this widespread and critical transition in the EM’s history, often referred to as the LBA “collapse”, have been debated for several decades and remain contentious. Notably, the idea of climate change in the form of widespread drought has been postulated, with the suggestion of a 3.2 kyrs BP ‘megadrought’ event presented in the last decade (Kaniewski et al. (2013; 2015; 2017; 2019a). This PhD project addresses the climate hypothesis, by examining whether climate may have acted as a contributing factor for the LBA collapse and subsequent transition into the Early Iron Age (EIA).</p><p>In order to provide a comprehensive assessment of palaeoclimatic conditions during the LBA/IA transition, a review of all existing palaeoenvironmental  records that cover the interval 3.5-2.5 kyrs BP across the EM has been undertaken. As part of this assessment, this study also presents new high-resolution multi-proxy stalagmite records covering this time interval from Kocain and Sofular Caves in Turkey. In total, 83 records were entered into a database for assessment in order to select the key hydroclimatic proxy records to be examined in this study. The resulting assessment of the remaining 14 highly resolved records from across the EM has not provided strong evidence of a major synchronous and widespread climatic event suggestive of the supposed ‘3.2 megadrought event’. Instead, the results of this study present a highly complex picture of palaeoclimatic conditions between 3.5-2.5 kyrs BP, which is partly related to site and sample-specific factors (e.g. chronological uncertainties, cave environment) and the high degree of regional climatic variability. However, a period of increasingly arid conditions from approx. 3.3-3.1 kyrs BP is apparent in several records including Anatolian records from Uzuntarla, Sofular and Kocain Caves. Future work by this team will specifically assess this aridity evidence in the Anatolian stalagmite records, with the aim to further improve the temporal resolution and chronologic control of these records. Additionally, future work will also integrate our palaeoclimatic findings with associated archaeological evidence. Engagement with the archaeological material is critical as integrated studies can provide us with more nuanced discussions, which are needed to capture the true complexity that surrounds both the archaeology and palaeoclimatic reconstruction for this period. Significantly, this archaeological engagement therefore allows us to more accurately assess the impact that increasing aridity and possible drought events may have had on the agriculturally dependent societies of the LBA in Anatolia. </p>

The New Swedish Cyprus Expedition 2018: Excavations at Hala Sultan Tekke (The Söderberg Expedition). Preliminary results, with contributions by J. Tracz and D. Kofel

2019 ◽  
pp. 287-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter M. Fischer ◽  
Teresa Bürge ◽  
Jacek Tracz ◽  
Dominika Kofel
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Large City ◽  
Copper Slag ◽  
Copper Production ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Textile Production ◽  
Field Season ◽  
Storage Area ◽  
Large Vessels

During the ninth field season at the Late Bronze Age city of Hala Sultan Tekke, excavations in City Quarter 1 (CQ1) continued and brought to light industrial and domestic structures belonging to three phases of occupation (Strata 3–1) dating to the 13th and 12th centuries BC (LC IIC–IIIA). Finds of more than half a ton of copper slag together with remains of furnaces and tuyères indicate intensive urban copper production. There is also evidence of textile production in CQ1. A magnetometer survey of roughly 23 ha resulted in the discovery of another large city quarter (CQ4) between CQ1 and Area A (the cemetery) with regularly arranged stone-built compounds of imposing dimensions intersected by streets. Several massive walls are faced with ashlar slabs which distinguishes this quarter from the industrial and domestic CQ1–3. A bathroom built of ashlar blocks with an advanced hydrological layout was exposed in CQ4 (Stratum 1, LC IIIA) together with a storage area for large vessels. Another rich tomb (Tomb RR) was excavated in Area A. It contained multi-burials together with tomb gifts from numerous Eastern Mediterranean cultures. One of the finds from Tomb RR is a complete large Mycenaean krater depicting two chariots drawn by two pairs of horses and 13 individuals, several of them with swords.

Pottery Wares from the Prehistoric Settlement at Ialysos (Trianda) in Rhodes

2006 ◽  
Vol 101 ◽  
pp. 1-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toula Marketou ◽  
Efi Karantzali ◽  
Hans Mommsen ◽  
Nikos Zacharias ◽  
Vasilis Kilikoglou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Complex System ◽  
Neutron Activation Analysis ◽  
Activation Analysis ◽  
Chemical Analysis ◽  
Neutron Activation ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Pottery Production ◽  
The Bronze Age

Among the vast amount of pottery yielded from the Late Bronze Age settlement of Ialysos (Trianda) on Rhodes, 233 samples have been selected for chemical analysis by means of Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) at the Bonn Laboratory. Thus, a rather comprehensive new data-base for pottery assemblages from Rhodes and other related production centres has been provided. Further evidence has been also suggested for the local mechanisms of pottery production and the patterns of continuity and changes from the LM IA, through to LMIB/LH IIA and LH IIB-III A1 to LH III A2/LH III B1 periods, in both the intra site and inter site relations of the island with Minoan Crete, the Greek mainland, the Argolid, Cyprus, and other eastern Mediterranean sites.The study sets the basis for further studies towards the identification of the rather complex system of the society of Ialysos and its interaction with some other yet unknown centers in the Aegean during the early stages of the Bronze Age and throughout the periods of the Minoan and Mycenaean expansion.

Investigating Burnt Mounds in Clydesdale during Motorway Construction

1998 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
John A Atkinson ◽  
Camilla Dickson ◽  
Jane Downes ◽  
Paul Robins ◽  
David Sanderson
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
Archaeological Evidence ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Short Account ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Bronze Age

Summary Two small burnt mounds were excavated as part of the programme to mitigate the impact of motorway construction in the Crawford area. The excavations followed a research strategy designed to address questions of date and function. This paper surveys the various competing theories about burnt mounds and how the archaeological evidence was evaluated against those theories. Both sites produced radiocarbon dates from the Bronze Age and evidence to suggest that they were cooking places. In addition, a short account is presented of two further burnt mounds discovered during the construction of the motorway in Annandale.

Nuragic Settlement Dynamics

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cezary Namirski
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Settlement Dynamics ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Bronze Age

The book is a study of the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age Nuragic settlement dynamics in two selected areas of the east coast Sardinia, placing them in a wider context of Central Mediterranean prehistory. Among the main issues addressed are the relationship between settlement and ritual sites, the use of coastline, and a chronology of settlement.

3.2 ka BP Megadrought and the Late Bronze Age Collapse

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Kaniewski ◽  
Elise Van Campo
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Prime Factor ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Southwest Asia ◽  
Aegean Region ◽  
Climate Shift ◽  
Dark Ages ◽  
Political Unrest ◽  
Mediterranean Archaeology

The collapse of Bronze Age civilizations in the Aegean, southwest Asia, and the eastern Mediterranean 3200 years ago remains a persistent riddle in Eastern Mediterranean archaeology, as both archaeologists and historians believe the event was violent, sudden, and culturally disruptive. In the first phase of this period, many cities between Pylos and Gaza were destroyed violently and often left unoccupied thereafter. The palace economy of the Aegean Region and Anatolia that characterized the Late Bronze Age was replaced by the isolated village cultures of the Dark Ages. Earthquakes, attacks of the Sea Peoples, and socio-political unrest are among the most frequently suggested causes for this phenomenon. However, while climate change has long been considered a potential prime factor in this crisis, only recent studies have pinpointed the megadrought behind the collapse. An abrupt climate shift seems to have caused, or hastened, the fall of the Late Bronze Age world by sparking political and economic turmoil, migrations, and famines. The entirety of the megadrought’s effects terminated the Late Bronze Age in the eastern Mediterranean.

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