A matter of quantity? Some notes on Late Bronze Age Exchange Modes in the Eastern Mediterranean

Angelos Papadopoulos in Papadopoulos, A. (ed), Recent research and perspectives on the Late Bronze Age eastern Mediterranean, Talanta XLIV (2012) [2013]: 79-91.

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to illustrate the potentially multiple modes of trade and exchange that existed during the Late Bronze Age in the Eastern Mediterranean (with a special focus in the Aegean) and to consider the identity of those receiving particular categories of goods, the motivations behind particular modes of exchange and the processes by which certain ‘foreign’ or ‘exotic’ objects finally came to be deposited some considerable distance from their initial place of manufacture. Examples from a variety of sites will be presented and analysed. It is proposed that by considering each object as an artefact in its own right, a unique item rather than merchandise or a symptom of mass production, may help modern archaeologists to understand the reason why certain artefacts were found outside their original cultural context.