Searching for the Sea: The Exploitation of Marine Resources in Late Bronze Age Aegean

Tatiana Theodoropoulou in Papadopoulos, A. (ed), Recent research and perspectives on the Late Bronze Age eastern Mediterranean, Talanta XLIV (2012) [2013]: 295-314.

Abstract

The role of fishing in the Aegean LBA has until now been addressed with respect to its peripheral character within food-producing activities, as it is commonly accepted that affluent LBA societies were strictly oriented towards surplus strategies. A growing body of zooarchaeological data adds new evidence to the available poor record, hitherto based on Linear B texts and artistic representations. The potential and limitations of these research tools are presented in this paper, and an overview of old and new data is attempted, with the aim of re-addressing the role of fishing activities during this period. What stems from this study is the need to reassess the expected vs. contradictory evidence between different records, especially in the light of variable social contexts..