Seafaring And Seafarers In The Bronze Age Eastern Mediterranean

Seafaring is a mode of travel, a way to traverse maritime space that enables not only the transport of goods and materials but also of people and ideas - communicating and sharing knowledge across the sea and between different lands. Seagoing ships under sail were operating between the Levant, Egypt, Cyprus and Anatolia by the mid-third millennium BC and within the Aegean by the end of that millennium. By the Late Bronze Age (after ca. 1700/1600 BC), seaborne trade in the eastern Mediterranean made the region an economic epicentre, one in which there was no place for Aegean, Canaanite or Egypt.

This book presents a diachronic study of seafaring, seafarers and maritime interactions during the Early, Middle and Late Bronze Ages of the eastern Mediterranean (Cyprus, Anatolia, the Levant, Egypt)

In Naval Warfare and Maritime Conflict in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age Mediterranean, Jeffrey P. Emanuel examines the evidence for warfare, raiding, piracy, and other forms of maritime conflict in the Mediterranean region during the Late Bronze Age and the transition to the Early Iron Age (ca. 1200 BCE).

Mediterranean Connections focuses on the origin and development of maritime transport containers from the Early Bronze through early Iron Age periods (ca. 3200–700 BC). Analysis of this category of objects broadens our understanding of ancient Mediterranean interregional connections, including the role that shipwrecks, seafaring, and coastal communities played in interaction and exchange. These containers have often been the subject of specific and detailed pottery studies, but have seldom been examined in the context of connectivity and trade in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean. This broad study: considers the likely origins of these types of vessels; traces their development and spread throughout the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean as archetypal organic bulk cargo containers; discusses the wider impact on Mediterranean connections, transport and trade over a period of 2,500 years covering the Bronze and early Iron Ages. Classical and Near Eastern archaeologists and historians, as well as maritime archaeologists, will find this extensively researched volume an important addition to their library.

Intro -- Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Chapter 1. Introduction -- The Ships Review of the Evidence -- Chapter 2 -- Chapter 3 -- Chapter 4 -- Chapter 5 -- Chapter 6 -- Chapter 7 -- Appendix: The Pylos Rower Tablets -- Chapter 8 -- Appendix -- Appendix: Additional Evidence -- Chapter 9 Shipwrecks -- Aspects of Maritime Activity -- Chapter 10 -- Appendix: Did Hatshepsut's Punt Ships Have Keels? -- Chapter 11 -- Chapter 12 -- Chapter 13 -- Chapter 14 -- Chapter 15 -- Chapter 16 -- Chapter 17 -- Appendix: Texts from Ugarit Pertaining to Seafaring -- Notes -- Glossary of Nautical Terms -- Bibliography -- Index

A Companion that examines together two pivotal periods of Greek archaeology and offers a rich analysis of early Greek culture A Companion to the Archaeology of Early Greece and the Mediterranean offers an original and inclusive review of two key periods of Greek archaeology, which are typically treated separately—the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age. It presents an in-depth exploration of the society and material culture of Greece and the Mediterranean, from the 14th to the early 7th centuries BC. The two-volume companion sets Aegean developments within their broader geographic and cultural context, and presents the wide-ranging interactions with the Mediterranean. The companion bridges the gap that typically exists between Prehistoric and Classical Archaeology and examines material culture and social practice across Greece and the Mediterranean. A number of specialists examine the environment and demography, and analyze a range of textual and archaeological evidence to shed light on socio-political and cultural developments. The companion also emphasizes regionalism in the archaeology of early Greece and examines the responses of different regions to major phenomena such as state formation, literacy, migration and colonization. Comprehensive in scope, this important companion: Outlines major developments in the two key phases of early Greece, the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age Includes studies of the geography, chronology and demography of early Greece Explores the development of early Greek state and society and examines economy, religion, art and material culture Sets Aegean developments within their Mediterranean context Written for students, and scholars interested in the material culture of the era, ACompanion to the Archaeology of Early Greece and the Mediterranean offers a comprehensive and authoritative guide that bridges the gap between the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age. 2020 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Winner!

This study considers the maritime economy of ancient Cyprus from 1450 BC to 295 BC, combining, for the first time, three distinct disciplines, that is History, Archaeology and Economic theory. The principles of New Institutional Economics are used to trace the island’s institutions and their continuity and to reconstruct its maritime history.

Over the past decade, evidence has been mounting that our ancestors developed skills to sail across large bodies of water early in prehistory. In this fascinating volume, Alan Simmons summarizes and synthesizes the evidence for prehistoric seafaring and island habitation worldwide, then focuses on the Mediterranean. Recent work in Melos, Crete, and elsewhere-- as well as Simmons’ own work in Cyprus-- demonstrate that long-distance sailing is a common Paleolithic phenomenon. His comprehensive presentation of the key evidence and findings will be of interest to both those interested in prehistory and those interested in ancient seafaring.