Ceramics, trade, provenience and geology: Cyprus in the Late Bronze Age

Abstract

The island of Cyprus was a major producer of copper and stood at the heart of east Mediterranean trade networks during the Late Bronze Age. It may also have been the source of the Red Lustrous Wheelmade Ware that has been found in mortuary contexts in Egypt and the Levant, and in Hittite temple assemblages in Anatolia. Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) has enabled the source area of this special ceramic to be located in a geologically highly localised and geochemically distinctive area of western Cyprus. This discovery offers a new perspective on the spatial organisation of Cypriot economies in the production and exchange of elite goods around the eastern Mediterranean at this time.

Geochemical Analysis of the Hittite‐Period Pottery from Tarsus‐Gözlükule, Turkey

“…A much‐finer orange fabric with few or no visible inclusions also occurs among some sherds with red slipped and burnished exteriors. This fine fabric draws comparisons with Red Lustrous Wheel‐made Ware (RLWmW), which has been found at contemporary sites in Anatolia but is believed to have been produced in Cyprus or further to the west in the mountainous region of Cilicia (Knappett et al ; Artzy ; Mielke , 155; Schubert and Kozal ; Grave et al ).…”

Eastern Mediterranean Economic Exchange during the Iron Age: Portable X-Ray Fluorescence and Neutron Activation Analysis of Cypriot-Style Pottery in the Amuq Valley, Turkey

“…Although the Tell Kurdu study remains unpublished, MURR made this data available in accordance with the laboratory’s data maintenance policy. The Anatolian Iron Age Project has generated NAA data for 114 sediment samples taken from across Cyprus [47] as well as an additional 12 sediment samples from the vicinity of Kinet Höyük in eastern Cilicia [30]. The Kilise Tepe team collected an additional 11 sediment samples from the areas surrounding Kilise Tepe and Tarsus-Gözlükule, which they analyzed at the Demokritos Laboratory in Athens [48].…”

“…One concern when comparing pottery to sediments is the dilution effect of quartz, which decreases the measurements for the elements analyzed with NAA [51,52]. In a study conducted on pottery from Portugal, Dias and Prudêncio [53] determined that normalizing data by Sc is a particularly effective means to compensate for the quartz dilution, and Grave et al [42] found this to be the case as well for the sediment samples that they collected in Cyprus and form part of this analysis. After normalizing the data with Sc, the same statistical protocols were followed as those employed to interpret the pXRF data.…”

“…There are 11 sediment samples that plot with alpha, all of which originated in Cyprus. Previous analysis classified all of these sediment samples as being a product of the Circum-Troodos sedimentary succession that occurs throughout central and southern Cyprus [42]. Those samples that group with beta originated almost entirely from the Amuq and several of these samples belong to wasters and sediment samples taken from Tell Atçana, less than a kilometer from Tell Tayinat.…”

“…Those samples that group with beta originated almost entirely from the Amuq and several of these samples belong to wasters and sediment samples taken from Tell Atçana, less than a kilometer from Tell Tayinat. The one notable exception for beta is CYP048, which is from the Kyrenia Terrane of Cyprus [42]. The inclusion of this specimen with beta may point to a broadly similar composition between this part of northern Cyprus and the Amuq.…”