Substances in Motion: Neolithic Mediterranean “Trade”

Robb, John; Farr, Helen

doi:10.1002/9780470773536.ch2

Cited by 30 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…The total quantity of obsidian which was distributed over great distances was modest at best, and unlikely to have been the primary purpose of the travel/transport overall. Nevertheless, there are some exceptions, including the site of Terres Longues in southern France (Léa 2012) and several in peninsular Italy (Robb and Farr 2005), where larger-than-usual proportions of obsidian suggest redistribution patterns having been developed during the Neolithic.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Obsidian Studies in the Prehistoric Central Mediterranean: After 50 Years, What Have We Learned and What Still Needs to Be Done?

Tykot

2017

Open Archaeology

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Obsidian sourcing studies have been conducted in the central Mediterranean for more than 50 years. Detailed studies have been done on the geological sources on four Italian islands, and many analytical methods have been used to successfully distinguish between them. The ability to conduct analyses using those minimally (LA-ICP-MS) or totally (XRF, pXRF) non-destructive to artifacts has led to >10,000 analyses just in the last decade. Along with the ability to assign artifacts to specific geological subsources, and an increased number of studies of techno-typology, this has allowed interpretations to be made about source access and territorial control, craft specialization and the chaîne opératoire, as well as the modes, frequency, and directions of movement and how that varied spacially and temporally. Obsidian especially from Lipari and from Monte Arci in Sardinia traveled hundreds of kilometers on a regular basis starting in the Early Neolithic. By the Late Neolithic, in some areas there was selection of specific obsidian sources and subsources, and differences in production methods and tool typology. Obsidian distribution and usage in the central Mediterranean continued over four-and-one-half millennia, in many areas well into the Bronze Age. There is much more still to do integrating these different studies, especially use-wear studies, along with those of lithic and other materials that also played a role in prehistoric transport and trade systems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Obsidian Studies in the Prehistoric Central Mediterranean: After 50 Years, What Have We Learned and What Still Needs to Be Done?

Tykot

2017

Open Archaeology

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“…the material world in which people lived. Leading on from this perhaps, one of the most useful indicators of action within the landscape, of lives being lived, journeys made, social contacts and organisation, is that gained through the identification of "foreign" objects within an assemblage, raw materials or stylistically recognisable objects which have been moved from their point of origin through the landscape by trade and exchange mechanisms or direct procurement (Robb and Farr 2005;Robb 2005). …”

Section: Seafaring As a Mechanism For Trade And Exchangementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Knowledge of our surroundings is gained through our perception of the landscape, yet our existing knowledge and belief affects what we perceive and how we treat incoming information, what we select as relevant. In reference to travel and navigation and, in particular, seafaring where decisions and choices must constantly be updated due to changing conditions, knowledge and skill can be seen as socially constructed and influenced (Farr 2001;Robb and Farr 2005).…”

Section: Seafaring As Social Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Trade and exchange are irrevocably linked to mobility and travel from the local and regional scales to that of long distance movement within the landscape: "What we consider archaeologically as 'trade' may often be a by-product of travel and interaction undertaken for other purposes" (Robb and Farr 2005). It is for this reason that in the following discussion of seafaring in the Adriatic, this paper refers to 'journeys' and 'travel' rather than 'mobility' and 'raw material circulation.'…”

Section: Seafaring As a Mechanism For Trade And Exchangementioning

confidence: 99%

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Seafaring as social action

Farr

2006

J Mari Arch

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This paper builds upon traditional investigations of maritime activities, particularly seafaring itself, to study the social relationships between people and the sea as well as the technology, necessary knowledge and skills that are implicated. The research is based upon evidence of seafaring drawn from the circulation of obsidian from the island of Lipari around the central Mediterranean throughout the Neolithic c.6500-3500 BC. It focuses upon journeys across the Adriatic, identifying the importance of travel in the creation of social alliance and identity, shedding light upon relationships and practices that are generally invisible without proper consideration of maritime activity. The implications of ongoing maritime activity in the region reflect upon Neolithic activities and temporalities which are outside the sphere of settlement specific landscapes, hitherto the sole focus of the majority of Italian Neolithic research.

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“…However, like culture-historical archaeology, this approach to early economy, trade and interaction requires critical appraisal (e.g. Hodder 1982b; Robb & Farr 2005;Shanks & Hodder 1995;Shanks & Tilley 1987). Although the New Archaeology advocated studying all aspects of cultural systems, in practice most of its adherents have concentrated on ecological constraints, subsistence patterns, trade, and to a lesser extent social organization.…”

Section: Trade and Interactionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trade and Interaction

Skeates

2009

Oxford Handbooks Online

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Substances in Motion: Neolithic Mediterranean “Trade”

Cited by 30 publications

References 38 publications

Obsidian Studies in the Prehistoric Central Mediterranean: After 50 Years, What Have We Learned and What Still Needs to Be Done?

Obsidian Studies in the Prehistoric Central Mediterranean: After 50 Years, What Have We Learned and What Still Needs to Be Done?

Seafaring as social action

Trade and Interaction

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