Middle and Late Bronze Age Metal Tools from the Aegean, Eastern ...

Middle and Late Bronze Age Metal Tools from the Aegean, Eastern Mediterranean, and
Anatolia: Implications for Cultural/Regional Interaction and Craftsmanship
Abstract
This study considers the distribution and consumption trends of metal tools from
the second millennium BC over a wide geographical area including Crete, the Greek
mainland, the Greek islands, Cyprus, Anatolia, and Syria-Palestine. An exhaustive
database of 5300+ tools was compiled from these regions and time frame. While copper
and copper-alloy implements are attested in the third millennium and earlier, the
significant advancement of the metallurgical industry in the Aegean and eastern
Mediterranean is directly associated with the quantity and diversification of metal tools
during the Middle and Late Bronze Age. The progression of craft industries is also
related to the development and production of specific and sometimes specialized tool
forms.
The degree of pre- and proto-historic interaction among multiple regions is
evaluated through the lens of metal tools, items that were neither bulk nor elite goods.
The primary research questions are 1) to assess the meaning of patterns in tool
consumption and 2) whether it is possible to identify traveling craftspersons in the
archaeological record through such distributions. Analysis of the large database begins
with a broad overview of the tool choices made in each region and time period.
Implements are classified into discernible functional categories such as agricultural,
metallurgical, utilitarian, tools for small crafting, and carpentry/masonry. Given the
strong correlation between the evolution of metal tools and architecture, it should be no
surprise that carpentry/masonry implements are the preferred tools throughout the second
millennium BC, and therefore much of the study’s focus is on this category. A meticulous