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Bronze Age boundaries and social exchange in north‐west Cyprus
Author(s) -
Keswani Priscilla Schuster,
Knapp A. Bernard
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
oxford journal of archaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.382
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 1468-0092
pISSN - 0262-5253
DOI - 10.1111/1468-0092.00184
Subject(s) - archaeology , bronze age , settlement (finance) , situated , geography , chalcolithic , human settlement , procurement , copper mining , geology , copper , chemistry , organic chemistry , marketing , artificial intelligence , world wide web , computer science , business , payment
Summary. During the Late Bronze Age a number of towns engaged in copper production and overseas trade arose throughout the coastal regions of Cyprus. While some of these towns were located within a few kilometres of major ore deposits in the Troodos Mountains, others were situated much farther away, and presumably acquired their copper supplies through extensive networks of exchange. This paper addresses the question of how such networks may have been structured in north‐western and north central Cyprus, within and adjacent to the research area of the Sydney Cyprus Survey Project. Based on our analyses of site locational factors, we propose the co‐existence of at least two distinct networks of copper procurement and transport. Consideration of the finds from settlement and mortuary sites in the northern Troodos and Mesaoria plain suggests a pattern of hierarchical exchange relations between coastal and inland regions.