Precious Commodities:The Socio-economic Implications of the Distribution of Juglets in the Eastern Mediterranean During the Middle and Late Bronze Age

Description

The distribution of ceramic juglets in the eastern Mediterranean of the Middle to Late Bronze Age has become linked to the provision of precious commodities, such as perfumed oil to lower elite segments of society. This research represents the first systematic investigation of the circulation of juglets, as functionally distinct forms which offer a fine-grained dataset for examining wider issues related to commodity production, distribution and consumption. The chronological depth and spatial breadth of this study offer an opportunity to trace developments in the social and economic significance in the intra- and inter-regional distribution of this form, contributing also to an understanding of changing inter-regional contacts throughout the eastern Mediterranean. The analysis presented here addresses patterns of production (including evidence for regionalism and specialist manufacture), consumption strategies within and between societies and over time, as well as producer-consumer dynamics such as bilateral trade links, selective marketing and branding. Front Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Acknowledgements Table of Contents List of Figures List of Plates List of Tables List of Abbreviations Abstract 1. Introducing Bronze Age juglets 2. The Bronze Age world of juglet circulation: cultures, chronology and commerce 3. How juglets circulated: theoretical considerations for analysis and pragmatic methodological approaches 4. Clues to the contents of the juglets 5. Middle Bronze Age traditions in juglet production and consumption 6. The innovative juglets of the MBA/LBA transition: The Cypriot perspective 7. The era of the exports 8. Conclusions: The expected, the unexpected, and their socio-economic implications Appendix I: Typological guide to Bronze Age juglets Appendix II: Sampled sites Appendix III: Recorded contexts/stratigraphies with dates and time periods Appendix IV: Aoristic analysis References