Obsidian maritime connections in Eastern Mediterranean prehistory

Theodora Moutsiou

Authors

Theodora Moutsiou Archaeological Research Unit, University of Cyprus

Keywords:

Obsidian, Eastern Mediterranean, Holocene, maritime, connections

Abstract

Despite recent mounting evidence demonstrating the successful early exploitation of insular environments around the globe as far back as 100 ka, the island of Cyprus is still persistently regarded as isolated from regional phenomena and largely unaffected by them. The main reason behind this marginality view is the island’s insularity and geographic location at the periphery of the continent. Following a Terminal Pleistocene occupation, the Early Holocene signals the first permanent settlements on the island dating to around 10 ka and followed by a settlement expansion in the Middle Holocene (ca. 8 ka). The traditional view of Cyprus regards these early settlements as the outcome of Neolithic farmers who arrived from the mainland and subsequently turned their backs to the continent developing in isolation because of the presumed sea barriers prohibiting communication.

References

Moutsiou, T. (2019a). A compositional study (pXRF) of Early Holocene obsidian assemblages from Cyprus, Eastern Mediterranean. Open Archaeology 5(1): 155–166. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2019-0011

Moutsiou, T. (2019b). Raw material circulation and the Early Holocene social landscape of Cyprus. In: Astruc, L., McCartney, C., Briois, F., Kassianidou. V. (Eds.), Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology Volume 150, Near Eastern Lithic Technologies on the Move. Interactions and Contexts in Neolithic Traditions, 8th International Conference on PPN Chipped and Ground Stone Industries of the Near East, Nicosia, November 23rd–27th 2016, pp. 119–132.

Moutsiou, T. and Agapiou, A. (2019). A least cost pathway analysis of obsidian circulation in Early Holocene – early Middle Holocene Cyprus. Journal of Archaeological Science Reports 26: 101881. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2019.101881

Moutsiou, T. (2018). The obsidian evidence for trans-maritime interactions in the Eastern Mediterranean: The view from

Aceramic Neolithic Cyprus. Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 31(2): 232–251. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1558/jma.38084

Nikolaidis, A., Akylas, E., Michailides, C., Moutsiou, T., Leventis, G., Constantinides, A., McCartney, C. et al. (2020). Modeling drift-induced maritime connectivity between Cyprus and its surrounding coastal areas during early Holocene. EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, pp. 19782.