Obsidian Source Selection in the Early Bronze Age Cyclades

Summary

While the obsidian used by southern Aegean prehistoric communities has long been known to derive primarily from Melos, there has been little investigation regarding the relative importance of the two Melian quarries – Sta Nychia and Dhemenegaki. This study employed portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry to investigate this question and begin to map regional traditions of obsidian source selection during the 3rd millennium BC. The 715 artifacts analyzed derive from 11 Early Bronze I - late Early Bronze II cemeteries on the Cycladic islands of Naxos and Kouphonisi. The material is dominated by pressure blades manufactured specifically for funerary consumption. Contextually, they reflect the social significance of body modification amongst these islanders, the blades likely used for depilation, scarification, and tattooing. Our results display a clear overall trend. While unsurprisingly, the raw materials are overwhelmingly Melian, the data show a clear preference for Sta Nychia products (>85%). Whether this procurement bias is Naxos-Kouphonisi specific is currently difficult to say, though contemporary data from Mochlos on Crete shows a similar pattern. Future research integrating source selection with previously defined regional distinctions in pressure-blade technology is necessary to begin mapping synchronous ‘communities of practice’.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage