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

type and their consumption fell notably by the LC period. This decline in knife
consumption signals a unique situation on Cyprus. MC knives were probably symbols of
status and wealth during the Middle Bronze Age as they advertised the acquisition and
consumption of metal and technological skill to other competitive elites. 259
In every other
region under consideration, knives were most common in the LBA. On the Greek
mainland, the quantity of knives escalated from the MH to the LH period, though the
general frequency of the items waned slightly over this time. With the exception of
Cyprus, the great popularity of knives seems to be an Aegean phenomenon, for they
appear in diminished numbers elsewhere.
The regional divisions of utilitarian implements according to period, type, site
size, and context reveal additional patterns (Fig. 3.20a-g). Within the Cretan assemblage,
the dominance of knives, the dispersed nature of the tools by site size, and the
multiplicity of contexts are notable traits (Fig. 3.20a). Cleavers rank second in LM
utilitarian preferences, strongly reflecting the Mycenaean influence upon Crete. From the
mainland, LH utilitarian implements are found just as often at large, palatial sites (around
45% of the time) as minor settings (Fig. 3.20b). Given the numerous palatial and urban
sites in the MBA and LBA, the aggregate of utilitarian objects from minor settings is
impressive (Fig. 3.16). These objects appear to have been more “moveable” within the
landscape than agricultural implements, implying a higher level of accessibility. The
utilitarian tools from the LH mainland occur in hoards and settlements, but burials, as in
the MH period, are the preferred context. Virtually all utilitarian tools from the Greek
islands came from minor sites and mortuary contexts. Knives, as one would expect, are
259 Keswani 2004.
105