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

distribution, as the category is quite rare in the MBA. With the inception of metal
agricultural tools in the LBA, distinct regional patterns and preferences are evident. For
instance, the tool category is more prevalent within eastern Mediterranean assemblages
than those from the Aegean. Agricultural implements from the Aegean are normally
sickles, meaning that metal hoes and plowshares, which are well attested on Cyprus and
the Levant, are generally absent in the Aegean. It is likely that the plowing of Greek soil
was conducted with wooden digging and tilling instruments. It is unclear why the
Minoans and Mycenaeans failed to adopt the metal versions. Perhaps the explanation is a
combination of the Aegean preference for and maintenance of a long-held tradition (using
effective wooden types) and the choice to utilize precious and imported metal resources
in a different manner. It may be more significant that eastern Mediterranean peoples
decided to employ metal hoes and plowshares than that the Aegean continued using the
traditional forms. While copper was readily available in the eastern Mediterranean
(meaning that there was metal to spare for the production of agricultural equipment), the
employment of metal hoes and plowshares may indicate a significant shift in how
agriculture was practiced in the region during the LBA.
Of the metallurgical implements, metal types constitute roughly one-third of the
category, as stone molds form the majority of examples. Concentrations of this tool
category are found in Anatolia, Cyprus, and Crete—all regions with archaeometallurgical
evidence that illustrate metalworking centers. The most complete repertoire of tools for
metalworking comes from Cyprus, where there are charcoal shovels, furnace spatulas,
tongs, sledgehammers, an anvil, molds (including those made of metal), and a possible
crucible scraper (Fig. 3.14d). The most surprising aspect of the distribution of
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