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

double ax forms, implies that the carpentry/masonry tool connections between Crete and
the mainland were not as strong as scholars have assumed.
Aegean implements are not readily found in Anatolia or the eastern
Mediterranean, as the number of double axes, saws and broad chisels are sporadic in the
east. Preferred on Crete, shafted combination tools are rare in Anatolia and Syria-
Palestine, but extant on Cyprus. Shaft-hole axes, single/flat axes, trunnion/lugged blades,
socketed chisels are tool categories that define choices made in Anatolia, Syria-Palestine
and Cyprus. Chisels occur in each of these regions as well, particularly in Anatolia,
which included an idiosyncratic series of miniature, chisel-like implements with cutting
edges less than 0.5 cm. Collectively, the tool repertoires of Anatolia, Syria-Palestine and
Cyprus bear a greater resemblance to each other than with those in the Aegean. Tools
from Crete and the mainland must be treated separately, for the assemblages in these
regions are not identical. Both areas, however, shared a propensity to employ narrow and
broad chisels. Finally, it is not surprising that the implements aboard the Uluburun and
Gelidonya shipwrecks (Fig. 4.27, and Fig. 4.29) consisted of types that were distinctive to
various regions, for each area was partially tied into the international shipping and trading
routes.
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