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

neither bulk nor elite goods. As noted above, the evolution of metal tools coincides with
advancements in architecture, and the relationship of tool distributions to other industries
(craft related or otherwise) may reveal regional tendencies in tools and the type of work
for which the implements were necessary.
Considering the level of contact and the international style that developed in the
Mediterranean during the LBA, the notion of traveling craftspersons is a natural
explanation for similarities in crafted products. One of the research goals of this study is
to assess the meaning of the distribution and frequency of tools. How closely do these
patterns reflect the choices and activities of the craftspersons who used the implements?
Is it possible to determine similarities in their use and their attendant craft industries
across multiple regions? The scattering of implements within a region may suggest how
metal was consumed in that area as well as reflect the general availability of tools in a
society. Are tools equally dispersed in a landscape at different kinds of sites, or are they
primarily restricted to one urban or palatial center? Furthermore, what types of contexts
have yielded tools? By identifying how tools were deposited into the archaeological
record, one may acquire a better understanding of a tool’s function and value.
An exhaustive dataset of 5,309 second millennium BC implements (mostly metal
though stone molds are included) from Crete, the Greek mainland, the Greek islands,
Anatolia, Cyprus, and Syria-Palestine was compiled to analyze the consumption patterns
over time and space. The broad geographical and chronological limits of the investigation
revealed localized tool preferences indicative of regional craft work, as well as more
limited evidence for cross-cultural contact and exchange. The breadth of this tool study is
surpassed only by J. Deshayes’ 1960 publication, Les outils de bronze, de l'Indus au
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