Economy and Cultural Contact in the Mediterranean Iron Age

Many times in human history, the search for new markets has been a key driver for cultural exchange. Analyzing the economic connections within the ancient world provides a propitious basis from which to examine intercultural connections. The Iron Age, especially, was a period of increasing interconnection between different cultures in the Mediterranean, offering up a gripping chance to study an emerging economic and cultural system. But where did these new routes pass, such that the people were able to move themselves and commodities forward? How did growing demands on foreign markets influence production patterns and social structures within local communities ? How did local customs respond to foreign commodities, and how did these imports mold local cultures ? This volume comprises a collection of papers focusing on the 8th–6th centuries BC. Long object biographies are carefully reconstructed and analyzed using up-to-date methodologies, thus offering answers to questions about production modes, trade routes, and consumption patterns. Discussing resources, commodities, and the reception of foreign products, this volume gives new details and insights to advance our understanding of the role played by the economy in cultural contacts.