Pottery Production & Distribution in Bronze Age Cyprus

As you may by now know, one of my favourite windows into the lives of ancient Cypriots is through the pottery they created and used. In a recent study, archaeologists David Frankel and Jennifer Webb used portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) technology to analyze over 400 pottery samples from the Early and Middle Bronze Age (circa 2500-1800 BC) [1]. Their findings shed new light on pottery production and exchange networks in Cyprus during this formative period.

What is portable X-ray fluorescence?

pXRF is a tool for archaeological ceramic analysis which functions by bombarding a pottery sample with X-rays, the elemental composition of the clay can then be determined without damaging the artifact. This allows researchers to efficiently analyze large numbers of samples and compare the geochemical "fingerprints" of pottery from different sites.

Similarities can suggest a common clay source and production area, while differences may point to multiple centers of manufacture and distribution of pottery between sites and regions. This is critical information to understanding how and where Cypriot pottery was produced. Was there a central clay source that potters used throughout multiple sites? Were they produced in a single place? Did the answers to the last two questions change over time?

Frankel and Webb looked at four key Bronze Age sites - Marki-Alonia, Ambelikou-Aletri, Bellapais-Vounous, and Psematismenos-Trelloukkas, to find the answers to our questions. These sites were selected to allow for large-scale comparisons and to pick up on more subtle patterns that may be impossible to detect with visual analysis alone.

Pottery in Early Bronze Age Cyprus

Red Polished Bowl

In the initial Early Bronze Age, Cyprus was characterized by a relatively uniform material culture as part of the "Philia phase." pXRF data confirms that pottery of similar styles and fabrics was being distributed from northern production centers to sites around the island. This cultural and economic unity was likely fueled by the export of Cypriot copper to the wider Eastern Mediterranean.

However, by the Early Cypriot I-II period (circa 2200 BC), the system seems to have broken down, perhaps due to a decline in overseas copper demand. Regional pottery styles began to diverge as potters increasingly utilized local clay sources. On the north coast, Early Cypriot potters preferred soft, fine clays suitable for incised decoration, while in central and southern Cyprus, a hard gritty fabric with a mottled surface treatment became common.

The Site-by-Site Picture

Figure from Frankel, D., & Webb, J. M. (2012) showing the sites discussed.

Looking closely at each of the four sites in the study reveals a nuanced picture of local production and importation of different wares:

Marki-Alonia: This long-lived agricultural settlement primarily used locally-produced pottery. The ubiquitous Red Polished ware as well as utilitarian items like storage bins were made of clay from the immediate area. However, small amounts of the western Drab Polished ware and some finer vessels may have been imported.

Ambelikou-Aletri: Direct evidence of on-site pottery production comes from this short-lived copper-mining village, including a workshop with wasters. pXRF confirmed that the bulk of the Red Polished pottery was local. However, the small percentage of Drab Polished was imported, likely from western Cyprus. Some finely-made and intricately incised vessels also came from elsewhere, perhaps the central lowlands.

Bellapais-Vounous: This north coast cemetery site had remarkably uniform Red Polished pottery, indicating local production. However, two Red Polished bowls in a southern style with a distinctive hard, gritty fabric point to some pottery moving from south to north - though likely not as containers for goods.

Psematismenos-Trelloukkas: At this southern cemetery, the common hard, gritty mottled Red Polished was produced locally. However, the rarer small, finely-incised flasks were imports, probably arriving as containers for precious oils or other burial goods. Two such flasks also made their way to Vounous in the north.

Pottery and Social Interaction

By mapping which pottery was locally made and which was imported, pXRF helps reconstruct networks of interaction and exchange between ancient Cypriot communities. The results paint a picture of a primarily local pottery economy, with most pots being made and used within each settlement. However, certain wares and vessel types stand out as having been moved over sometimes considerable distances.

The western Drab Polished ware seems to have been widely traded, likely as containers for specific commodities. The quantities found at Marki and Ambelikou suggest some bulk exchange, though of what goods we can only speculate. On the other hand, the movement of small numbers of finely-crafted and decorated flasks and bowls may represent gift-giving or other social transactions aimed at forging and maintaining ties between far-flung communities. These networks were crucial for obtaining non-local resources like copper and helped bind the island into a shared cultural sphere.

In contrast, the importation of a few plain Red Polished bowls of southern style to Bellapais-Vounous is intriguing. As everyday serving vessels, they were likely not containers for exchanged goods, but their value may have derived from their exotic origins and the personal or social connections they embodied. Perhaps they were possessions of individuals who had traveled or re-located from one part of the island to another - a tantalizing glimpse of individual mobility in prehistory.

What did we learn?

The pXRF study by Frankel and Webb demonstrates the value of technological approaches for unraveling the complex webs of interaction and exchange in ancient societies. It sheds new light on the social and economic world of Early and Middle Bronze Age Cyprus, a time of both cultural integration and regional divergence.

While the bulk of pottery production and consumption was local, the movement of certain wares and vessel types between the various sites speaks to the existence of an island-wide network. Traded pottery provided a means of social interaction and cohesion during a period when the earlier cultural unity had broken down. The precise mechanisms and meanings of this exchange remain to be fully unpacked, but this study provides a valuable starting point for further inquiry.

By combining pXRF data with typological and stylistic analyses, archaeologists can begin to reconstruct the dynamic social and economic networks that helped shape ancient Cyprus. We are reminded that pottery was not just a utilitarian technology, but a medium of cultural expression and exchange that yields intimate insights into prehistoric lifeways. With new scientific techniques like pXRF, the secrets of the past embedded in ancient ceramics are being unlocked piece by piece.