Royal Gift Exchange between Mycenae and Egypt

Olives as "Greeting Gifts" in the Late Bronze Age Eastern Mediterranean

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4536364
AutoresJorrit M Kelder (0000-0002-2935-4641, autor de correspondencia)
Año2009
Volumen113
Número3
Páginas339-352
Fecha de publicación2009-07-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAmerican Journal of Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0002-9114 • E-ISSN: 1939-828X
EditorialUniversity of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.3764/aja.113.3.339
OpenAlexW2316497154
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas11
Referencias citadas2

Contact between Egypt and the Aegean during the Late Bronze Age, especially the relationship between Minoan Crete and New Kingdom Egypt, has been the subject of much study. The relationship between the Greek (Mycenaean) mainland and Egypt is generally regarded as a more elusive topic, and most scholars seem to consider interaction between the two a matter of irregular exchange via middlemen (e.g., on Cyprus, in the Levant), rather than direct contact. This paper seeks to stimulate new thinking on this subject by positing the possibility that exchange between the two was more than a haphazard phenomenon, arguing that it was, instead, a highly organized system that involved the active engagement of the ruling elite at Mycenae as well as the pharaonic court. Using both archaeological and paleobotanical data and focusing my examination on the import into Egypt of Mycenean pottery, particularly stirrup jars, which are known generally as containers for olive oil, I demonstrate that olives and/or olive oil were a crucial part of this Late Bronze Age interstate connection

Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Bronze · Bronze Age · Elite · JAR · Mainland · Phoenician · Political science · Politics · Pottery · Subject matter · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Engineering · History · Law · Law, logistics, and international trade · Maritime and Coastal Archaeology