Establishing the Middle Sea: The Late Bronze Age of Mediterranean Europe (1700–900 BC)

Abstract

The Late Bronze Age (1700–900 BC) represents an extremely dynamic period for Mediterranean Europe. Here, we provide a comparative survey of the archaeological record of over half a millennium within the entire northern littoral of the Mediterranean, from Greece to Iberia, incorporating archaeological, archaeometric, and bioarchaeological evidence. The picture that emerges, while certainly fragmented and not displaying a unique trajectory, reveals a number of broad trends in aspects as different as social organization, trade, transcultural phenomena, and human mobility. The contribution of such trends to the processes that caused the end of the Bronze Age is also examined. Taken together, they illustrate how networks of interaction, ranging from the short to the long range, became a defining aspect of the “Middle Sea” during this time, influencing the lives of the communities that inhabited its northern shore. They also highlight the importance of research that crosses modern boundaries for gaining a better understanding of broad comparable dynamics.

A multi-proxy bioarchaeological approach reveals new trends in Bronze Age diet in Italy

“…An important demographic growth associated to an increasing socio-political and economic connectivity between the Mediterranean area and continental Europe may provide the answers. This connectivity has been crucial not only for the exchange of ideas, lifestyle and technologies but also for objects, products (crops and animals) and resource transfer (e.g., raw materials, prestigious goods), as demonstrated by archaeological evidence and confirmed by bioarchaeological and genetic data 130 – 133 . Contacts between the Carpathian basin and northern Italy, through Austria and Slovenia, have been well identified, particularly from the Bronze Age 134 , and millet was probably part of this “package exchange”.…”

The largest prehistoric mound in Europe is the Bronze-Age Hill of Udine (Italy) and legend linked its origin to Attila the Hun

“…This extent is much larger than the terramara of Santa Rosa di Poviglio, that had a maximum area of 7 ha, but is a reference for the RBA because of the detailed available data about its stratigraphy and plan map 15 , 16 . Differently, Udine is rather comparable to the largest RBA Terramare settlements of Northern Italy, as Case Cocconi, Case del Lago and Fondo Paviani 15 , 37 , whereas, is slightly larger than Frattesina, that was not a terramara, flourished in the FBA and reached 15 ha 47 [Figs. 1 d and 7 j; 37 , 41 , 47 ].…”

“…Differently, Udine is rather comparable to the largest RBA Terramare settlements of Northern Italy, as Case Cocconi, Case del Lago and Fondo Paviani 15 , 37 , whereas, is slightly larger than Frattesina, that was not a terramara, flourished in the FBA and reached 15 ha 47 [Figs. 1 d and 7 j; 37 , 41 , 47 ]. The reorganization of settlements that occurred at the end of the RBA in Friuli points to the resilience of this area to the general collapse of the Eastern Mediterranean societies in the twelfth century BCE 46 .…”

Animal exploitation in Southwestern Iberia at the end of the second millennium BCE: insights from the Late Bronze Age of Outeiro do Circo (Beja, Portugal)

“…The Late Bronze Age, hereinafter LBA, is a period of important changes in Mediterranean Europe (Knapp & Van Dommelen 2014). A fragmented scenario exists, but some common broad trends can be observed, for example in social organization, trade, transcultural phenomena, and human mobility (Iacono et al 2022). In Southwestern Iberia, this period is generally considered to be between around 1170/1050-780/730 BCE (Mataloto et al 2013).…”