Ancient Civilization
In Lecture 7, we discussed about trade in Mesopotamia, especially the Gulf trade. From the reading, Pulak (1998) discusses another trade route in the eastern of Mediterranean Sea. Both illustrate the importance of trade in the development of complex cultures in Mesopotamia. For this assignment, compare these two routes of trade using archaeological evidence. (1) What was the structure of the long-distance trade? That is, who carried what from where to where and how did they carry it? (2) How do we, as archaeologists, detect this long-distance trade? That is, what is the evidence that this process occurred? (3) What was the importance of this long-distance trade to the development or maintenance of the society at one end of the trade route or the other? That is, how did it support the social and/or political structure of that society?
