Anatolian Wine in the Middle Bronze Age

Abstract

The Assyrian merchant records from Kultepe near Kayseri contain the first textual references to the production and trade in wine in Central Anatolia. Predictably, those records are mainly of a commercial nature and provide information about quantity, containers, and price. Sometimes, they also mention geographical origin and give occasional hints to the consumption and production of wine. References are scarce. Only 33 texts out of ca. 12,500 mention wine (see Appendix 1). Fortunately, the limited textual evidence can be connected to a broader material record that includes an excavated corpus of ceramic and metal containers for the storage and mixing, sieving and serving of drink, as well as an extensive pictorial record of cultic libation and drink. A growing archaeobotanical record adds new data on the oenology of the period. This article examines all four sets of evidence dating to the first half of the Middle Bronze Age. It begins with an analysis of the written sources and proceeds to integrate the archaeobotanical record, physical artifacts, and pictorial representations. Ethnographic data is discussed as part of the final analysis to provide an interpretational framework for parts of the material.