New evidence for the emergence of a maritime Black Sea economy

Abstract

This article argues that changes in settlement pattern from the Bronze to early Iron Age suggest a new maritime orientation in the economy of the Sinop Promontory. Bronze Age evidence (3rd-2nd millennia BC) suggests a pri- marily land-based economy supplemented by maritime resources, while Iron Age evidence (early 1st millennium BC) indicates a stronger maritime orien- tation. Long-distance overseas interacti on from as early as the 5th millennium is suggested by stylistic parallels between local finds and other Black Sea coasts. Early ceramic parallels probably signal incidental contact resulting from fishing or other maritime activities. Iron Age maritime intensification encouraged coastal settlement with clearer parallels between Sinopean and overseas ceramic and architectural assemblages. Exchange and fishing are likely to have been key components of the Iron Age economy in advance of the Circum-Pontic economic expansion brought about by Greek colonization in the second half of the 7th century BC.