2015/01/01 by Ayelet Gilboa, Dvory Namdar · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Arts and Humanities · #Global Maritime and Colonial Histories #Eurasian Exchange Networks #Archaeology and Historical Studies #Laboratory flask #Phoenician #Archaeology #Period (music) #Radiocarbon dating #Mediterranean climate #Southeast asia #Geography #Ancient history #South asia #History #Art
paper · doi:10.2458/azu_rc.57.18562
openalex publication_date 2015/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
When did the trade in lucrative spices from South Asia to the West commence? Recent organic residue analyses performed on small early Iron Age (11th–late 10th century BCE) Phoenician clay flasks provide the first concrete archaeological evidence that such sustainable trade took place much earlier than hitherto suspected. The analysis shows that several of the flasks contained cinnamon, which in this period could only have originated in South/Southeast Asia. Here, we first summarize the rationale and results of that study. Subsequently, we provide an updated review of all sources of data relevant to the question at hand—archaeological, analytical, and textual. Finally, we offer suggestions for future research on the Asian spice trade with the West.