Procurement and Prestige: Patterns in the Provenience of Prehistoric Mediterranean Obsidian

Obsidian tools and flakes found at prehistoric sites in the eastern and central Mediterranean are evidence of a complex series of activities including procurement and transport of the raw material from island sources, production and distribution of cores or finished tools, and consumption and eventual disposal. The chemical analysis of more than 1000 tools from sites in Italy and France triples the provenience data available for reconstructing central Mediterranean "trade" and provides a framework for interpreting the specific cultural context in which their acquisition was embedded. Furthermore, the analysis of samples from each stratigraphic level of multi-component sites such as Filiestru Cave in Sardinia and Basi in Corsica allows for temporal control from the Early Neolithic through the Early Bronze Age. While differential use of the various obsidian sources has been recognized in peninsular Italy, it is apparent now that distribution patterns vary both geographically and chronologically, and in ways not explained by differences in accessibility or functional suitability between sources. Several possible explanations are discussed, including cultural alliances, the prestige factor in long-distance exchange networks, the role of middlemen and craft specialization, and the coexistence of multiple modes of production and distribution. Finally, the social and economic role of obsidian is compared with that of ceramics and other ground or flaked stone materials, and the central Mediterranean data are contrasted with those from Greece and the eastern Mediterranean.