ABSTRACT
Ancient Egypt is frequently characterized as isolated and insular, separated by itsnatural borders from the surrounding civilizations of the ancient world. There is, however, considerable archaeological evidence for external contacts with the cultures of the Mediterranean, specifically the Aegean world and Cyprus, throughout the Bronze Age. The earliest horizon of contact dates to the Old Kingdom and is exclusively with the island of Crete, prior to the emergence of the Minoan palaces. Contacts increase during the Middle Kingdom, Hyksos Period and earlier New Kingdom, but still are focused on Crete in the Aegean, but also beginning to incorporate Cyprus. The final phase, comprising the Amarna Period and 19th Dynasty, is contemporary with the large-scale commodity trade typical of the Late Bronze Age (LBA) eastern Mediterranean and encompasses Cyprus and the Mycenaean world (Warren 1995).
