ABSTRACT
This paper presents the preliminary results of a new ceramic analysis project examining changes in the organisation of production and technology in western Cyprus at the transition from the Middle to Late Cypriot Bronze Age. This transition is a significant but poorly understood period of Cypriot history that directly precedes the nascent urbanism of the Late Cypriot period. This project assesses changes in ceramic production practices – including fabric selection and preparation, firing technology, and vessel form and decoration – during the final Middle Cypriot and early Late Cypriot periods at the site of Kissonerga-Skalia in western Cyprus. Preliminary archaeometric results from portable X-ray Fluorescence are presented along with macroscopic observations of fabric and style to demonstrate the adaptive measures undertaken by potters at Kissonerga-Skalia as they adjusted to shifting markets and consumer demands across an increasingly expanding economic landscape.
