This research project seeks to explore maritime trade routes between 1750-500 BCE from the perspective of sailors, rather than traditional trade systems. Historically, studies of ancient trade, particularly in the Mediterranean, have focused on markets, nautical technology, and institutional records. These studies often overlook the role of smaller ships and informal networks of sailors, who were crucial to the persistence of trade during times of political instability, such as the Late Bronze Age collapse around 1177 BCE. The project posits that low-level trade continued because sailors maintained their own networks, relying on informal connections and shared practices like fishing. These networks allowed for exchange in more localized, less regulated contexts, such as small harbors and informal anchorages, which were vital for safe passage.
This approach highlights the social-ecological networks that sailors created to ensure the safety and reliability of their journeys. The informal relationships and shared knowledge of local conditions passed down across generations helped sustain trade during times of state collapse. While traditional studies focus on large ports and mercantile trade, this project shifts the focus to the sailors themselves and the ecological and social dynamics that shaped their trade routes.
The research will be conducted using GIS mapping, combining environmental, geological, and agricultural data with archaeological indicators to understand the specific conditions that made these informal networks successful. The study will begin in the eastern Mediterranean, where a broad range of archaeological evidence exists, and will extend to Morocco, particularly the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts, where evidence for trade during the Late Bronze Age and the Phoenician period is still underexplored. Morocco provides an opportunity to study the early trade networks established by Phoenician sailors before their colonies were founded.
The project aims to model how sailors adapted to the perils of sea journeys and mitigated risks through networks of informal relationships and shared practices. It will examine how these networks persisted through periods of state collapse and how they contributed to the regeneration of trade. The research will be conducted in four phases: GIS mapping of ecological characteristics, analysis of archaeological and environmental conditions, fieldwork in selected regions to test the model, and a final research volume documenting the findings.
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