Analyzing the Ptolemaic Trade Network: The Case of Crete (20 min)Adam Parison, University of California, Santa Barbara
Presenters
Adam Parison, University of California, Santa Barbara
Abstract
The Hellenistic period saw
increasing economic connectivity in the eastern Mediterranean, and the movement
of things can help us to understand how small states took advantage of this
phenomenon. For instance, scholars like Willetts to Chaniotis see the island of
Crete as trading with the outside world in only a superficial way. Evidence of
trade has been discounted as artifacts from Cretan mercenaries, but recent
excavations from east Crete have discovered imports from places like Asia
Minor, Rhodes, and Cyprus, among others. These locations were all important
points in the Ptolemaic trade network. This material evidence, combined with
our knowledge of a Ptolemaic garrison on Itanos, a temple to Egyptian gods in
Gortyn, and the foundation of the Ptolemaic settlement of Arsinoe near modern
Rethymno, indicates that Crete may have been a greater player in the eastern
Mediterranean trade network than previously believed. The introduction of
digital humanities, in this case global information systems (GIS) and network
analysis, can augment our understanding of this network. By mapping a network
based on known trade routes and weighted by established features such as
Ptolemaic garrisons, we can create a theoretical Ptolemaic trade network for
quantitative analysis. Using the Python programming language, this network can
be constructed and statistically analyzed to indicate key network features,
such as major hubs, groupings of associations and minor subnetworks, and
previously unrecognized critical points. This presentation will analyze this
network and argue that Crete was one of these critical points. The movement of
things, in combination with network analysis, shows that Cretans did not ignore
this opportunity for economic engagement; they took advantage of their new
connectedness and economically engaged with the Mediterranean world.
AIA-1E