Fishermen, Sailors, or Boat Owners? Lead Fishnet Sinkers, Fishing, and Society in the Late Bronze Age III Aegean

The exploitation of marine resources, the role of fish and shellfish in the human diet, and, more generally, the interaction of prehistoric Aegean communities with the sea have recently attracted scholarly attention. The in-depth study of large assemblages of fish remains from recent excavations has allowed for a reconsideration of the idea that the consumption of marine food declined throughout the Bronze Age. In the Middle and Late Bronze Age, rich evidence encompassing iconography, fishing tools, and shipwrecks further facilitates the exploration of this complex subject. However, most studies on fishing address specific phenomena that are not integrated into a broader socioeconomic interpretative framework. To that end, based on the analysis of a Late Minoan IIIA2 (early) set of Aegean lead fishnet sinkers from Tomb 11 at the Kalyvia cemetery near Phaistos on Crete, this article reviews all the discoveries of this understudied class of artifacts in the Aegean. This contextualization sheds new light on the origins and development of a technological innovation that makes a sudden appearance in Late Helladic / Minoan IIIA2. It also contributes to challenging the view that fishing was a secondary, low-status activity throughout the Late Bronze Age Aegean.1