The Origins of Decorated Ostrich Eggs in the Ancient Mediterranean and Middle East

Hodos, Tamar; Cartwright, Caroline; Montgomery, Janet; Nowell, Geoff; Crowder, Kayla; Fletcher, Alexandra; Goenster, Yvonne

doi:10.15184/aqy.2020.14

The Origins of Decorated Ostrich Eggs in the Ancient Mediterranean and Middle East

Hodos, Tamar; Cartwright, Caroline; Montgomery, Janet; Nowell, Geoff; Crowder, Kayla; Fletcher, Alexandra; Goenster, Yvonne

Authors

Tamar Hodos

Caroline Cartwright

Professor Janet Montgomery janet.montgomery@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Geoff Nowell

Kayla Crowder

Alexandra Fletcher

Yvonne Goenster

Abstract

Decorated ostrich eggs were traded around the Mediterranean during the Bronze and Iron Ages. Research on their origins has focused primarily on decorative techniques and iconography to characterise the producers, workshops and trade routes, thereby equating decorative styles with cultural identities and geographic locations. This is problematic, as craftspeople were mobile and worked in the service of foreign royal patrons. The present study investigates the provenance of ancient ostrich eggs, reconsiders trade patterns via isotopic indicators and characterises decorative techniques in order to assist in the identification of culturally distinct decorative styles or regional preferences.

Citation

Hodos, T., Cartwright, C., Montgomery, J., Nowell, G., Crowder, K., Fletcher, A., & Goenster, Y. (2020). The Origins of Decorated Ostrich Eggs in the Ancient Mediterranean and Middle East. Antiquity, 94(374), 381-400. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2020.14

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Oct 18, 2019
Online Publication Date	Apr 9, 2020
Publication Date	Apr 30, 2020
Deposit Date	Jan 28, 2019
Publicly Available Date	Apr 29, 2020
Journal	Antiquity
Print ISSN	0003-598X
Electronic ISSN	1745-1744
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	94
Issue	374
Pages	381-400
DOI	https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2020.14

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http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Copyright Statement
This article has been published in a revised form in Antiquity http://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2020.14. This version is published under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND. No commercial re-distribution or re-use allowed. Derivative works cannot be distributed. © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2020.