Abstract
The Late Bronze Age collapse was a defining event in our understanding of Bronze Age and Early Iron Age culture. Although research still leans to the idea of a Mediterranean-wide societal collapse, some Late Bronze Age sites show evidence of continuation through the Collapse and subsequent Crisis Years (1250-1050 BCE). One such site is the island of Cyprus. This thesis argues for a continuation of Cyprus’s culture, occupation of Late Bronze Age cities, and foreign trade connections by examining Cypriot ceramics, one of Cyprus's largest exports. The continuation of certain types of ceramics, their quality, and the production and distribution of Cypriot ceramics argue for the continuation of Cypriot culture, occupation, and trade throughout the Crisis Years, when other civilizations collapsed. The forms, quality of decoration, and production of ceramic assemblages from three sites—Enkomi, Kition, and Idalion—are used in this analysis. The ceramic assemblages of three comparative sites—Mycenae, Tel Dor, and Ayios Sozomenos—act as comparisons to Cypriot ceramics to reinforce this thesis’s argument for continuation.