Skarkos on Ios, the Cyclades and the Eastern Aegean: the EBA "International Spirit" in the Light of New Evidence

Comparisons between the town-planning, architecture and artefacts in the settlements of both the Cyclades and the Eastern Aegean such as Skarkos on Ios and Poliochni on Lemnos for instance, suggest a similar level of everyday life and, in some cases, of socio-economic development.

On the other hand, the attested exchanges of objects and ideas between the two regions constitute a challenge for seeking the communication routes connecting them. The North-eastern Aegean, and mainly the sites on Lemnos and Troy, appear not to be the only source for the "Anatolianising" elements in the Cyclades. Recent investigations on the South-eastern Aegean islands show that this area could well be an alternative, if not the main source. The maritime routes linking the Cyclades to the Asio Minor littoral via Samos, Kalymnos, Kos and Rhodes could have been well-established in the EBA.