The Cyclades, The East Aegean Islands and the Western Asia Minor: Their Relations in the Aegean Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age.

The Cyclades seem to have been in continuous contact and interaction with the island of the east Aegean and the western Asia Minor from the very beginning of their settlement early in the Aegean Late Neolithic period through to about the end of the Early Bronze Age. These contacts, however, were never particularly close and systematic until the Early Bronze 2 period was well under way.

In the early part of the Aegean Late Neolithic the contacts of the Cyclades with the east are restricted to the east Aegean islands of Samos, Chios and the Dodecanese and are evidenced by the occurrence of considerable quantities of Melian obsidian on these islands and by the close affinities of their white-painted pottery to that of the Cyclades. Samos and Chios seem to have acted as intermediaries both in the transportation of the Melian obsidian as far as Aphrodisias in the interior of the south-west Asia Minor and in the spread of the idea of the white-on-dark painted decoration, considered to have originated in that area, to the Dodecanese. The Cyclades, on the other hand, seem to have played the part of the intermediary in the diffusion of the idea of white-painted decoration to the central Aegean and the eastern coasts of mainland Greece.

From the Aegean Final Neolithic till the early Bronze 2 period the Cyclades, while exerting influence on the islands of the east Aegean and on the coasts of the south-west Asia Minor, evidenced by the clay and marble vessels of Cycladic types from Tigani on Samos and Iasos, also accept influences from the north-east Aegean and the north-west Asia Minor in the form of the rolled-rim bowls, the marble schematic figurines of the so-called "Troy type" and the lids with horned perforated ears. The contacts of the Cyclades with the Aegean coasts of the north-western Asia Minor may have been both direct and indirect; in the latter case, it is Poliochni on Lemnos and Thermi on Lesbos which must have played the role of the intermediaries.

During the Early Bronze 2 period the contacts of the Cyclades with the east Aegean and the western Asia Minor become particularly close and the influences seem to be exerted from either side. The Cycladic influences are evidenced by fragmentary vessels and pyxides bearing decoration similar to that of the pear shaped vessels, sauceboats with dark on light painted decoration, horizontal handles of pithoid jars with decoration of incised radiating lines on the upper surface, beaked jugs with two-stage neck profile, fragments of marble bowls, the sporadic occurrence of Melian obsidian and perhaps by the incised bone tubes, which are either imitated or directly imported in the east Aegean islands (Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Kos) and at Troy. On the other hand, the influences of the north-east Aegean and the western Asia Minor, in particular of the north part of it, on the Cyclades are seen in the open bowls or plates and in the various types of pins, metal tools and decorated spindle whorls found on these islands.

The end of the Early bronze 2 period and the transitional early bronze 2-3 phase are marked by the appearence in the Cyclades of certain forms (depas amphikypellon, bell-shaped cup, one handled tankard, steep necked jug with long beaked spout) and metal objects of foreign origin, which are considered to be characteristic of the so-called "Kastri group". factors such as typological observations, range of variants, frequency of occurences and time of appearance suggest that these ceramic forms originated in Asia Minor, more spesifically the depas in the Troad, the bell-cup in Clicia, the tankard and the jug somewhere in its south-west part. The spread of the latter three types to the Cyclades, and through them to the Greek mainland, seem again to have been achieved by means of the east Aegean islands of Samos and Chios. The existence of close trading ties between the Cyclades and the islands of the east and south-east Aegean during this period is further corroborated by the exchange of characteristic pottery types between the regions in question attested in the Early Bronze 3 period: Cycladic types (askoi, askoid jugs, pyxides) are found in Samos, the Dodecanese and the south-west Asia Minor and types of the south-west Asia Minor (wheelmade carinated bowls, two handled tankards) occur in Samos, the Dodecanese and the Cyclades.