ocr: variety of imports. The island's chief needs were metals: copper, gold, lead, silver and tin. Other desirable goods included ivory and precious stones for carving into vessels and seals. The major question in relation to the trade of the Minoan economy is that of control. In contemporaneous Egypt, trade was controlled by the rulers. In Mesopotamia and Levantine cities such as Ugarit, on the other hand, there was a semi-independent merchant class. Did the Minoan system resemble either the Egyptian or the Mesopotamian? In the absence of written archives the question cannot be answered definitive ...
(.png)
