Archaeological excavations at sites such as Catalhoyuk and across the broader Fertile Crescent show that obsidian from volcanic sources in central and eastern Anatolia was carried hundreds of kilometers to early farming and foraging communities. Chemical sourcing studies, including trace-element analysis, link specific tool finds to particular volcanic outcrops, revealing overlapping exchange or travel networks that predate writing and formal markets by thousands of years. Researchers continue to debate whether the material moved through direct procurement, gift exchange, or relay trade between neighboring groups.
Relevance to Trade History
One of the earliest well-documented cases of long-distance material movement, showing exchange networks functioning thousands of years before cities, writing, or currency.
Read the full story in our article Obsidian and the World's Oldest Known Trade Networks.
Source: British Museum. See our Sources & Methodology page for how we select and verify references.