Using Cyprus as a case study, the present contribution applies a diachronic perspective to the notion of contact zones as a means to explore some of the implications of this concept for an island. The geographic distribution of ceramic imports to Cyprus during the 1st millennium reveals a fairly consistent pattern through time, which seems to be more or less similar to what has been suggested for earlier periods in the island’s history. This suggests that the points of contact were determined more by geographical proximity and ease of communication than by human factors. The Cypriots themselves seem to have played a less active role on the overseas markets in the 1st millennium AD than before, and it is tentatively proposed that it might have been the island’s loss of control of her mines in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods that led to a decline in the direct involvement of Cypriots in overseas trade.

本研究以塞浦路斯为例，以历时性的观点适用于接触区的概念，以此作为探讨这一概念对岛屿的某些影响的手段。在第一个千年中，从塞浦路斯进口的陶瓷的地理分布显示出一段时间以来的格局是相当一致的，这似乎与该岛历史上早期的提议或多或少相似。这表明联系点更多是由地理位置和通讯便利性决定的，而不是人为因素决定的。在公元一千年前，塞浦路斯人自己似乎在海外市场上的作用不那么活跃。 与以前相比，有人提议，可能是该岛在古希腊和罗马时期失去了对自己矿场的控制权，导致塞浦路斯人直接参与海外贸易的下降。