Abstract Archaeological analysis of economic systems commonly divides discussion according to three prongs of activity—production, circulation, and consumption. When organizing these topics in a sequential order, it is normal to begin with production, since goods must first be produced before they may be distributed or consumed, then discuss circulation—how goods travel from producers to consumers—before closing with an assessment of how and where goods were consumed. Most scholarship dealing with the role of iron in early Aegean economies has instead worked in the opposite direction, with a primary focus on the consumption of artifacts as enlightened by patterns of deposition in the archaeological record, since it was long the case that little other evidence for production and circulation existed. Thanks to recent empirical and analytical research, however, we are now in a much better position to address questions about production and circulation. This makes it possible to consider the nature of the early Greek metals economy according to a logical sequence assessing production, circulation, and consumption in turn, rather than setting an undue focus on consumption. This chapter, therefore, considers some basic questions about metal production that focus on the acquisition of material resources: what sorts of raw materials were needed to produce bronze and iron artifacts and where did people in the Aegean get them?
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