Reconsidering a Southern Route. Relation between Southern Mesopotamia, Susiana and Egypt at the End of the Fourth Millennium BC

In the late fourth millennium BC, significant cultural interactions took place between Egypt, Uruk Mesopotamia and Susiana, sparking scholarly debate. The routes of Mesopotamian artifacts and influence to Egypt have been much debated, with a northern route via Syria and Lebanon being favoured to date. The aim of this paper is to analyze the available data in order to re-evaluate the existence of a southern maritime route connecting Mesopotamia, Oman peninsula, Yemen and Egypt.