The archaeozoological evidence that is available for the trade of fish in the Eastern Mediterranean area is summarized. This overview covers the Chalcolithic to the Crusader period and is based on data from 76 sites compiled from the literature and from as yet unpublished material under study by the authors. Remains of fish from the Nile, the Mediterranean and the Red Sea are regularly found in archaeological sites that are located outside the natural distribution of the fish species and thus indicate that they were transported as items of trade or exchange. Evidence for trade of Anatolian freshwater fish is also documented. The fish bone finds are discussed according to their provenance and the regions to which they were transported, and an attempt is made, on the basis of archaeological, artefactual and - if available - textual evidence, to understand the diachronic changes in the distribution within the broader economic and political contexts of the areas involved in the production and the consumption of fish.

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