No description available.

The main object of this thesis is to reassess critically the nature and development of the earliest metallurgy of the Greek mainland in the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age periods (c. 4800 - c. 1900), both in its technological and socio-economic context. The aims of the research are thus to: 1) show whether or not the LN finds represent the beginnings of autonomous mainland metallurgy or whether they simply represent artefacts imported from contemporary neighbouring cultures involved in metalworking. Diffusionists regard the development of EBA metallurgy as some revolutionary break. Accumulating evidence should put the Greek mainlandindustries more into line with those from the Aegean; 2) show whether the LN industry was ancestral in some way to that of the EBA or if the development of the EBA industry was due to external influence; 3) make some chronological assessment of the initial progress of technological ability as well as the structure and organisation of metallic mineral acquisition. This will further provide data on the degrees of communication between communities and metalworking sites; and, 4) examine the socio-economic context which permitted the development of metallurgy. To achieve these aims it will be necessary to demonstrate the potential availability of copper, tin and other minerals and to show clearly through analytical techniques the range of technical skills known and mastered (especially smelting and alloying). Evidence on the relationship between metalwork, settlement, sources and the role of foreign influence will also be required. The first step was to compile a fully up-to-date catalogue of metal finds and evidence for metalworking. This was done from published material, museum collections in Greece and Britain, tracing artefacts referred to in publications but never fully described and obtaining information on artefacts from recent excavations and finds (until end 1986). This work had the effect of doubling the number of artefacts to come under study and justified taking a fresh look at the state of the industry, the range of types and techniques, and, through them, the evidence for foreign or internal relations. This was a necessary preliminary to the analytical study and the study of the contexts of the metals. No single typological study had been devoted specifically to the LN and EBA material and so one was made, devising at the same time a standard typology and comparing previous classification systems. The typological affinities of the artefacts from every sub-phase of the LN-EBA period were then studied and discussed. This study brought out the range of local types, the continuity of some types from the LN to the EBA and the evidence of foreign influence. The next task was to demonstrate that this large collection of metals could have been produced from local sources, the geological evidence for metallic minerals in Greece was reviewed and a visit was made to one of the richest mineral areas in Greece to assess the types of deposits with which we were dealing. It was demonstrated that the copper, arsenic, gold, silver and lead supplies of the mainland were more than adequate to meet the needs of the local industries in the LN and EBA. Tin was not locally availably and so an extensive review of all possible sources was carried out and two potential supply areas were designated -Yugoslavia and north west Anatolia. The analytical programme presented the chemical and lead-isotope results of over seventy mainland artefacts, attempting to interpret these results for both the technological and chronological information which they could give, formed the main part of the programme. The actual analyses were carried out, in the main, by Dr N H Gale (Oxford). To assist the interpretation of the results a review was made of the metallurgical processes used in the manufacture of copper, arsenical copper, tin bronze, lead, silver and gold. The historical background of the metal technology of the Old World was reviewed, in particular the beginnings of melting, smelting and the origins and development of alloying,in order to provide a reference with which to compare the status of the Greek mainland metallurgical industries. A brief review of the analytical techniques used then led to a full interpretation of the results themselves. The results of the lead-isotope programme demonstrated that several sources were used by both the LN and EBA metallurgies three sources were used in the LN and EBA periods - so there was some continuity of tradition. A new source was identified in the lead-isotope diagrams, though it was not geographically located. This source was used only by mainland communities and, on present evidence, it is highly likely that it is a local source. The chemical results for the mainland artefacts demonstrated that all the main techniques current in the Aegean were known and practiced on the mainland. These include smelting, alloying with arsenic tin and even lead, casting in single and double moulds, cupelling silver from lead and smelting lead as well as working gold. The Greek LN metal industry was not simply an offshoot of the Balkan industries and the EBA industry was in no way backward compared with the other industries of the Aegean. Over 200 chemical results mainly from the EBA Aegean were computed in order to obtain some new information regarding the status of the mainland industry and also to attempt a new approach to provenancing. All the computing work was carried out by Dr M Pollard (Oxford). First of all, the character of the mainland industry was assessed and then it was compared, using various computer techniques, with the industries of the Troad, the Cyclades and Crete. The result was that the mainland industry was basically quite distinct from the other three industries, though it did share several common techniques (or possibly sources) with other areas in the Aegean. Provenancing metals by chemical analyses has had little success in the past and so an attempt was made to utilise the vast bulk of chemical results available for the Aegean by devising a new approach to provenancing, employing the results themselves, lead isotope results (where available), computer cluster dendrograms and typological information, While the approach does not claim to be a general panacea for provenancing problems it did, when applied, offer a few insights into the problem and will become more effective when more lead-isotope data becomes available One of the advantages of the approach is that it provides a much needed check on the lead-isotope technique. A study of the temporal, spatial and socio-economic context of metals and the evidence for metalworking during the LN and EBA periods was quite revealing. The dating of artefacts showed that there were two main periods of increased metallurgical activity -the LN and the EBA II. Metalworking started in northern and southern Greece at roughly the same time, though there is more evidence for metals in northern Greece during the LN and in central and south west Greece during the EBA II and III. The relative distribution of different types of metals demonstrated that copper was always the main metal used, though lead and silver were restricted to southern Greece and gold was found mainly in northern Greece. The distribution of different types showed that weapons were most often found in central Greece, tools in northern Greece and tools and jewellery in southern Greece. Both artefacts and the evidence for metalworking tended always to be located on land routes or close to the sea. Most of the finds come from settlement sites, with grave finds being important only in central Greece.

The amber spacers from Bronze Age Britain and Europe are one of the most well known artefact groups from this time period. Yet despite the frequency with which these artefacts are cited, the details of these finds both individually and within their original excavation contexts appear to be poorly understood. Recent new finds of ‘sets’ of spacers prompted this review and updating of the amber spacer corpus, which now extends to 375 individual spacers from 141 findspots. Once thought to constitute an artefact horizon which could provide a chronological bridge between the regions of Northwest Europe and Britain / the Central European Únĕtice/Tumulus Cultures and Late Helladic I and II Mycenaean Greece, new radiocarbon dating programs have extended their date range from (potentially) c. 2000 cal B.C. to c.1360 cal. B.C., although the regional chronologies remain essentially unresolved. To give a clear survey of how the spacers have been viewed historically, the catalogue entry for each findspot/spacer includes, as well as information about the findspots themselves, x-rays, photographs and drawings produced for this research, alongside all the previously published quotes and illustrations. Microscopic analyses provide evidence for some spacer-sets having been fragmented and deposited separately. Maps showing illustrations of the spacers where they were recovered allow comparison of regional similarities and differences. Loose colour plates show the x-rays of groups of spacers which have been correlated in past interpretations at 1:1 scale for easy comparison. Some earlier interpretations, including the Crescentic/Pendant regional division, the jet spacer/amber spacer/lunulae discrete distribution pattern and the close relationship of the Basic Pattern spacers, are challenged and found to no longer be sustainable. The craft and production aspects of spacer manufacture, particularly the procurement of suitable raw material, are addressed and a new narrative is presented, which is partly informed by the experimental replica research.

The faunal remains from Lajia, a late Neolithic and early Bronze Age site in northwestern China reveal that sheep, a newly introduced domesticate during this time period, are the central source of meat for the site’s residents. This represents a shift from earlier modes of subsistence in the region, which were focused on pig husbandry. This project provides important information regarding food production and animal husbandry during a period in which larger centres of power were emerging and new domesticates were being exploited. Sheep were the most common domesticate in the Lajia assemblage, followed by pigs and cattle. This corresponds with a general pattern in northern China during this period, in which sheep are increasingly utilized. However, an examination of age profiles reveals that mature adult sheep were rare in the assemblage, which suggests that they were being exploited for meat. This is not consistent with evidence from other northern Chinese sites during this time period, where sheep are interpreted as being a source of secondary products such as milk and wool. In addition to this, an analysis of bone breakage aimed to determine whether remains were processed. These tests were inconclusive, revealing that the main source of fragmentation in the assemblage was related to butchery, but with no significant correlation between increased levels of fragmentation and high-utility skeletal elements. As well as providing a relevant case study for the development of animal use during the Early Bronze Age, the analysis of faunal remains at Lajia represents a building block for the continuing development of zooarchaeology in the Chinese context. / Graduate / 0324 / 0332 / dfargo@uvic.ca

The faunal remains from Lajia, a late Neolithic and early Bronze Age site in northwestern China reveal that sheep, a newly introduced domesticate during this time period, are the central source of meat for the site’s residents. This represents a shift from earlier modes of subsistence in the region, which were focused on pig husbandry. This project provides important information regarding food production and animal husbandry during a period in which larger centres of power were emerging and new domesticates were being exploited. Sheep were the most common domesticate in the Lajia assemblage, followed by pigs and cattle. This corresponds with a general pattern in northern China during this period, in which sheep are increasingly utilized. However, an examination of age profiles reveals that mature adult sheep were rare in the assemblage, which suggests that they were being exploited for meat. This is not consistent with evidence from other northern Chinese sites during this time period, where sheep are interpreted as being a source of secondary products such as milk and wool. In addition to this, an analysis of bone breakage aimed to determine whether remains were processed. These tests were inconclusive, revealing that the main source of fragmentation in the assemblage was related to butchery, but with no significant correlation between increased levels of fragmentation and high-utility skeletal elements. As well as providing a relevant case study for the development of animal use during the Early Bronze Age, the analysis of faunal remains at Lajia represents a building block for the continuing development of zooarchaeology in the Chinese context. / Graduate / 0324 / 0332 / dfargo@uvic.ca

This study is an effort to view events in the Ancient Near East, especially Palestine, during the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age from a somewhat different angle. In a first instance, it will try to move away from concentrating on the movement of ethnic entities. Emphasis will be on the social groupings involved, bandits and nomads being singled out especially as they behave and evolve in a highland environment. Chapter I assesses whether or not ancient Palestine in particular offers conditions appropriate for the rise of banditry. chapter 2 will analyze behavioral patterns among bandits and stress that they can function as wielders of important political and military power. Chapter 3 introduces nomads especially as they are perceived by the sedentary and urban groups, but also as they stand in relation to bandits. Chapter 4 will use these findings to present a picture of the Palestinian highlands as an autonomous hinterland. Chapter 5 will treat the Late Bronze-Iron Age transition more directly. It will point out how these same highlands became an attractive area of refuge during the time of the late Egyptian takeover, the arrival of the Sea Peoples, and, finally, the collapse of the empire. Chapter 6 will move onto the processes of state-formation after that collapse. It will present the capacities of bandits and nomads to develop stronger polities from a sociological point of view, before the concluding chapter 7 takes a close look at first the written, then the epigraphical and archaeological material relevant to the particular Palestinian highland situation, especially treating the question of the power and size of any polity that would have arisen under the given conditions.

The material culture of Late Bronze Age Shechem (Tell Balatâh) provides an opportunity to assess the nature and extent of the Egyptian imperial presence in the Central Highlands, as well as the ways in which endogenous cultural traits endured during a period of intensifying military presence. While scholars have yet to fully agree on the exact nature of Egyptian imperialism, most concur that contact with Egypt had a profound impact on the political, economic and social institutions of the southern Levant. The analysis of ceramics at Shechem reveals continuity in settlement, ceramic morphology and technology throughout the Late Bronze period. These findings contribute to an expanding corpus of ceramic studies, which indicate that a complex interaction and negotiation of cultural boundaries existed during this imperial period. While there was not a sustained Egyptian presence in the Central Hill Country, textual and archaeological data suggest there was limited interaction. While more is known about how this imperial presence was manifested architecturally in the form of “governor residencies” and “trading entropôts,” recent investigations at coastal and inland sites reveal that the interaction between Egyptian and Canaanite ceramic technology was site-specific and reciprocal in nature. The Shechem ceramic analysis illustrates the tenacity with which potters retained Canaanite traditions at this Central Hill Country site during a period of sporadic Egyptian contact.

The material culture of Late Bronze Age Shechem (Tell Balatâh) provides an opportunity to assess the nature and extent of the Egyptian imperial presence in the Central Highlands, as well as the ways in which endogenous cultural traits endured during a period of intensifying military presence. While scholars have yet to fully agree on the exact nature of Egyptian imperialism, most concur that contact with Egypt had a profound impact on the political, economic and social institutions of the southern Levant. The analysis of ceramics at Shechem reveals continuity in settlement, ceramic morphology and technology throughout the Late Bronze period. These findings contribute to an expanding corpus of ceramic studies, which indicate that a complex interaction and negotiation of cultural boundaries existed during this imperial period. While there was not a sustained Egyptian presence in the Central Hill Country, textual and archaeological data suggest there was limited interaction. While more is known about how this imperial presence was manifested architecturally in the form of “governor residencies” and “trading entropôts,” recent investigations at coastal and inland sites reveal that the interaction between Egyptian and Canaanite ceramic technology was site-specific and reciprocal in nature. The Shechem ceramic analysis illustrates the tenacity with which potters retained Canaanite traditions at this Central Hill Country site during a period of sporadic Egyptian contact.

In this bachelor essay an attempt is done, to recreate a probable Bronze Age landscape on Gotland, with GIS as a tool. The landscape on Gotland is situated with many different monuments dated Bronze Age, such as cairns and stone ships. In creating of the maps, two possible shorelines contemporary with the Bronze Age have been calculated and marked on the maps. Furthermore, peat lands have been drawn upon the maps, by using the information from geological maps. A landscape variable have been compared between Bronze Age places and Early Iron Age houses; the soil type. On Bronze Age places gravel is the most common, while moraine marl is the most common on places with Early Iron Age houses. From a selection that were made, all Bronze Age places where within 3 km from the water, either the recreated shoreline or peat land. On the maps both Early Iron Age houses and Bronze Age places seemed to have a connection with water.

A metalsmith�s ability to turn stone into metal and mould metal into useable objects, is one of the most valuable production industries of any society. The conception of this metallurgical knowledge has been the major catalyst in the development of increasing socio-political complexity since the beginning of the Bronze Age (Childe, 1930). However, when considering the prehistory of Southeast Asia, especially Thailand, it is noted that the introduction of metallurgical activity, namely copper and bronze technology, did not engender the increase in social complexity witnessed in other regions. It is suggested that the region is anomalous in that terms and concepts developed to describe and define Bronze Ages by scholars working in other regions, lack strict analogues within Southeast Asia. Muhly (1988) has famously noted the non-compliance of Southeast Asia to previous models, "In all other corners of the Bronze Age world-China, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, the Aegean and central Europe-we find the introduction of bronze technology associated with a complex of social, political and economic developments that mark the rise of the state. Only in Southeast Asia, especially in Thailand and Vietnam, do these developments seem to be missing" (Muhly, 1988:16). This "rise of the state" is associated with the development of hierarchy, inequality, and status differentiation, evidence for which, it is argued, is most explicitly articulated in mortuary contexts (Bacus, 2006). Evidence would include an intra-site restriction in access to resources, including prestige goods, and ranking, a vertical differentiation, often related to interment wealth. Thus the introduction of metallurgical technology saw copper and other prestige goods, used to entrench authority and advertise status (Coles and Harding; 1979). Such evidence has so far been absent in Bronze Age, Southeast Asian contexts. Accordingly, the usefulness of the term "Bronze Age" for describing and defining Southeast Asian assemblages has been questioned (White, 2002). However, the Ban Non Wat discovery of wealthy Bronze Age interments, with bronze grave goods restricted to the wealthiest, has furrowed the brow of many working in the region, providing evidence to at least reconsider this stance. Despite its obvious importance in shaping Bronze Age societies around the globe, and now, significance in Northeast Thailand, very little is known of the acceptance, development, and spread of tin-bronze metallurgical techniques during the prehistory of Southeast Asia. Only a handful of investigations of archaeological sites in the region have investigated the use of metals beyond macroscopic cataloguing. Utilising an agential framework, the Ban Non Wat bronze metallurgical evidence has been investigated as an entire assemblage, from the perspective of the individual metalsmith, in order to greater understand the industry and its impact upon the society incorporating the new technology. Furthermore, mortuary data is investigated by means of wealth assessment, as an insight into social form throughout the corresponding period of adoption, development and spread of metallurgy. The bivalent study of society and technology has shed light on the development of socio-political, and economic complexity during Bronze Age Southeast Asia, and in doing so, outlined the direct impact the metalsmiths themselves had on the supply, spread and functioning of their important industry. Variabilities in grave �wealth,� have been identified at Ban Non Wat. A further situation not previously encountered in Bronze Age Southeast Asia, is the restriction of bronze goods, in death, to differentiated, wealthy individuals. The existence of such individuals suggests that society during this period was rather more complex than regional precedents would suggest. I contend that it is the introduction of metallurgy, and in particular, the nature in which it was conducted that engendered these developments. Therefore, when considering the traditional course of developing social-political complexity during the Bronze Age, it now seems that Thailand at least, is potentially, not that anomalous.