Interlocking Commercial Networks and the Infrastructure of Trade in Western Asia during the Bronze Age

2018 ◽  
pp. 113-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gojko Barjamovic
Author(s):  
Josip Kobal’

The territory of the modern Transcarpathian region of Ukraine is rich in Bronze Age hoards (about 200 complexes are known). However, just a small part of them includes only gold objects. The gold items of the treasure were interpreted as Tarpa type earrings and dated to the Opaya horizon (BD). Re-analysis of the finding allowed reviewing the data of the statement. The article proposes to refer the complex to the period of the BC and, perhaps, even BB1, and to interpret gold implements as elements of a special hairstyle or headdress (crown?). The hoard from the village of Bushtino (Khust district), which is the focus of our article, also belongs to them. The hoard was discovered in 1911. It consisted of 13 jewellery items (11 gold pendants and 2 bracelets). To date, only 3 items have been saved. They are stored in Uzhgorod, in the Transcarpathian Museum of Local Lore named after Tyvodar Lehotsky. Jewellery items from Bushtino belong to two types: Tarpa type of earrings (1) and Bushtino type of pendants (2). All of them are ornamented in one technique and in one style, and also have common or close motives (paired zigzag lines, crosses, stars, etc. and their combinations) and compositions. The analysis of ornamental motifs of ornaments from Bushtino shows that most of them have analogies on products of earlier times, periods BB1 - BA2. Tarpa-type bronze earrings in the Pilin culture (Northern Hungary and Eastern Slovakia) mostly also date to an earlier time (BC period). The author of the article proposes to determine the chronology of the Bushtino hoard not later than the period of BC or even BB1. Based on archaeological and ethnographic data, as well as the number of ornaments in individual complexes, it is hypothesized that gold items from Bushtino could be either part of a special hairstyle (women?), or part of a special headdress (crown?) made of organic materials (fabric, leather). Rich headdresses (crowns) existed in the Bronze Age in Western Asia and Europe. Probably the implements from Bushtino belonged to someone from the elite unit of cultural bearers of Suciu de Sus (Stanovo). Key words: Superior Tisa Region, Bronze Age, gold hoard, chronology, interpretation.


Antiquity ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 76 (292) ◽  
pp. 438-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Matthews

The significance of zebu, or humped. cattle as potential indicators of episodes of aridification in the Bronze Age of western Asia is explored through study of figurines and faunal remains from Mesopotamia, the Levant and Anatolia.


Author(s):  
Andrzej Rozwadowski

This chapter discusses the rock art traditions of Northern, Central, and Western Asia, first providing an overview of the chronological-cultural context of much of the known rock art in Northern and Central Asia before describing the main geographical concentrations of rock paintings and petroglyphs in the area. In particular, it examines the dilemmas with regards to ascertaining the age of ‘Stone Age’ rock art, along with the presence of chariots in rock art as an iconographic determinant of the Bronze Age. It also considers the association of the Bronze Age with the expansion of Indo-Iranians, expansion of Buddhism through Central Asia as reflected in the rock art, relation of Siberian rock art to shamanism, and major rock art regions of Northern and Central Asia. It concludes by assessing the rock art of Western Asia and how the advent of Islam in mid–seventh century ad changed Arabian traditions of rock art.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaping Zhang ◽  
Ying Zhang ◽  
Songmei Hu ◽  
Xinying Zhou ◽  
Linjing Liu ◽  
...  

Eastern and Western Asia were important centers for the domestication of plants and animals and they developed different agricultural practices and systems. The timing, routeway and mechanisms of the exchanges between the two centers have long been important scientific issues. The development of a mixed pastoral system (e.g., with the rearing of sheep, goats and cattle) and millet cultivation in the steppe region of northern China was the result of the link between the two cultures. However, little detailed information is available about the precise timing and mechanisms involved in this mixture of pastoralism and millet cultivation. To try to address the issue, we analyzed the pollen, fungal spores and phytolith contents of soil samples from the Bronze Age Zhukaigou site in the steppe area of North China, which was combined with AMS 14C dating of charcoal, millet and animal bones. A mixed pastoralism and millet agricultural system appeared at the site between 4,000 and 3,700 cal yr BP, and the intensity of animal husbandry increased in the later stage of occupation. Published data indicate that domestic sheep/goats appeared across a wide area of the steppe region of northern China after ∼4,000 cal yr BP. A comparison of records of sheep/goat rearing and paleoclimatic records from monsoon area in China leads us to conclude that the mixture of pastoralism and millet cultivation was promoted by the occurrence of drought events during 4,200–4,000 cal yr BP. Moreover, we suggest that mixed rainfed agriculture and animal husbandry increased the adaptability and resilience of the inhabitants of the region which enabled them to occupy the relatively arid environment of the monsoon marginal area of northern China.


2015 ◽  
Vol 81 ◽  
pp. 361-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristian Kristiansen ◽  
Paulina Suchowska-Ducke

The Bronze Age was the first epoch in which societies became irreversibly linked in their co-dependence on ores and metallurgical skills that were unevenly distributed in geographical space. Access to these critical resources was secured not only via long-distance physical trade routes, making use of landscape features such as river networks, as well as built roads, but also by creating immaterial social networks, consisting of interpersonal relations and diplomatic alliances, established and maintained through the exchange of extraordinary objects (gifts). In this article, we reason about Bronze Age communication networks and apply the results of use-wear analysis to create robust indicators of the rise and fall of political and commercial networks. In conclusion, we discuss some of the historical forces behind the phenomena and processes observable in the archaeological record of the Bronze Age in Europe and beyond.


1998 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
John A Atkinson ◽  
Camilla Dickson ◽  
Jane Downes ◽  
Paul Robins ◽  
David Sanderson

Summary Two small burnt mounds were excavated as part of the programme to mitigate the impact of motorway construction in the Crawford area. The excavations followed a research strategy designed to address questions of date and function. This paper surveys the various competing theories about burnt mounds and how the archaeological evidence was evaluated against those theories. Both sites produced radiocarbon dates from the Bronze Age and evidence to suggest that they were cooking places. In addition, a short account is presented of two further burnt mounds discovered during the construction of the motorway in Annandale.


2003 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-128
Author(s):  
Gavin Macgregor ◽  
Irene Cullen ◽  
Diane Alldritt ◽  
Michael Donnelly ◽  
Jennifer Miller ◽  
...  

Summary A programme of archaeological work was undertaken by Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division (GUARD) at West Flank Road, Drumchapel, in close proximity to the site of the prehistoric cemetery of Knappers. This paper considers the results of excavation of a range of negative features, including earlier Neolithic and Bronze Age pits and postholes. The earlier Neolithic features date to c. 3500–3000 BC and are interpreted as the partial remains of a subrectangular structure. The Bronze Age features may relate to ceremonial activities in the wider area. The significance of these remains is considered in relation to the site of Knappers and wider traditions during the fourth to second millennia BC.


2005 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-195
Author(s):  
Brendan O'Connor
Keyword(s):  

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document