Copper and Bronze, 3000 BC–1500 BC

The Great Sea ◽  
2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Abulafia
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
The Other ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Burial Practices ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Cultural Traits ◽  
New Settlements

The development of prehistoric societies has always been viewed from one of two perspectives: a diffusionist approach, now largely out of fashion, which attributes the arrival of new styles and techniques to migration and trade; or an emphasis on the factors within a society that fostered change and growth. Alongside the tendency to look for internal explanations of change, interest in the ethnic identity of settlers has faded. Partly this reflects an awareness that easy identification of ‘race’ with language and culture bears no relation to circumstances on the ground: ethnic groups merge, languages are borrowed, important cultural traits such as burial practices mutate without the arrival of newcomers. Equally, it would be an error to see all social change as the result of internal developments merely enhanced by the effects of growing trade: the lightly populated shores and islands of the prehistoric Mediterranean provided broad spaces within which those in search of food, exiled warlords or pilgrims to pagan shrines could create new settlements far from home. If there were earlier settlers, the newcomers intermarried with them as often as they chased them away or exterminated them, and the language of one or the other group became dominant for reasons that are now beyond explanation. The Cyclades became the home of a rich and lively culture, beginning in the early Bronze Age (roughly 3000 BC onwards). The main islands were by now all populated; villages such as Phylakopi on Melos were thriving; on several islands small villages developed out of an original core of a couple of small homesteads. The obsidian quarries were still visited, and copper was available in the western Cyclades, whence it reached Crete; Cycladic products continued to flow outwards, though in quite precise directions: to the southern Aegean, but not, for some reason, northwards, suggesting that the opening of the seas was still partial and dependent on what other regions could offer the Cycladic islanders. The islanders appear to have imported little into their villages; very few eastern products have been found on excavated sites on the Cyclades.

The Development of Embossed Goldwork in Bronze Age Europe

2000 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Needham
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
The Other ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Time And Space ◽  
Parallel Development ◽  
The Third ◽  
Third Millennium ◽  
Third Millennium Bc ◽  
Craft Skills

The discovery of a pair of armlets from Lockington and the re-dating of the Mold cape, add substance to a tradition of embossed goldworking in Early Bronze Age Britain. It is seen to be distinct in morphology, distribution and decoration from the other previously defined traditions of goldworking of the Copper and Early Bronze Ages, which are reviewed here. However, a case is made for its emergence from early objects employing ‘reversible relief to execute decoration and others with small-scale corrugated morphology. Emergence in the closing stages of the third millennium BC is related also to a parallel development in the embossing of occasional bronze ornaments. Subsequent developments in embossed goldwork and the spread of the technique to parts of the Continent are summarized. The conclusions address the problem of interpreting continuity of craft skills against a very sparse record of relevant finds through time and space.

Tranchet Axe Manufacture from Cliffe, Kent

1988 ◽  
Vol 54 ◽  
pp. 315-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Ashton
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Discrete Group ◽  
British Museum ◽  
The Other ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
The South ◽  
Small Trial

In the summer of 1978 pottery and flintwork were noticed in the sections to the south of Cliffe Village during the laying of a pipeline by British Gas (TQ 734744) (fig. 1). This led to the excavation of a series of small trial trenches by Mr David Thomson with the help of local volunteers in the same year. The retrieval of a Beaker and Collared Urn suggested an early Bronze Age site, and excavations by Dr Ian Kinnes for the British Museum were done in September 1979. Although the excavated features contained mainly Iron Age pottery and metalwork, both seasons' work also produced a large quantity of flint artefacts ranging from Mesolithic to Bronze Age in date. The following report is an analysis of the Mesolithic tranchet axe manufacturing debitage which could be distinguished as a discrete group from the other flintwork. It is not intended to present a comprehensive flint report for Cliffe, but to provide a framework for analysis at other sites where tranchet axe production has been shown to take place (Wymer 1962; Parfitt and Halliwell 1982).

Traditions of Metal-Working in the Later Neolithic and Early Bronze Age of Britain: Part I

1963 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 258-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis Britton
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Other ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Metal Working ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
The One

This paper is concerned with the earliest use in Britain of copper and bronze, from the first artifacts of copper in the later Neolithic until the transition from the Early to the Middle Bronze Age, as marked by palstaves and haft-flanged axes. It does not attempt to deal with all the material, but instead certain classes of evidence have been chosen to illustrate some of the main styles of workmanship. These groups have been considered both from the point of view of their archaeology, and of the technology they imply.Such an approach requires on the one hand that the artifacts are sorted into types, their associations in graves and hoards studied, their distributions plotted, and finally a consideration of the evidence for their affinities and chronology. On the other hand there are questions also of interest that need a different standpoint. Of what metals or alloys are the objects made? Can their sources be located? How did the smiths set about their work? Over what regions was production carried out? If we are to understand as much as we might of the life of prehistoric times, then surely we should look at material culture from as many view-points as possible—in this case, the manner and setting of its production as well as its classification.

scholarly journals VITALITY OF LANGUAGE AND CULTURE IN MALAYSIAN WEDDING CARDS: A MULTIETHNIC PERSPECTIVE

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 48-66
Author(s):  
Siti Rohana Mohd Thani ◽  
Kuang Ching Hei
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Extensive Study ◽  
Symbolic Language ◽  
Ethnic Communities ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Year 2000 ◽  
Cultural Features ◽  
The Way

The way language is used within a certain community reflects the culture of its users but is it possible to accommodate the culture of others when different communities live within one country as citizens? This paper examined thirty Malaysian wedding cards gathered from the three dominant ethnic groups of Malay, Chinese and Indian. It focussed on the vitality of language and culture presented in current day wedding cards issued by modern day couples, that is, from the year 2000 onwards. Data extracted for analysis comprised the language printed on the cards followed by the symbolic and cultural features noted on and within the cards. Leech’s (1981) framework of making meanings from printed language was applied. Findings suggest that current day wedding cards of the three ethnic communities have adapted to modernisation in terms of design, colour and information. However, symbolic language and traditional and cultural features reflecting each of the respective community were still prevalent. The findings imply that despite the advancement of technology and globalisation, Malaysia’s diverse ethnic groups remained faithful to their cultures with each group retaining and promoting its respective symbolic features and cultural identity. This indicates that one’s ethnic identity and culture are important particularly when expressed through wedding cards. Our claim is confined to the analysis of a small portion of wedding cards, hence, a more extensive study may be necessary to verify this claim. 

The Treasury of Atreus

Antiquity ◽  
1940 ◽  
Vol 14 (55) ◽  
pp. 233-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. B. Wace
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
The Other ◽  
Striking Feature ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
The Third ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Bronze Age

The Treasury of Atreus is one of the most important monuments of the Bronze Age in Greece and is universally recognized as the supreme example of Mycenaean architecture. It is also the finest of all the many beehive or tholos tombs which are such a striking feature of Mycenaean culture. The beehive-tomb is essentially a creation of the architecture of the Greek mainland and of Mycenaean as opposed to Minoan building. In Crete so far three beehive-tombs of Bronze Age date are known, two of which—one at Hagios Theodoros and another just found at Knossos—date from late L.M. III, the very end of the Bronze Age. The third, found at Knossos in 1938, is not to be dated earlier than 1500 B.C. All three are small and poorly constructed. The Early Bronze Age circular ossuaries of Mesarà in Crete, often erroneously described as beehive-tombs, are, as Professor Marinatos has provel nothing of the kind. On the other hand, on the Greek Mainland and in the islands immediately adjacent to it, at least forty beehive-tombs are so far known. These figures are enough to indicate that the beehivetomb is a product of Mainland or Mycenaean rather than of Cretan or Minoan architecture. More accurate information about the date and construction of the Treasury of Atreus, the finest of all the beehivetombs, cannot fail to enlarge our knowledge of the history and art of the Mycenaean civilization.

Cultural value of translation of proverbs and synopsis

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 11484
Author(s):  
Mohammad Amin Ebrahimi
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cultural Value ◽  
Mutual Understanding ◽  
Communication Tool ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
Different Cultures ◽  
The Relationship

Language is formed in the context of culture; on the other hand, the culture of a society is reflected in the language's mirror. Language has a cultural backbone as a communication tool. This cultural backing is in fact the basis for the emergence of vocabulary and its conceptual boundaries, as well as the decisive factor in the image and image reflected in the ords and proverbs. Because different ethnic groups have different cultures, there are problems on the path to the relationship between nations and the mutual understanding of languages. The methods of translating proverbs and synopsis as part of language and culture play a significant role in communicating, despite the fact that some cultural reflections sometimes apply in the above interpretations because of the inappropriateness of the methods of translating neglected. Since one of the goals of translation is to create and promote communication between cultures, ignoring the cultural aspects of texts in translation can reduce the scientific and cultural values of translated works. The present paper seeks to explain this problem and provide some solutions.

Disc-Barrows

1974 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 79-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. V. Grinsell
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Adult Male ◽  
The Other ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Normal Type ◽  
Exceptional Character ◽  
Grave Goods

SummaryAn attempt is made to classify and list in detail the known disc-barrows in and around Wessex—about 170 in all, 155 being of normal type, 13 of ‘Dorset’ type, and two of exceptional character. Of these, 93 are in Wiltshire, 57 being within ten km of Stonehenge, and 36 within five km of that monument, which evidently acted as a magnet in attracting major barrow cemeteries to its vicinity.The normal disc-barrow is of the ‘Wessex culture’ of the Early Bronze Age. The rite is nearly always cremation, but a very few possible instances of primary inhumation need further investigation. The grave-goods are usually necklaces of beads (amber, shale, faience, in four instances all together), in three instances with amber space-plates; bronze awls (pointed at one end and flat at the other which probably went into a handle); and small two-edged bronze knives. Occasionally the cremation is in an urn or with an ‘Aldbourne’ or other cup. The frequency of beads, and the absence of warrior equipment such as ‘Wessex’ bronze daggers, has until now led to the conclusion that they were the places of interment of females.Since 1953 seven disc-barrows have been scientifically excavated but final reports are still awaited. The primary cremation from one of the mounds of the oval twin barrow Milton Lilbourne I was probably female. The primary cremation from the central mound of Collingbourne Kingston 18 could not be sexed; but two cremations from a large pit beneath the eccentric mound of the same barrow were identified as probably and possibly adult male. Cremations from the other sites could not be sexed. These meagre results suggest that the central or other primary mounds of disc-barrows were for females but the eccentric mounds may have been for either sex. The sexing of more cremations is urgently needed.

scholarly journals The ‘Solarization’ of the Moon: Manipulated Knowledge at Stonehenge

2006 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lionel Sims
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Burial Practices ◽  
Religious Significance ◽  
European Neolithic ◽  
Cultural Origins

Recent archaeological research now views the northwest European Neolithic and Early Bronze Age as a period of separation from a resilient complex of traditions of Mesolithic and even Palaeolithic origin. Extending this insight to recent findings in archaeoastronomy, this article treats the sarsen monument at Stonehenge as one among a number of monuments with lunar–solar alignments which privileged night over day, winter over summer, dark moon over full. The aim of the monument builders was to juxtapose, replicate and reverse certain key horizon properties of the sun and the moon, apparently with the intention of investing the sun with the moon's former religious significance. This model is consistent with both current archaeological interpretations of burial practices associated with the monument, and with recent anthropological modelling of hunter-gatherer cultural origins.

Once a Sacred and Secluded Place: Early Bronze Age Monuments at Church Lawton, near Alsager, Cheshire

2014 ◽  
Vol 80 ◽  
pp. 237-277
Author(s):  
Malcolm Reid ◽  
Ian Brooks ◽  
Jim Innes ◽  
Stuart Needham ◽  
Fiona Roe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
The Other ◽  
Radiocarbon Date ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Free Standing ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Formed Part ◽  
Eastern Edge

Two round barrows were excavated in 1982–3 at Church Lawton near to the eastern edge of the Cheshire and Staffordshire Plain. One of the barrows was defined by a ring of nine glacial boulders and it is possible that these monoliths initially formed a free-standing stone circle. The remains constitute a rare example of the use of stone to enhance a Bronze Age barrow in the lowlands of central western England. Beneath the mound demarcated by the boulders were the burnt remains of a small, roughly rectangular turf stack associated with fragments of clay daub and pieces of timber. No direct evidence of burial was found within the monument. A radiocarbon date suggests that the structural sequence began sometime in the late 3rd–early 2nd millennium calbc. The other barrow was principally a two-phased construction and contained urned and un-urned cremation burials. A battle-axe was placed next to one of the burials. Radiocarbon dates obtained from the cremations and associated deposits indicate that individuals were being interred from the late 3rd or early 2nd millennium calbc, with the practice continuing until the middle of the 2nd millennium. The barrows formed part of a cemetery, consisting of three known mounds.

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