Ancient Raw Copper from Primary Smelting Sites in Cyprus

2002 ◽  
Vol 712 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Fasnacht ◽  
J.P. Northover
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Metallic Copper ◽  
Copper Production ◽  
Copper Smelting ◽  
Mining District ◽  
Field Surveys ◽  
Analytical Work ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
Complete History

ABSTRACTFinds of metallic copper from various primary smelting sites in the Sia valley in Cyprus have been analysed by ICP-OES for their composition and by optical and electron microscopy for metallography. Results show a characteristic pattern of impurities for each of the sites examined which allow an assignment to specific types of ore body and geological matrix. Different zones of the Cyprus Ophiolite Complex were exploited in different periods in antiquity, but these results show different types could be exploited contemporaneously within a specific period, especially during the first millennium BC. One location in this area, Agia Varvara-Almyras, an Iron Age copper smelting site with the only complete chain of operation recorded in ancient Cypriote metallurgy, is used to show how analytical work can guide future field surveys to find ancient furnaces, slag heaps and mines. The ultimate goal of the project is to extend it to reconstruct the complete history of copper production in a well-defined mining district over the last 4000 years.

Archaeology in West Africa: A Review of Recent Work and a further list of Radiocarbon Dates

1982 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 291-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. E. G. Sutton
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Copper Smelting ◽  
Northern Ghana ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Late Stone Age ◽  
South Central ◽  
African Populations ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Millennium

This article surveys the latest archaeological research and dating results for West Africa. For the Iron Age, recent fieldwork has been spread widely: especially noteworthy is that bearing on the history of ancient Ghana and Mali. Work on the Late Stone Age appears by contrast to have been rather patchy lately, although various palaeoecological researches continue to improve our understanding of the changing environments affecting West African populations over the last 10,000 years. In south-central Niger, moreover, remains of copper-smelting by a stone-using community are dated to around 2000 B.C. From the same region, as also from northern Ghana, comes further evidence for the inception of the Iron Age during the first millennium b.c.The article is prefaced by some critical comments on the citing and interpretation of radiocarbon datings in historical discussions, and on the meaning of ‘corrected’ and ‘calendar dates’.

scholarly journals Ancient genomic time transect from the Central Asian Steppe unravels the history of the Scythians

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (13) ◽  
pp. eabe4414
Author(s):  
Guido Alberto Gnecchi-Ruscone ◽  
Elmira Khussainova ◽  
Nurzhibek Kahbatkyzy ◽  
Lyazzat Musralina ◽  
Maria A. Spyrou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Gene Pools ◽  
Social Rules ◽  
Eurasian Steppe ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Genome Wide Data ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Millennium

The Scythians were a multitude of horse-warrior nomad cultures dwelling in the Eurasian steppe during the first millennium BCE. Because of the lack of first-hand written records, little is known about the origins and relations among the different cultures. To address these questions, we produced genome-wide data for 111 ancient individuals retrieved from 39 archaeological sites from the first millennia BCE and CE across the Central Asian Steppe. We uncovered major admixture events in the Late Bronze Age forming the genetic substratum for two main Iron Age gene-pools emerging around the Altai and the Urals respectively. Their demise was mirrored by new genetic turnovers, linked to the spread of the eastern nomad empires in the first centuries CE. Compared to the high genetic heterogeneity of the past, the homogenization of the present-day Kazakhs gene pool is notable, likely a result of 400 years of strict exogamous social rules.

The zooarchaeology of early historic periods in the southern Levant

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Whitcher Kansa ◽  
Justin E. Lev-Tov
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Southern Levant ◽  
Iron Age Ii ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
First Millennium Bc ◽  
Data Documentation ◽  
Broad Scale ◽  
Early Historic

This chapter explores the zooarchaeology of the southern Levant over a 3,000-year period, from the late fourth to the mid-first millennium bc. Highlighting contributions from zooarchaeological research, we explore broad-scale issues related to the archaeology and history of the region. Examples include the intersection of states and animal economies, religion and diet/sacrifice, ethnic foodways, and the appearance of new domesticates. Since much zooarchaeological research engages with the region’s archaeology by being contextually and historically grounded, we have organized this chapter chronologically, from the Early Bronze I to the Iron Age II. We also summarize the geography and history of zooarchaeological practice in the region. We close with recommendations for future research in Levantine zooarchaeology, including closer integration with archaeobotany and other related disciplines, as well as more formalized practices around data documentation and dissemination.

The Architectural Bias in Current Biblical Archaeology

2019 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 361-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erez Ben-Yosef
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Copper Production ◽  
Unique Case ◽  
Biblical Archaeology ◽  
Ancient Israel ◽  
Historical Reconstructions ◽  
History Of ◽  
External Sources ◽  
Core Issues

AbstractThis paper aims at highlighting a methodological flaw in current biblical archaeology, which became apparent as a result of recent research in the Aravah’s Iron Age copper production centers. In essence, this flaw, which cuts across all schools of biblical archaeology, is the prevailing, overly simplistic approach applied to the identification and interpretation of nomadic elements in biblical-era societies. These elements have typically been described as representing only one form of social organization, which is simple and almost negligible in historical reconstructions. However, the unique case of the Aravah demonstrates that the role of nomads in shaping the history of the southern Levant has been underestimated and downplayed in the research of the region, and that the total reliance on stone-built archaeological features in the identification of social complexity in the vast majority of recent studies has resulted in skewed historical reconstructions. Recognizing this “architectural bias” and understanding its sources have important implications on core issues in biblical archaeology today, as both “minimalists” and “maximalists” have been using stone-built architectural remains as the key to solving debated issues related to the geneses of Ancient Israel and neighboring polities (e.g., “high” vs. “low” Iron Age chronologies), in which— according to both biblical accounts and external sources—nomadic elements played a major role.

A Reappraisal of the History of the Rhodesian Iron Age Up to the Fifteenth Century

1966 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. E. Jaffey
Keyword(s):  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Eleventh Century ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Common Factor ◽  
Large Area ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
Power And Influence

The suggestions put forward in this paper may be summarized as follows. The linguistic, cultural and to some extent physical ancestors of the modern Bantu people south of the Zambezi, including the Shona, arrived in Rhodesia in the early part of the first millennium a.d. The B1 culture was not introduced by Shona migrants arriving in the eleventh century, but was a local development of the already existing Shona Iron Age A, attributable perhaps to prosperity gained from the gold trade. The B1 culture should not in fact be regarded as a separate culture from the A, that later fused with it, but as a variant of it, which because of the power and influence of those who developed and practised it eventually spread over a large area and became a common factor in the various local Shona cultures that had diverged, and continued to diverge, in the course of time.

Central Europe

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carola Metzner-Nebelsick
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Urban Forms ◽  
History Of Research ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
La Tène ◽  
The Alps ◽  
La Tene

This chapter covers the area between eastern France and western Hungary, and from the Alps to the central European Mittelgebirge, following the established division between the early Iron Age (Hallstatt) and later Iron Age (La Tène) periods, beginning each section with a summary of the history of research and chronology. After characterizing the west–east Hallstatt cultural spheres, early Iron Age burial rites, material culture, and settlements are explored by region, including the phenomenon of ‘princely seats’. In the fifth century BC, a new ideological, social, and aesthetic concept arose, apparent both in the burial record, and especially in the development of the new La Tène art style. This period also saw the emergence of new, larger proto-urban forms of settlement, first unfortified agglomerations, and later the fortified oppida. Finally, the chapter examines changes in the nature and scale of production, material culture, and religious practices through the first millennium BC.

Pre-Roman Iron Age Boats and Rocks in the North: Reality and ReXection

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Coles
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Recent Analysis ◽  
Northern Europe ◽  
The West ◽  
The North ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
First Millennium Bc ◽  
Eastern Seaboard

This chapter is offered to Barry Cunliffe as a token of the respect that I have for his immense contribution to studies of the European Iron Age. Our research interests have sometimes overlapped, at the Glastonbury and Meare Lake Villages for example, but in general we have pursued different lines and areas of enquiry. Yet he has been unfailing in support of numerous projects undertaken in foreign Welds and none, perhaps, more foreign than the study of rock carvings in northern Europe, a long way from his beloved Atlantic lands. In 2003 an important documentation on north European late first millennium BC boats appeared, ably assembled and in part authored by Ole Crumlin-Pedersen and his collaborator Athena Trakadas. The boats, dated to the Pre-Roman Iron Age of the north, have been named after a famous discovery at Hjortspring, on the island of Als in southern Denmark. Here, in 1880 or thereabouts, fragments of planking were revealed by peat-digging, along with iron and bone spearheads; all were either burnt on the spot or discarded by the finders, and there the matter rested until a local antiquarian heard of the discovery and alerted the authorities. This led in the 1920s to a remarkable excavation, far ahead of its time in the technical recovery of the surviving evidence, in the documentation of stratigraphy and context, and in the conservation procedures devised. The history of the Hjortspring boat and its huge array of equipment need not delay us here as it is well set out in the primary report (Rosenberg 1937), in a recent analysis (Randsborg 1995) and in the book noted above (Crumlin- Pedersen and Trakadas 2003).What has intrigued me, and I hope will intrigue Barry, is the location of the Hjortspring deposit, the boat lying not by the present or the Iron Age seashore of the island of Als, but near one of the highest points on the island, and well inland. It was deposited in a pond, now a small peatbog some 50m in diameter, about 40–45m above sea level, and some two km from the eastern seaboard and about five km from the Als Fjord on the west.

scholarly journals Khyadag and Zunii Gol: Animal Art and the Bronze to Iron Age Transition in Northern Mongolia

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 909-933
Author(s):  
William W. Fitzhugh ◽  
◽  
Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Personal Identification ◽  
Copper Smelting ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Northern Mongolia ◽  
Gornyi Altai ◽  
History Of ◽  
Animal Art ◽  
New Research

The Late Bronze Age Mongolian culture known for its memorial deer stones and khirigsuur burials, the Deer Stone-Khirigsuur complex (hereafter DSK) dating to 1300–700 BCE, displays persistence over several hundred years. Radiocarbon dates from hearths and horse remains associated with these sites show little change in architecture, ritual practice, and iconography, giving the impression of an unchanging mortuary cultural regime. New research demonstrates that deer stones are memorials to recently deceased leaders that display distinctive features of personal identification within the unifying framework of an over-arching religious theme represented by deer-bird iconography. Despite continuity, the DSK complex is not monolithic. This paper presents evidence for regional cultural and chronological variation in deer stone art and ceremonial activity based on research at the Khyadag and Zunii Gol sites in northcentral Mongolia. Areal excavation, detailed survey, and recording of deer stone art revealed the presence at Khyadag of a new class of miniature deer stones and evidence of copper smelting, and at Zunii Gol — an unusual khirigsuur associated with a deer stone carrying elements of Scytho-Saka animal style art. These data indicate geographic and chronological overlap in V. V. Volkov’s deer stone types and changes in deer stone art and khirigsuur ritual in the later period of the DSK complex. In the future, emphasis needs to be given to broad excavation strategies that explore the contextual history of individual DSK sites, dating of Volkov’s Type II and III deer stones, and regional comparisons with Xinjiang, Baikal, and the Mongolian and Gornyi Altai.

The emergence of the Scythians: Bronze Age to Iron Age in South Siberia

Antiquity ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 80 (310) ◽  
pp. 843-859 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Legrand
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Eurasian Steppe ◽  
The People ◽  
Minusinsk Basin ◽  
South Siberia ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Millennium

The Minusinsk Basin is located where China, Mongolia, Siberia and Kazakhstan meet. Enclosed, but broad, and rich in copper and other minerals, the valley offers missing links between the prehistory of China and that of the greater Russian steppes. In the late Bronze Age the material from Minusinsk was important for the origins of bronze metallurgy in China, and in the Iron Age the area was a focus for the development of that equestrian mobility which was to become the elite way of life for much of the Eurasian steppe for more than a millennium.We are privileged to publish the following two papers deriving from research at the Institute for the History of Material Culture at Saint Petersburg, which give us the story so far on the archaeology of this remarkable place. In The emergence of the Karasuk culture Sophie Legrand discusses the people who occupied the Minusinsk Basin in the Bronze Age, and in The emergence of the Tagar culture, Nikolai Bokovenko introduces us to their successors, the horsemen and barrow-builders of the first millennium BCE.

The Excavation of a Settlement of the Later Bronze Age and Iron Age at Myrehead, Falkirk District

1983 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
G J Barclay
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Farming System ◽  
Activity Period ◽  
Limited Evidence ◽  
Ring Groove ◽  
Domestic Activity ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
First Millennium Bc ◽  
Actual Settlement

SUMMARY Myrehead has revealed the eroded remnants of activity from the Beaker period (Period A) onwards, with actual settlement evinced only from about the early first millennium be. The three houses and the cooking pits of Period B may have been constructed and used sequentially. This open settlement was probably replaced during the mid first millennium bc, possibly without a break, by a palisaded enclosure (Period C), which may have contained a ring-groove house and a four-post structure. Continued domestic activity (Period D) was suggested by a single pit outside the enclosure, dated to the late first millennium bc/early first millennium ad. The limited evidence of the economy of the settlements suggests a mixed farming system.

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