Rehren, T;
Radivojevic, M;
Roberts, BW;
(2021)
The Rise of Metallurgy in Eurasia: Evolution, organisation and consumption of early metal in the Balkans: an introduction to the project.
In: Radivojevic, M and Roberts, BW and Maric, M and Kuzmanovic-Cvetkovic, J and Rehren, T, (eds.)
The Rise of Metallurgy in Eurasia: Evolution, Organisation and Consumption of Early Metal in the Balkans.
(pp. 7-10).
Archaeopress: Oxford, UK.
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Abstract
The study of early metallurgy has many aspects and has, accordingly, taken many forms and foci (Rehren and Pernicka 2008 and literature therein). Some scholars have documented the morpho-typological evolution of artefact types and some have explored the role of metals in creating social hierarchies, in storing and displaying wealth, or the more transcendent role of metals in a variety of rituals. Other researchers are fascinated by the skills and technical achievements of the metalworkers and their intangible heritage as expressed in intricate castings, ingenious manufacturing methods and elaborate surface decorations. Yet others study the transformation of rocks and ores to metal as documented in the slags and furnace fragments or try to trace the geological origins of metal objects, as a proxy for the movement of people, materials, and ideas. The investigation of ancient mining extends well beyond the field of archaeometallurgy, with mines for flint, pigments, precious stones and salt all pre-dating metal smelting, and quarrying for building stone exceeding metal mining both in scale and value generation (e.g. Schauer et al. 2020). This range of interests inevitably implies the application of a multitude of methods, borrowed from a host of mother disciplines, adjusted and refined to form the interdisciplinary field of archaeometallurgy. It also makes any holistic project both a daunting prospect and an exercise in interdisciplinary diplomacy.
| Type: | Book chapter |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Rise of Metallurgy in Eurasia: Evolution, organisation and consumption of early metal in the Balkans: an introduction to the project |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.32028/9781803270425 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.32028/9781803270425 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of Archaeology |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10134138 |
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