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About the Distribution of Metal Objects in Prepalatial Crete

Legarra Herrero, B; (2004) About the Distribution of Metal Objects in Prepalatial Crete. Papers from the Institute of Archaeology , 15 p. 29. 10.5334/pia.226. Green open access

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Abstract

Although metal objects have been used as evidence in different interpretations of the socioeconomic changes identified in Prepalatial Crete (c.3100-1900 BC), they constitute an understudied category of material. This paper argues that metal objects on Crete were subject to complex processes regarding the creation of meaning; a more comprehensive appraisal of metal objects on the island may cast new light on these issues. Copper-based, gold, lead and silver objects are investigated from their ore extraction locations outside Crete to their final deposition, linking the different steps of the process of creating an artefact with different layers of meanings for the metal and, subsequently, for the finished objects. This study evaluates differences in the use of metals, with a particular focus on their intra-island depositional patterns. It seeks to identify differences in the roles of metals within Cretan communities as well as regional fashions in the use of metal objects. It is suggested that metals had different characters since their depositional patterns vary, and that people consciously chose certain metals to make specific objects and also used metal objects in different ways, reflecting the socio-economic context for each region.

Type: Article
Title: About the Distribution of Metal Objects in Prepalatial Crete
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.5334/pia.226
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/pia.226
Language: English
Additional information: This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0) (unless stated otherwise) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Copyright is retained by the author(s).
Keywords: Crete, Early Bronze Age, metallurgy, Prepalatial, regionalism
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
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of Archaeology > Institute of Archaeology Gordon Square
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1474116
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