On the Characteristic of Temple Complexes in the Near East in the 4 th – 3 rd Millennia BC (original) (raw)
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The notion of the change caused by smelting and melting technology during the 5th and 4th Millennium in the Levant is not well understood. Chronological errors and socio-economic misconceptions have been shrouding a clear view on the sequence of events and their interregional consequences. Surprisingly complex metallurgy started already in the middle of the 5th Millennium BC and caused changes in social distinction, exchange systems and ideology. Other technologies were not directly affected, but on the contrary, lithic technique and ceramic styles show great elaboration. In a comparative approach the archaeological record of the Levant is compared to that of Southeastern Europe, and several structural similarities are discussed. It is argued, that the chronological parallelism is an argument against an autochthonous technical evaluation of the Balkan Peninsula, and that the social systems of both areas must have had similarities, which made the new cast metal artefacts very attractive.
2013
Previous work on the early use of metal draws heavily upon the work of V. Gordon Childe, particularly his 1944 ‘Archaeological ages as technological stages’ article which outlined the development and social impact of metal in prehistory. Subsequent work, especially in the European paradigm, in the field of archaeometallurgy and material culture studies of metal have been oriented towards the typological definition and description of metal objects and how these typologies changed over time. Rather than focusing on the development of metallurgical technology or specific metal artefacts, this thesis seeks to outline the social use of metal in the latter prehistory of the Upper Euphrates Valley. This is accomplished by comparing and contrasting the published information regarding the numbers, types and contexts of metal objects and metalworking paraphernalia found at these sites and discussing these finds within the socio-political and economic frameworks of the Late Chalcolithic 2 – 5 and the Early Bronze Age I and II (ca. 4000-2600 B.C.). This analysis is then compared against the social use of metal at sites in Mesopotamia, Upper Mesopotamia and the southern Caucasus from the relevant time periods in order to provide a framework by which to assess the factors that contributed to the use of metal in the ‘Euphratean’ cultural milieu. Chronological and geographical analyses reveal patterns that can be used to establish how the social use of metal changed over time- both within the entire Upper Euphrates Valley as well as at specific sites in response to external influence. Results of such analyses show that not only does the intensity of metal production increase over time, but that there is also an increased diversity of the types of objects being manufactured. However, the main distinction between the Late Chalcolithic and the Early Bronze Age is in the contexts in which metal was being used. There is a clear increase in the use of metal in mortuary contexts during the early centuries of the third millennium, especially in the region of the Euphrates Valley that is close to the modern Turkish-Syrian border, a situation that reflects the ability of a greater proportion of the population to manipulate surplus resources. This thesis, therefore, stresses the close relationship between the changing economic and socio-political systems with the changing social use of metal over time from the late fourth millennium through the first half of the early third millennium.
Asia Anteriore Antica, 2023
The archaeological discourse on the development of metallurgy in Anatolia, the Levant and, more generally, the Eastern Mediterranean region has extensively focused on crucial aspects such as procurement routes, technological developments, manufacturing strategies, and socioeconomic connotations of metal consumption. On the other hand, potential symbolic and ritualistic aspects permeating mining and metal-making activities have rarely been taken into consideration, largely due to the ephemerality of such traditions and practices in the material record. Extensive studies have analyzed the ritual dimensions of iron and copper metalworking across different belief systems and social structures, from pre-industrial sub-Saharan Africa to pre-classical Andean cultures, from Bronze Age Central Europe to China. Drawing on the contemporary anthropological and archaeological debate on the subject, this contribution identifies and analyzes recurrent semantics of ritualization in metalworking processes, looking at different lines of epigraphic and material evidence from the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age Eastern Mediterranean. The aim is to discuss patterns of correlation between belief systems, ritual behavior, and socioeconomic organizations and to prompt more comprehensive analyses on the complementary technological and symbolic aspects of ancient metallurgical practices.
Models of metal production in the Near East. (Chalcolithic – Middle Bronze Age)
The article focuses on the comparative analysis of regional models of early metal production in the Near East (Anatolia, Mesopotamia, the Levant, and Iran) in the 5th – early 2nd millennia BC. The study is based on the statistical analysis of computer databases on ancient copper/bronze, gold, silver, and lead artifacts, compiled by the author. Four criteria are suggested for characterizing the regional models of metal production: production dynamics, distribution of artifacts by function, the role of various metals, and proportions of components of copper-based alloys. Regularities underlying the origins and evolution of metal production in the Near East are described along with regional and chronological specifics. The relationship between the features of metal production and stages of social and economic development of ancient societies is reconstructed.
Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 2021
The causes of the disappearance of Late Chalcolithic society (Ghassulian) in the early fourth millennium BC remain obscure. This study identifies the collapse as the consequence of a change in the approach to metallurgy from cosmological fundament (Late Chalcolithic) to a practical craft (EB1). This endogenous transition accounts for the cultural recession characterizing the transitional period (EB1A) and the discontinuity in ritual practices. The new practical approach in metallurgy is firstly observed in the southern margin of the Ghassulian culture, which produced copper for distribution in the Nile valley rather than the southern Levant. Nevertheless, the Ghassulian cultural markers visible in the newly emerging areas of copper working (southern coastal plain, Nile valley) denote the survival of the old cosmological traditions among metalworkers of the EB1 culture. Their religious expression unveils the extension of the Ghassulian beliefs attached to metallurgy and their metamorphosis into the esoteric fundaments of the Bronze Age religions.
Ancient Metallurgy and Socio-economic Complexities in the 4 th Millennium BCE on the Iranian Plateau
Iranian Journal of Archaeological Studies, 2017
Metalworking, due to its special technical and production-related characteristics, played a very important role in ancient societies and the study of the archaeological evidence related to it is fundamental to understand ancient socioeconomic complexities. Mining, smelting, annealing, casting, production of ingot, as well as alloying, are some of the stages in the metalworking process. The present study analyzes the background of the specialized metal production on the Iranian Plateau and the related demand for raw materials or metal products. The central, eastern, and southeastern areas of Iran are here considered as the most important regions in the formation and expansion of the metallurgy in southwestern Asia. In addition, the production and distribution of metal at the regional and trans-regional level was one of the most important factors in the formation and expansion of complex societies, and fostered the political economy and the emergence of agency institutions and sovereignty in these regions of Iran. Copper ingot was one of the commodities traded in the 4 th millennium BCE and later. There are two other important points in the field of archaeometallurgy of Iran. Firstly, the specialized metal production process allowed just men to assign strict mining and smelting operations. Secondly, the rulers by means of the strategic activity of metallurgy provided the basis for the continuation of the social and economic benefits acquired by them and the sustainability of the state of society.
AH 209 The Art and Archaeology of the Ancient Near East
Who lived in the Tower of Babel? Who was buried in the Royal Tombs of Ur? How were the ziggurats built? Peoples of the Ancient Near East produced a unique body of works of art, artifacts, and monuments, using a remarkable variety of materials and technologies, and created a long-lasting and diverse visual and material culture. This introductory lecture course investigates the art, architecture, and visual culture of Near Eastern societies from prehistoric times to the time of Alexander the Great (ca. 330 BC). The art and architecture of the earliest urban centers in ancient Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Syria, Iran and the Levant will be studied. We will explore not only how modern scholars make sense of pictorial, sculptural and architectural forms of Near Eastern art, but will also investigate various technologies of production. Art can be broadly described as the creative and imaginative work of human communities and individuals using their material skills and acquired bodies of knowledge, in order to build a meaningful world around them. Architecture involves the building arts that on the one hand allow human communities to construct shelters, houses, and public monuments, while on the other hand characterizes the culturally specific way that they shape the space, the landscape, and the environment around them. Material culture includes everything that one uses in everyday life from kitchen utensils to writing implements, from clothing to cell phones. These are our intimate companions as we live in and make sense of the world. We tend to categorize them as fetishes, souvenirs, heirlooms, tools, knick knacks, voodoo dolls, marionettes, toys, furniture, relics, fossils, pots and pans, amounting to what we cumulatively call “material culture”. Visual culture is the culture of looking at and seeing the world in a particular way and producing images that reflect and embody those specific ways of seeing. In this course, we explore these different categories of things, monuments, and art that are produced by the ancient Near Eastern cultures. We will start with a discussion of the history of research in/on the Middle East, by the antiquarians, the first archaeologists in the 19th century and the establishment of the first museums to exhibit their finds. The chronological journey of the course starts with the Palaeolithic cave paintings and Neolithic figurines from the oldest, prehistoric communities in the Middle East, and take us all the way to the time when the Middle East was gradually Hellenized after the conquests of Alexander the Great and the collapse of the last Near Eastern empire- the Achaemenid Persian Empire. The survey will highlight precious, sacred objects such as the Uruk Vase, burial goods such as the Royal Tombs of Ur, public monuments such as the Stele of Naram Sin or the Law Stele of Hammurabi, architectural complexes such as the Assyrian Palaces, legendary wonders such as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon or the Tower of Babel.