Copper and Salt – Mining Communities in the Alpine Metal Ages. (original) (raw)
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Aspects of the earliest copper metalallurgy in the northern sub-alpine area in its cultural setting
1979
PAGE viii) Determination of copper 184 ix) Determination of tin x) Some comparison of results obtained by atomic absorption and neutron activation analysis xi) Comparison with 'Washington standards' 2. CLASSIFICATION AND STATISTICAL TREATMENT OF THE DATA .. i) Sub-cluster 1.1 vii) Cluster 9 viii) Cluster 7 ix) Cluster 5 x) Cluster 3 xi) Cluster 4 xii) Cluster 6 xiii) Cluster 8 xiv) Correlation between artifacts and copper types xv) Correlation between artifact type and culture 4. THE BRONZE CLUSTERS 260 5.
Physical Barriers, Cultural Connections: Prehistoric Metallurgy across the Alpine Region
This paper considers the early copper and copper-alloy metallurgy of the entire Alpine region. It introduces a new approach to the interpretation of chemical composition data sets, which has been applied to a comprehensive regional database for the first time. The Alpine Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age each have distinctive patterns of metal use, which can be interpreted through changes in mining, social choice, and major landscape features such as watersheds and river systems. Interestingly, the Alpine range does not act as a north-south barrier, as major differences in composition tend to appear on an east-west axis. Central among these is the prevalence of tin-bronze in the western Alps compared to the east. This ‘tin-line’ is discussed in terms of metal flow through the region and evidence for a deeply rooted geographical division that runs through much of Alpine prehistory.
2017
This thesis considers the early copper and copper-alloy metallurgy of the entire Circum-Alpine region. It introduces a new approach to the interpretation of chemical composition data sets, which has been applied to a comprehensive regional database for the first time. An extensive use of GIS has been applied to investigate the role of topography in the distribution of metal and to undertake spatial and geostastical analysis that may highlight patterns of distribution of some specific key compositional element. The Circum-Alpine Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age show some distinctively different patterns of metal use, which can be interpreted through changes in mining and social choices. But there are also some signs of continuity, in particular those which respect the use of major landscape features such as watersheds and river systems. Interestingly, the Alpine range does not act as a north-south barrier, as major differences in composition tend to appear on an east-west axis. Conversely, the river system seems to have a key role in the movement of metal. Geostastical analyses demonstrate the presence of a remelting process, applicable also in the case of ingots; evidence that opens new and interesting questions about the role of ingots and hoards in the distribution of metal at the beginning of the Metal Age. New tools and new analysis may also be useful to identify zones where there was a primary metal production and zones where metal was mostly received and heavily manipulated. b 3.2 A new perspective: the Flow Model .
How can archaeologists evaluate the 'cost of production' in prehistory? Stephen Shennan explores ethnographic examples, Ricardo's Law of Comparative Advantage and archaeological evidence from the eastern Alps in a stimulating discussion of Bronze Age production and exchange. Introduction The object of this paper is to explore the validity and usefulness of looking at the production and exchange of metal in non-western societies from the point of view of the costs and benefits they entailed. Consideration of the ideas which the paper discusses was prompted by the outcome of a fieldwork project which I carried out some years ago and which involved the excavation of a settlement site associated with Bronze Age copper production in the eastern Alps (Shennan 1995). It appeared difficult to explain why the small-scale, apparently autonomous communities which began to exploit the copper sources of this region at the end of the 3rd millennium BC should engage in the arduous activity of copper mining and smelt-ing in this relatively hostile environment. The situation appeared all the more puzzling when the archaeological record of these copper producers was contrasted with that of the salt miners of the Durrnberg, slightly further down the same valley, a millennium later. The copper producers show very little sign of having accumulated any wealth through their endeavours while the deposited wealth associated with the salt-mining community is extremely striking (cf. collis 1984:
Historical …, 2008
In the Early Bronze Age copper production increases dramatically, yet in Western Europe little data is available on linked mining and smelting activity. In the area of Saint-Véran, Hautes-Alpes, ancient mining works testify to large-scale production, estimated at some seven tons of metallic copper per year. The associated smelting site, dated to the end of the 3rd millennium BC, shows particularly advanced technological skill. The mineralogy at Saint-Véran is an exceptionally massive and to achieve high-grade ore. The exploited ore is mainly bornite, Cu5FeS4, which is a particularly copper-rich mineral, compared to the more usual chalcopyrite, CuFeS2. Recent surveys have found large amounts of native copper in the ancient mine spoil heaps so native copper was probably exploited, maybe before the Early Bronze Age. The slag morphology and composition is also discussed. Saint-Véran has thin, homogenous low-viscosity slags, similar to the Plattenschlacke recorded during the Middle to Late Bronze Age in the Eastern Alps. This combination of factors must