Heterogeneous Production and Enchained Consumption: Minoan Gold in a Changing World (ca. 2000 BCE)

Studies of archaeological goldwork in the Americas are increasingly revealing a rich variety of context-specific ways in which gold items were produced and valued, but research attention has largely focused on visually striking artefacts. However, in the south-central Andes, goldwork is described essentially as a ‘sheet technology’—a definition that tends to downplay the potential complexity and cultural significance of this technology in such an extensive and varied region. Here, we employ a life-history approach to explore the existence of particular traditions within this large area. We present chemical and microscopic analyses, using pXRF, SEM–EDS, PIXE and digital microscopy, of 142 gold and silver objects from San Pedro de Atacama (northern Chile), recovered in seven cemeteries dated to the Middle Period (AD 400–1000). Our results reveal a heterogeneous assemblage where compositions, techniques, designs and skill levels vary, suggesting that gold artefacts circulated and were imported from different areas of the south-central Andes, such as Tiwanaku, Cochabamba and northwest Argentina. We also identify for the first time two distinct technological traditions used in San Pedro: small-scale goldwork production, and a tradition of modifying and reusing imported objects by cutting, perforating and separating object parts. Considering the depositional contexts, we propose that the funerary ritual at San Pedro was a key factor in the development of this local goldwork. Our research demonstrates that even small and unimpressive artefacts can be successfully interrogated from archaeological perspectives with integrative approaches that go beyond overly generalising perspectives of gold as an exotic status marker.

show abstract

Bronze Age Cyprus and the Aegean: ‘exotic currency’ and objects of connectivity

Knapp

2022

JGA

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The island of Cyprus is justly regarded as a key juncture in the eastern Mediterranean world, one that played a prominent role in the exchange networks operating within and beyond that region, especially during the Late Bronze Age (LBA). With respect to the Aegean world, contacts are well represented by Aegean and Aegean-style objects and imagery found on the island, a form of ‘exotic currency’ often associated with elite feasting and funerary activities. The arts and crafts of Bronze Age Cyprus are particularly rich in representational terms, particularly evident in the floruit of figurative representations depicted on the pottery, metalwork, ivories and figurines of the LBA. When we focus down onto individual objects or classes of objects, the role of hybridisation practices also seems evident, and any discussion of connectivity between the Aegean world and Cyprus must take such practices into account. The purpose of the present study is to consider a representative example of these objects of connectivity during both the Prehistoric and Protohistoric Bronze Ages, always highlighting the Aegean dimension. In turn, the nature of Aegean-Cypriot relations during and at the end of the LBA is considered with respect to the merchants, mariners, exchange systems and spheres of interaction that characterised Cypro-Aegean connectivity.

show abstract

Heterogeneous Production and Enchained Consumption: Minoan Gold in a Changing World (ca. 2000 BCE)

Cited by 3 publications

References 23 publications

Making and Using Metals

Making and Using Metals

Technology, life histories and circulation of gold objects during the Middle Period (AD 400–1000): A perspective from the Atacama Desert, Chile

Bronze Age Cyprus and the Aegean: ‘exotic currency’ and objects of connectivity

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About