Identifying stone tools used in mining, smelting, and casting in Middle Bronze Age Cyprus

Webb, Jennifer M.

doi:10.1179/0093469014z.000000000108

Cited by 11 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, the exact organization, techniques, processes, and equipment employed in bronze metallurgy still have to be identified within these cultures (Pernot 1998). In fact, these workshops generally left only ephemeral archeological traces, such as hearths, rare crucible fragments, or various kinds of stone tools (Armbruster 2010;Boutoille 2015;Freudenberg 2010;Webb 2015). Consequently, the reliable identification of metallurgists' stone tools on different types of archeological sites (open-air settlements, specialized workshops, enclosures) appears to be a promising and challenging new approach to identifying the practice of bronze metallurgy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tracking the first bronze metallurgists of Western Europe: combined use-wear analysis and X-ray fluorescence synchrotron spectroscopy of a stone toolkit from Ploneour-Lanvern (Brittany)

Hamon

Réguer

Bellot‐Gurlet

et al. 2020

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

At the turn of the second millennium BC in Europe, the development of copper and bronze metallurgies stimulated major economic shifts, with the emergence of elites and far-reaching diffusion networks. However, the exact organization, techniques, processes, and equipment employed in this early copper and bronze metallurgy still remain poorly understood. In this context, our aim has been to identify the first stone toolkits used by Early Bronze Age metallurgists on a site in western Brittany (France), a region connected to the so-called Atlantic complex. The combination of use-wear analysis and Synchrotron X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) imaging highlights a correlation between the distribution of diagnostic use-wear traces (smoothing and micropolishes) related to metal ore processing or metal objet shaping and elemental residues of copper and zinc. These results demonstrate the existence of copper ore processing in western Brittany during the Early Bronze Age (2200-1900 BC). They also highlight the diversity of the stone tools involved in metal production. Finally, this comprehensive methodology underlines the potential of functional analysis of macrolithic tools to reveal the existence of metal production. This is particularly relevant for archeological sites where the structures of metallurgical production are barely visible and often unrecognizable and where metallic objects are rare due to their intensive recycling and diffusion.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tracking the first bronze metallurgists of Western Europe: combined use-wear analysis and X-ray fluorescence synchrotron spectroscopy of a stone toolkit from Ploneour-Lanvern (Brittany)

Hamon

Réguer

Bellot‐Gurlet

et al. 2020

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, determining their function is difficult since the Iron Age copper smelting process is not fully understood, and ethnographic parallels for pre-industrial copper production are rare. The few studies which focused on ground stone tools at copper production sites (e.g., Vardi et al 2008;Rosenberg & Golani 2012;Webb 2015) deal with different periods and production scales, and thus have limited value for the study of the Timna ground stone assemblage. As opposed to the clear industrial context at Timna, these other studies were preoccupied with distinguishing between industrial and domestic ground stone tools (except Vardi et al 2008, to some degree).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ground stone assemblage of a metal workers community: An unexplored dimension of Iron Age copper production at Timna

Greener

Ben‐Yosef

2016

JLS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:The systematic archaeological study of the Timna Valley began over 50 years ago. Since then it has become a key site for understanding ancient copper production technologies in the Near East and beyond. However, the fantastic quantity of ground stone tools which are present at the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age copper smelting sites were never systematically studied. Questions regarding their origin, distribution, typologies, and especially their role within the chaîne opératoire of copper production, were seldom addressed. Although surprising, this has been the case for almost all of the excavated metal production sites around the world.In the framework of the renewed excavations at several of the copper smelting sites at Timna, a pioneering study was conducted in which more than 1000 ground stone tools were identified and registered. These tools include, among others, grinding stones, pounders, anvils and mortars; most were manufactured of compacted sandstone and granite, exposed in several locations in the valley. In this paper we present a typology and quantitative analysis of the ground stone tools which were used by the metal workers, and offer an interpretation of how the various types of tools were employed as part of the copper production process. This provides new insights regarding the smelting process and the conditions needed for its successful outcome.

show abstract

“…These cases primarily include ground stone tools, mostly hammerstones and grinding stones, which have been systematically described in a set of papers [e.g. [24,[42][43][44][45][46][47]. However, some feature knapped flint, either as implements in fire-ignition equipment (e.g., the eighth-seventeenth-century AD Indonesian iron production sites; [26]) or as retouched tools and debitage that were probably used for cutting and scraping.…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

The stone-to-metal transition reflected in the Iron Age copper production sites of Timna Valley, Israel

Shimelmitz,

Ben-Yosef

2023

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Metalwork was a major technological innovation that displaced stone-tool technologies and transformed human society and the environment. However, our understanding of these processes remains partial. In this paper, we approach the stone-to-metal transition from a novel angle–the presence of flint knapping at metal production sites. Drawing on excavations at the Late Bronze and Iron Age copper smelting sites in Timna Valley, Israel, we demonstrate that systematic production of expedient stone tools was integral to these sites’ industrial operations, placing it at the heart of the very same metal circulation networks that were presumably responsible for its displacement. The observations from Timna, coupled with evidence for the use of chipped stone technology in other early Iron Age metallurgical contexts, support the hypothesis that it was probably both the high accessibility of iron and its qualities that put an end to the stone tool industry. Copper and bronze could not easily fulfill the function of the ad hoc stone tools and were not used to replace stone tools even if they were available and accessible.

show abstract

Identifying stone tools used in mining, smelting, and casting in Middle Bronze Age Cyprus

Cited by 11 publications

References 19 publications

Tracking the first bronze metallurgists of Western Europe: combined use-wear analysis and X-ray fluorescence synchrotron spectroscopy of a stone toolkit from Ploneour-Lanvern (Brittany)

Tracking the first bronze metallurgists of Western Europe: combined use-wear analysis and X-ray fluorescence synchrotron spectroscopy of a stone toolkit from Ploneour-Lanvern (Brittany)

The ground stone assemblage of a metal workers community: An unexplored dimension of Iron Age copper production at Timna

The stone-to-metal transition reflected in the Iron Age copper production sites of Timna Valley, Israel

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About