THE METALLURGY OF THE NAHAL MISHMAR HOARD RECONSIDERED

The Nahal Mishmar hoard, found in a cave in the Judean Desert in 1961, is a key find for the study of Chalcolithic metallurgy in Israel and the Levant. Recent analyses of Chalcolithic metalwork from sites such as Shiqmim in Israel raised doubts about the validity of published analyses from the hoard. Accordingly a programme of re-analysis was established using atomic absorption spectrometry and electron probe microanalysis. The new analyses confirmed the doubts and showed that the metallurgy of Nahal Mishmar was the same as that at the other sites. The alloys used for the cast products in the hoard were generally ternary arsenic-antimony copper alloys with up to 20% alloy content; less common were compositions with arsenic and nickel. The unusual metallography of these alloys is described. Some suggestions are offered as to the mode of manufacture of the alloys.     

Middle Bronze Age Arsenical Copper Alloys in Southern Portugal

In the Iberian Peninsula, the copper metallurgy from the Chalcolithic to the Middle Bronze Age (MBA) was mostly characterized by low arsenic contents. A collection of 53 MBA artefacts from southern Portugal was analysed by micro‐EDXRF, optical microscopy, SEM–EDS and Vickers to investigate the metal composition and manufacture. No technological distinction was found between artefacts from domestic and funerary contexts, which were radiocarbon‐dated to 2000–1500 cal bc . The arsenic contents of almost 100 MBA artefacts from this region, including the above‐mentioned set, have a Gaussian distribution with a high average (3.9 wt% As). Possible explanations are discussed for this distinctive metallurgy at the south‐western end of the Iberian Peninsula.     

A truly refractory crucible from fourth millennium Tepe Hissar, Northeast Iran

From the Early Chalcolithic to the Late Iron Age, melting and smelting crucibles were usually made from non-refractory ceramic fabrics, which required heating of the charge from within the crucible to avoid collapsing the ceramic itself. In this paper, an unusual melting crucible from Northeast Iran, radiocarbon-dated to the Late Chalcolithic (ca. 3600 BCE), will be presented that significantly changes our understanding of the development of technical ceramics in Southwest Asia. This crucible, made of a highly refractory talc-based ceramic held together by an outer layer of traditional non-refractory ceramic, is to our knowledge unprecedented at such an early date. As will be argued, this ancient crucible was heated from the exterior or from below and not from the interior. This method of firing, combined with the highly-specialized construction technique, makes this crucible so far unique in prehistoric metallurgy, and forces us to re-examine traditional models for the development of technical ceramics and metallurgical practices in the Old World.     

The Composition of the São Brás Copper Hoard in Relation to the Bell Beaker Metallurgy in the South‐western Iberian Peninsula

A large ceramic vessel was discovered at São Brás (southern Portugal) containing a metallic hoard from the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age period. These weapons and tools were characterized by microanalytical techniques as being composed of copper with varying arsenic contents (2.2 ± 1.6 wt%) and minor amounts of lead, bismuth and iron. The collection shows a clear association between daggers and copper with a higher arsenic content, which can be explained by the high status of these silvery alloys. Finally, the compositional distribution of the hoard was compared with the metallurgy of the Bell Beaker and non–Bell Beaker communities inhabiting the south‐western Iberian Peninsula.     

On the Origins of Decorative Traditions in the Early Bronze Age Pottery of the Middle Tobol Basin,Western Siberia

The Early Bronze Age is one of the least documented stages in the prehistory of the Middle Tobol region. The key issue in the study of this period concerns the origins of several cultural traditions and the role of the native Chalcolithic population in this process. The analysis of pottery decoration from the Bairyk-Lybayevo Chalcolithic sites reveals cultural heterogeneity, evidently re?ecting the immigration of tribes, unrelated to local tribes, and their contacts with the natives. Two tendencies can be traced in this process. The ?rst is a gradual transformation of separate decorative components of the Bairyk-Lybayevo complex. These components are detached from the main complex and are represented by pottery from sites of the Imbiryai and Mostovoye types. The second is an abrupt change caused by intense contact with the immigrants, eventually resulting in the emergence of the Tashkovo culture.     

The Chalcolithic burial cave in Ma'avarot,Israel, and its palaeoanthropological implications

This paper reports on bioarchaeological and palaeopathological investigations of the Chalcolithic Ma'avarot burial cave in the Hefer valley (Sharon central coastal plain), Israel. The objective of this project was to retrieve enough data from the anthropological material which, in conjunction with the rest of the archaeological record, would help to better elucidate aspects of the archaeological questions concerning the Chalcolithic in the Levant. The integrated analysis of the archaeological record included studies of burial customs and practices, the associated material culture, skeletal biology, pathology and bone archaeometry. Correlations are made with the current and contradictory arguments about the migration of peoples and cultural diffusion and the explanatory hypothesis supporting autochthonous cultural developmental processes at this chronological juncture in the Levant. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

论遗产的价值

肇始于法国的遗产保护运动已有两百余年的历史,而遗产价值却一直是个近乎扑朔迷离的话题。与一般商品相比,遗产有何特殊的价值与使用价值,遗产价值如何衡量及其对对现代社会的意义都有待于思考。从某种意义上看,过去之于现在,是古为今用的过程,亦是遗产价值从神圣走向世俗的关键缘由。无论是遗产保护热、遗产研究热,还是遗产旅游热,都在判断、建构、计算与赋予这四个面相上论证着遗产的价值,进而揭示遗产价值表象下人类集团的精神实践活动。     

The Fortified Site of Leceia (Oeiras) in the Context of the Chalcolithic in Portuguese Estramadura

Research into the Chalcolithic period in the region of Lower Estremadura, south of Torres Vedras, western Portugal, has generated much new data from fortified sites and cemeteries. The lack, so far, of a thorough overview of this diverse body of information has hindered the definition of the Chalcolithic culture of the region. The economic, social and cultural transformation observed at sites with a long sequence beginning with the Late Neolithic, has never been analysed.
The results obtained by the author in one of the most notable sites of the region, the fortified site of Leceia, near the town of Oeiras, are of particular interest. Seventeen excavation campaigns carried out since 1983 have provided a remarkable body of information. The characterization of other previously identified Chalcolithic groups in Portugal allow us to see how the Chalcolithic of Estremadura relates, at a regional level, with the cultural development to the north, the south, the hinterland and the coast.
Of major importance to this discussion are the chronometric results obtained in Leceia. For the first time, the 36 radiocarbon dates and their subsequent statistical treatment have allowed us to establish absolute boundaries for the existing successive cultural phases of the Late Neolithic and the Early, Middle and Late Chalcolithic.     

Increasing inequality in Chalcolithic Southeast Europe: the case of Durankulak

Economic measurement tools allow a quantification of social differences not only for modern societies, but also for prehistoric communities. The use of Gini indices and Lorenz curves for the much discussed Chalcolithic cemetery of Durankulak (Bulgaria) indicates an average increase in material items from 5000 cal BC onwards and a tendency of these items to be distributed somewhat more equally. Towards the end of the Chalcolithic sequence, however, strongly growing inequality was associated with lower average welfare. The steep increase in social inequality might be one of the main reasons for the collapse of Chalcolithic societies around 4100 cal BC in Durankulak, but also in other South East European regions.     

Grar: A Chalcolithic Site in the Northern Negev,Israel

Abstract

Grar is one of the largest Chalcolithic sites in southern Israel. The first part of this article presents an overview of the results of excavations carried out on the site during 1981–1987. The site of Grar is a cluster of occupational units once inhabited by sedentary farmers growing cereals and raising sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle. Grar is similar to other sites in the northern Negev previously considered as ephemeral. This suggests that the role of pastoralism and semi-nomadism in the Chalcolithic period has been overemphasized. Grar and other sites of the Chalcolithic period are, in fact, the earliest versions of villages of the Near Eastern fellahin, or peasants.

A comparative study of Grar and other northern Negev sites follows. Although the area in question is small, it is suggested that during the Chalcolithic period the northern Negev was settled by two groups, or “tribes,” with the same cultural background but different modes of lift.     

Portable XRF analysis of zoomorphic figurines, “tokens,” and sling bullets from Chogha Gavaneh,Iran

This study examines small finds from the site of Chogha Gavaneh, Iran, including zoomorphic clay figurines, geometric-shaped objects (often referred to as “tokens”), and sling bullets in order to investigate the possible social and economic functions of these artifacts. While Chogha Gavaneh has been occupied from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) (ca. 9000 B.C.E) period to the present, we focus on 87 small finds from the Early Chalcolithic period (ca. 5000–4000 B.C.E.). We explore how portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (pXRF) provides a new line of data with which to test the conventional wisdom about the uses of these small finds. Our findings suggest that local production is unlikely to account for the diversity in the elemental composition of the small finds. We argue that this supports claims that Neolithic and Chalcolithic people exchanged “tokens”. The presence of non-local zoomorphic figurines also raises interesting questions regarding their possible role in past societies.     

Some spatial analyses of Chalcolithic settlement in Southern Israel

This paper is a brief investigation of one of the outstanding problems in Chalcolithic archaeology in the Negev desert of Israel: that of the spatial distribution of sites and the possible relationships between these sites that may be inferred. Although the region is rich in archaeological data for the Chalcolithic period, very little work has thus far been undertaken in terms of the quantification of the archaeological data – a necessary prerequisite for complex spatial analysis. Nevertheless, simple analysis of settlement patterns using the data presently available for 403 Chalcolithic sites in the Negev is given as an example. Autocorrelation tests measuring clustering and dispersion of sites show that the overall impression of clustering is a factor of access to farming land, water, grazing and Mediterranean maquis, but that smaller scale analysis suggests that settlement patterns were essentially random. This makes it difficult to argue in favour of settlement hierarchies or structured settlement of any kind.     

Expediting Reincarnation in the Fifth Millennium BCE: Interpreting the Chalcolithic Ossuaries of the Southern Levant

We examine and reinterpret the phenomenon of containers used for the secondary burial of human remains – ossuaries – in the Chalcolithic period of the southern Levant, c.4500–3700 BCE. Ossuary form and decoration, both plastic and painted, is evocative and symbol‐laden. Since their first discovery in the 1930s, several hypotheses have sought to explain ossuary iconography, but none provides an integrated, holistic interpretation. Chalcolithic iconography, mortuary contexts, and archetypal mythologies suggest that ossuaries, mainly of clay, but also of stone, served as vehicles of reincarnation.     

Archaeometallurgical Investigations in Nakhchivan,Azerbaijan: What Does the Evidence from Late Chalcolithic Ovçular Tepesi Tell Us about the Beginning of Extractive Metallurgy?

The Late Chalcolithic (4400–3950 b.c.) occupation levels from Ovçular Tepesi have yielded a significant assemblage of copper objects and remains of copper production. Together with ore finds, two fragments of nozzle, crucible remains, and a number of small metal artifacts, this assemblage includes the unexpected discovery of three copper axes in an infant burial jar. These axes are the earliest examples of large copper tools known to date in southwestern Asia, whether it is in the Caucasus, Iran, or the Anatolian highlands. More importantly, the fact that these objects were locally produced suggests that significant metallurgical activities were being carried out at Ovçular as early as the second half of the 5th millennium b.c. After presenting the evidence from Ovçular Tepesi, this paper will proceed to a reassessment of the available archaeological and geochemical data concerning the emergence of extractive metallurgy in the southern Caucasus.     

Diet uniformity at an early farming community in northwest Anatolia (Turkey): carbon and nitrogen isotope studies of bone collagen at Aktopraklık

Aktoprakl?k is a settlement site composed of three areas (A–C) in the Marmara region of northwest Anatolia, with phases of occupation that date to the Late Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic periods, mid-seventh to mid-sixth millennium bc (ca. 6400–5600 cal. bc). Here, we present 54 human and fauna bone collagen stable isotope results from the site, alongside five modern fish bone collagen isotope results, to examine the nature of human diet. The stable isotope analysis shows that human diet comprised the consumption of select C₃ terrestrial resources, with a preference for domestic animal proteins over plant proteins. The evidence to date suggests that animal husbandry was at the forefront of Late Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic subsistence practices. No isotopic difference in humans is observed between biological sex or between areas B and C at the settlement.     

Shape Reproducibility and architectural symmetry during the Chalcolithic period in the southern Levant

Architecture reflects social aspects of past communities. Structure attributes such as shape, size, building material and decoration, provide valuable information beyond their immediate structural function. However, while attributes such as size can be measured and therefore objectively compared between structures, the comparison of shape between structures is based on subjective observations. In the current study we use two quantification methods for analyzing prehistoric shape-based architectural data: (1) we developed a new method, Shape Reproducibility (SR), based on objective computerized procedure for analyzing the similarity and difference between shapes of ancient buildings; and (2) we use Continuous Symmetry Measure (CSM), a method which was originally developed for analyzing flint artifacts and ceramic vessels to objectively compare between shape symmetry. Applying these methods to settlement data of the Chalcolithic period enables quantification of the level of architectural similarity within and between different sites and their comparison to architectural data of later periods, such as the Early Bronze Age II urban center at Arad. Our CSM results suggest that the symmetry of architecture does not increase through time. Our SR findings demonstrate that in the main cultural Chalcolithic entity, the Ghassulian, the architecture of different sites could not be distinguished from one site to the other. In addition, we demonstrate that the architecture of the Chalcolithic sites in the Golan Heights is homogeneous and significantly differs from other Chalcolithic sites, while Ghassulian intra-site variability is higher. In comparison with Arad, however, this variability is relatively low and limited. These results suggest that status differentiation or hierarchical social organization cannot be indicated from Ghassulian architecture.     

Settlement patterns,social complexity and agricultural strategies during the Chalcolithic period in the Northern Negev,Israel

Previous studies have reported a Chalcolithic site distribution pattern in the Northern Negev as clustered, exhibiting a number of characteristics that imply a chiefdom level of organization. However, a recent spatial analysis suggests that in some areas of the Northern Negev, settlement patterns were essentially random and that there is no evidence for regional chiefdom organization. We examine this controversy by closely inspecting the methods of spatial analyses employed by previous researchers, by introducing an additional multiscalar spatial technique, namely Ripley's K-function, and by using updated and modified data. Our results indicate that settlement distributions were essentially clustered, even in small areas along the wadis. Examining the relation between these spatial-dependent distributions and the landscape surroundings revealed that particular physiographic characteristics of the wadis contribute to increscent in site clusters. Furthermore, a general linear model analysis suggests that the distribution of Chalcolithic sites is determined primarily by environmental factors rather than factors related to political organization.     

People,possessions and domestic space in the late medieval escheators’ records

ABSTRACT

The medieval English escheator was a royal official who seized the goods and chattels of felons, fugitives and outlaws for the crown’s benefit. This article uses escheators’ inquests and accounts to ask what information exists about the location of forfeited possessions at the point of their appraisal by the escheator, and what is revealed about the use of space in the houses and outbuildings of lower status people? We also ask more general questions about contemporary understanding of the relationship between domestic objects and space. We find that there was limited interest in describing possessions according to their position within buildings. Nonetheless, one may use the order of items as they are recorded in the escheators’ lists of forfeited goods to explore the issues raised in the article. The records reveal an emphasis on the difference between ‘household utensils’ and other movables, especially crops and livestock.     

Early Specialized Production? A Chalcolithic Stone Bracelet Workshop at Kanlitaş, Turkey

An assemblage of marble bracelets, at various stages of manufacture, recovered during surface survey of the site of Kanl?ta? in Turkey, indicates that there was specialized production activity at the site during the Chalcolithic period. In this article we present the assemblage, evidence about material procurement, technology and manufacturing processes. We discuss the significance of the assemblage in relation to other sites in the area and as an example of production intended for inter‐site trade or exchange. We also address the wider issues of both the production of stone bracelets as a widespread practice in Anatolia from the Neolithic onwards, and the phenomenon of early specialized production.     

CHARACTERIZATION OF LATE CHALCOLITHIC MICRO‐BEADS FROM ÇAMLIBEL TARLASI,NORTH‐CENTRAL ANATOLIA

Micro‐bead manufacture is geographically widespread from the fifth millennium bc . Previous studies of comparable micro‐beads from sites in the Indus Valley region and the Near East suggest that many of these beads were formed from synthetic enstatite. Characterization of micro‐beads from the Late Chalcolithic site of Çaml?bel Tarlas? was carried out by optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and microanalysis with energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDS), and X‐ray diffraction analysis (XRD). The chemical composition of the micro‐beads analysed indicated that they were made from three distinctive materials; namely, bulk talc (i.e., synthetic enstatite precursor), apatite and mineral‐rich clay pastes.