Technological Choices in Hand‐Made Indigenous Pottery from Western Mallorca (Balearic Islands,Spain) (C.1200–75 bc): An Archaeometric Approach

This paper addresses the technological choices observed in Mallorca (Spain) for the production of hand‐made pottery during the Late Bronze and Iron Age. We have conducted a diachronic analysis of the ceramic assemblages recovered from two archaeological sites placed in the same territory by means of X‐ray fluorescence and optical microscopy by thin‐section analysis. The archaeometric characterization of the hand‐made vessels allows us to establish several compositional groups related to the use of different raw materials and certain paste recipes associated with the archaeological sites and periods considered. Thus, this study evidences different productive strategies in each site and across time in the same geographical area.     

Smelting and recycling evidences from the Late Bronze Age habitat site of Baiões (Viseu,Portugal)

Many aspects of bronze production during Late Bronze Age in Western Europe are so far unknown. In the present study selected artefact fragments and metallurgical debris, which include a slag fragment, from the emblematic Late Bronze Age habitat site of Castro da Senhora da Guia de Baiões (Viseu, Portugal) have been studied by optical microscopy, micro-EDXRF, SEM–EDS and XRD. Evidences were found for bronze production involving smelting and recycling. Compositional analysis showed that the artefacts are made of a bronze with 13 ± 3 wt.% Sn (average and one standard deviation) and a low impurity pattern, namely <0.1 wt.% Pb, being comparable with the composition of other bronzes from the same region (the Central Portuguese Beiras). This alloy is generally different from elsewhere Atlantic and Mediterranean bronzes, which show frequently slightly lower Sn contents and higher impurity patterns, namely Pb which is often present as an alloying element. The present study gives further support to early proposals suggesting the exploration of the Western Iberian tin resources during Late Bronze Age, and besides that, it indicates that metalworking and smelting could have been a commonplace activity requiring no specific facilities, being bronze produced at a domestic scale in this Western extreme of Europe.     

PREHISTORIC COPPER PRODUCTION IN THE INN VALLEY (AUSTRIA), AND THE EARLIEST COPPER IN CENTRAL EUROPE*

In recent years archaeological finds and scientific analyses have provided increasing evidence for a very early beginning of copper production in the rich mining area of the Tyrolean Alps. The earliest findings derive from an excavation of a multi‐phase settlement on the Mariahilfbergl in Brixlegg, which revealed evidence that a small amount of fahlores, probably of local provenance, was at least heated if not even smelted there in the Late Neolithic Münchshöfen culture (the second half of the fifth millennium bc ). However, most copper finds of this horizon consist of low‐impurity copper that most probably derives from Majdanpek in Serbia. This long‐distance relationship is corroborated by typological features that link some aspects of the Münchshöfen culture with the Carpathian basin. Thus it is not yet clear if, at Brixlegg, actual copper production took place or, rather, an experimental treatment of the local ores. The typical fahlore composition, with arsenic and antimony in the per cent and silver and bismuth in the per mille ranges, appears in quantity only in the Early Bronze Age. Many thousands of Ösenringe are known from many central European Early Bronze Age sites, with a chemical composition typical of fahlores. At Buchberg near Brixlegg, a fortified settlement with slags from fahlore smelting proves that the local ores were indeed exploited. The lead isotope ratios of Ösenringe from the Gammersham hoard in Bavaria, which consist of fahlore copper, confirm this and suggest that copper mining and production in the Inn Valley reached a first climax during that period. In the Late Bronze Age, copper was produced at an almost industrial level.     

Chemical and mineralogical examination of metallurgical ceramics from a Late Bronze Age copper smelting site in Cyprus

For metallurgical processes in antiquity functional materials were required, which were sufficiently heat resistant. Commonly, ceramics were used for the production of furnaces, tuyères and crucibles. Because normal pottery usually could not withstand the extreme temperatures, which were needed for metallurgical operations, the ceramic production process had to be modified. An analytical case study will be presented on refractory ceramics from the Late Bronze Age copper smelting site Politiko-Phorades (Cyprus). Cyprus had a major role in copper production, starting from this period, and the selected site is the earliest primary smelting site discovered in Cyprus until now. Furnace and tuyère fragments were analysed chemically and mineralogically, in order to investigate ancient ceramic technology in view of heat resistance.     

LEAD ISOTOPIC ANALYSIS FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF LATE BRONZE AGE POTTERY FROM HALA SULTAN TEKKE (CYPRUS)

Lead isotopic compositions were measured for 65 sherds from five pottery wares (Plain White, Coarse, Canaanite, White Slip and Base‐ring) excavated from the Late Bronze Age site of Hala Sultan Tekke (Cyprus). The elemental composition and isotopic signature of the sherds were compared with those of 65 clay samples collected in south‐east Cyprus, mainly in the surroundings (<20 km) of Hala Sultan Tekke. This work shows the effectiveness of using lead isotopic analysis in provenance studies, along with other analytical techniques, such as X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive X‐ray detection (EDX) facility, to identify the composition of pottery wares and the clay sources used for pottery ware production.     

COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY AND COMPUTED RADIOGRAPHY OF LATE BRONZE AGE CREMATION URNS FROM DENMARK: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY ATTEMPT TO DEVELOP METHODS APPLIED IN BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL CREMATION RESEARCH

To improve the methods used to study prehistoric cremation rituals, cremation urns from the Danish Late Bronze Age were examined using computed tomography and computed radiography (digital X‐ray). During micro‐excavation, the digital images were used as a registration tool. Our results suggest that osteological ageing and sexing are more accurate when combining CT images with excavated remains. Digital volume rendering further enables a compromised estimation of the original cremation weight. Micro‐excavation is clearly a primary cause of bone fragmentation. Cremated remains affected by lower cremation intensity show markedly poorer preservation and recovery than do white calcined fragments. Thus post‐excavation estimations of cremation intensity are systematically biased.     

The use of different amber sources in Italy during the Bronze Age: new archaeometric data

The production of amber ornaments occurred in Italy during the Eneolithic (E)–Early Bronze Age (EBA), although very few beads from the Italian peninsula have been found and analysed. The number of data available for provenience study of Bronze Age ambers is larger, but still a precise picture of when and to what extent the local sources of amber were exploited is lacking. In the present work, 22 amber finds from six Sicilian sites have been studied and analysed by infrared spectroscopy, in particular with DRIFT (diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transformed) analyses. The amber samples are dated between the Eneolithic and the Final Bronze Age–Early Iron Age and are from the collections of the P. Orsi Museum, in Syracuse (Sicily). The data show that only simetite was used in South Italy in the Late Eneolithic (LE)–EBA. In the Bronze Age, the exploitation of simetite shows different intensity in different chronological phases. The results are discussed in comparison with the information available for coeval European ambers.     

A Comparison Study of Middle Bronze Age II Daggers and Their Rivets as a Tool for a Better Understanding of Their Production

The Middle Bronze Age II is a period during which there exists a contemporaneous usage of arsenic copper and tin bronze for metal weaponry production. In order to learn more about the alloys used in this period, the blades and rivets from 65 daggers of two significantly different types, which were discovered at the Rishon LeZion (RL) cemetery, Israel, were tested by the non‐destructive method of X‐ray fluorescence (XRF). The results reveal new knowledge of the alloys selected for dagger and rivet production, both of which represent fine examples of the Middle Bronze Age II Southern Levant in metal industry.     

HOARDS D'OEUVRES: OF METALS & MEN ON BRONZE AGE CYPRUS

Summary. Diverse streams of archaeological and metallurgical research have demonstrated that Cyprus was an important regional copper producer and supplier during the eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age, at least from 1700–1100 BC. Until recently, research into metallurgical production and exchange on Bronze Age Cyprus necessarily focused on technological change and chronological division. Metals' provenience studies have begun to mature, and economic approaches related to copper production and exchange have begun to appear. In stark contrast to recent literature on "hoarding" activity in Bronze and Iron Age Europe, virtually no attention has been paid to the manner in which metals enter the archaeological record. In response to a growing body of theoretical literature, this study examines the gift-commodity model and finds it wanting; instead the deposition of Cypriote hoards is considered from a politico-economic perspective, and in light of socio-historical and metallurgical data relevant to interregional developments in the contemporary Mediterranean world.     

Dietary Variability During Bronze Age in Central Italy: First Results

This research aims at delineating the dietary practices in Central Italy during the Bronze Age. The study of food choices is a mean for investigating palaeoenvironmental agricultural and economic activities and social relationships, which have been little explored until now in Italy from this specific perspective. Recent researches have showed that the Middle Bronze Age is a crucial period of dietary changes in Italy. Following these first observations, we studied three Bronze Age sites in Tuscany and Latium: Grotta dello Scoglietto, Grotta Misa and Felcetone. Analyses of stable carbon, nitrogen and sulphur isotopes on 38 human and 22 animal collagen samples were performed. The results show three different dietary patterns. Data from Grotta dello Scoglietto (Early Bronze Age) indicate a high‐protein intake, with a probable consumption of fish. Additionally, sulphur results let us infer the presence of some non‐local people. Individuals from Felcetone (Initial phase of the Middle Bronze Age) show a terrestrial diet dominated by plant proteins, which suggests a low δ¹⁵N food intake, namely legumes, as well as C₄ plant, such as millet. Finally, values from Grotta Misa (Middle Bronze Age) highlight a mixed terrestrial diet and the consumption of millet. Given the variety of the obtained results, we are able to conclude that the transition from the Early to the Middle Bronze Age represents a moment of change, which is reflected by the presence of different dietary patterns. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

HLO1‐south: An Early Neolithic site in Wadi al‐Hilo (Sharjah,UAE)

Site HLO1 (Sharjah, UAE), situated in a particularly favourable geographical position, has provided an extraordinary range of anthropogenic radiocarbon dates, spanning before 8000 to Zero BCE. The Neolithic is represented by finds from the eighth to the fifth millennium BCE. Apart from the dated fireplaces, however, there are almost no typical artefacts of this period. Small stone structures appear to have been early Neolithic graves. A middle Neolithic grave consisted of a large rounded stone heap which was reused as a grave during the Late Bronze Age. The site is interpreted as a campsite of nomadic herders, used throughout the Neolithic period. After a break in the fourth millennium BCE, the site became a Bronze Age smelting site which continued to be settled until the Late Iron Age.     

Selected with care? – the technology of crucibles in late prehistoric Scotland. A petrographic and chemical assessment

Prehistoric crucibles and other metalworking ceramics are often described as highly specialised tools made from refractory materials, but little is known about regional trajectories and individual material developments. Hence, further analyses of materials from less studied regions are needed. The current study investigates the technological development of crucibles from late prehistoric Scotland and its relation to technological choices and specialisation. The examination, using ceramic petrography and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy, focuses on the selection of clays and additives for the manufacture of crucibles in contrast to moulds and pottery. It is demonstrated that the production of crucibles in the late prehistoric period predominantly used local resources. Late Bronze Age crucibles have a close relationship with other types of technical and domestic ceramics, while materials in the Iron Age indicate an increased material specialisation for the preparation of particular fabrics. This development is seen across Scotland and echoes trends seen in other areas of Europe, emphasising the role and importance of metallurgical and technological networks.     

BYZANTINE CERAMIC PRODUCTION FROM CUMA (CAMPI FLEGREI,NAPOLI)*

Samples of table and cooking ware, dating back to the Byzantine period of the ancient Greek colony of Cuma, were analysed by optical microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, X‐ray fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy, in order to reconstruct the main technological properties of these manufactures. The comparison of minero‐petrographical data from these samples with those of some kiln wastes allowed us to hypothesize a local manufacture for most of the investigated specimens and to confirm the relative reference groups. A restricted number of samples did not link with the main groups, indicating a regional (or maybe extra‐regional) production, in agreement with the widespread circulation of this high‐medieval ceramic production in southern Italy.     

ABUSE,REUSE, RECYCLE: THE USES OF BASALT ORTHOSTATS AT HAZOR IN THE BRONZE AND IRON AGES

This paper investigates the use of basalt orthostats in Syro‐Anatolia throughout the Bronze and Iron Ages, focusing on the changes in their consumption at Hazor. Used to reflect the wealth and power of city rulers in the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, this practice continued in the Iron Age in Syro‐Anatolia, while at Hazor it stopped entirely. By applying the modern concepts of counter‐monumentality and spolia, it is suggested that, at Hazor, the orthostats were used by the Iron Age inhabitants of the city to glorify the destruction of the Late Bronze Age city and to humiliate the previous royalty of Hazor, thus exhibiting their victory over its Canaanite rulers.     

CHEMICAL AND LEAD ISOTOPE ANALYSES OF GREEK LATE NEOLITHIC AND EARLY BRONZE AGE METALS

Results of a combined archaeological and analytical project of Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age copper, bronze and lead artefacts from four distinct areas of mainland Greece are presented. The aim of the study is to understand better the stages of technological development of each region, their possible ore sources and also to assess any external contribution to or internal evolution of their metallurgy. Interesting results which could challenge the established view of Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age metallurgy in the Greek mainland are presented.     

Heat Treatment of Mineral Pigment During the Upper Palaeolithic in North‐East Italy

The use of red ochre for utilitarian, symbolic and artistic purposes is widely documented in prehistoric contexts. The absence of adequate red‐coloured raw materials influenced the development of technological activities aimed at modifying the original physiochemical properties of yellow ochre. The heat treatment of goethite to obtain hematite was investigated in the western sector of the Lessini Mountains in north‐east Italy, where red ochre was found in the (Proto)Aurignacian levels at Fumane cave and in the Late Epigravettian sequence at Tagliente rockshelter. The combination of X‐ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) proved that heat treatment was a common practice in the studied archaeological sites due to the scarce availability of suitable hematite‐based material in the region.     

BETWEEN WARRIORS AND CHAMPIONS: WARFARE AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN THE LATER PREHISTORY OF THE NORTH‐WESTERN IBERIAN PENINSULA1

This article explores changes in the ‘art of warfare’ among societies in the north‐western Iberian Peninsula in the Late Bronze and Iron Ages. These changes are interpreted as a manifestation of the transformation experienced by societies living in the region first from ‘warrior societies’ to ‘societies with warriors’ at the end of the Bronze Age and then back to ‘warrior societies’ in the Late Iron Age. Evidence of individual combat as a manifestation of ‘societies with warriors’ is analysed in the broader context of Indo‐European and ethnographical examples. It reflects societies in which there were groups specialized in warfare and represents the establishment, in the region, of an Indo‐European warrior ideology.     

THE ISOTOPIC COMPOSITION OF TIN IN SOME ANCIENT METALS AND THE RECYCLING PROBLEM IN METAL PROVENANCING

A recent suggestion that some ancient metallurgical processes might give rise to large changes (> 0.5%) in the isotopic composition of tin gave hope that it might be possible to identify ancient bronze samples which had undergone recycling and mixing processes. This paper describes a method for the analysis of the isotopic composition of tin by thermal ionization mass spectrometry and applies it to analyse a number of ancient bronzes and tin metal objects from the Bronze Age Mediterranean. No observable isotopic fractionation of tin was found above $0.1% in the ratio¹²² Sn/¹¹⁶. Consequently, either recycling of bronze in the Late Bronze Age Mediterranean was not so common as supposed, or the isotopic composition of tin is not fractionated by anthropogenic metallurgical processes to the extent predicted by the Bradford group.     

An Alakul funeral and ritual site in the Eastern Orenburg region

An unusual funeral and ritual site of the Alakul culture is described. It is situated in the northern periphery of a Late Bronze Age mining and metallurgical center in the Ural–Mugodzhary region, and is associated with the Ishkinovka group of ancient copper mines, which began to be exploited in the Early Bronze Age. A stone statue and votive objects suggest that the kurgan was a sanctuary marking a tribal area and a ritual center of a population engaged in copper mining and copper metallurgy