ABSOLUTE DATING OF THE AEGEAN LATE BRONZE AGE

A recent argument for raising the absolute date of the beginning of the Aegean Late Bronze (LB) Age to about 1700 B.C. is critically examined. It is argued here that: (1) the alabaster lid from Knossos did have the strati-graphical context assigned to it by Evans, in all probability Middle Minoan IIIA, c. 1650 B.C.; (2) the attempt to date the alabastron found in an early Eighteenth Dynasty context at Aniba to Late Minoan IIIA:1 is open to objections; (3) radiocarbon dates from Aegean LB I contexts are too wide in their calibrated ranges and too inconsistent both within and between site sets to offer any reliable grounds at present for raising Aegean LB I absolute chronology to 1700 B.C. Other evidence, however, suggests this period began about 1600 B.C., i.e. some fifty years earlier than the conventional date of 1550 B.C.     

THE EAST MEDITERRANEAN LATE BRONZE AGE GLASS TRADE WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE PANAZTEPE FINDS

The Late Bronze Age is a period during which intensive transactions occurred in the Mediterranean and Near East. The glass trade became a real industry, exhibiting the innovations of the period from around the region. The glass finds of the Late Bronze Age consisted of valuable gifts exchanged between the elite classes of Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Aegean. The objective of this study is to reconstruct Late Bronze Age glass trade systems in the light of archaeological data recovered from Panaztepe, located in the Izmir region of west Anatolia. The glass finds at Panaztepe are represented by examples such as necklace spacers, relief beads, and spherical and circular beads recovered from the two burial grounds. While the interior chronologies of the tombs have not been completely distinguished, it is thought that most of these finds were used during the Late Helladic III A–B periods.     

DATING THE AEGEAN LATE BRONZE AGE WITH RADIOCARBON: ADDENDUM

Additional comment on the new high-precision calibration curves and tables published after this article (Archaeometry 29 (1), 1987, 45–49) was in press.     

THE FIRST LAKE-DWELLERS OF LITHUANIA: LATE BRONZE AGE PILE SETTLEMENTS ON LAKE LUOKESAS

Summary.   Lake Luokesas in Lithuania has become the centre of attention in northern European wetland archaeological research after the discovery of two Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age pile dwellings. Their unique location, chronology and building techniques have the potential to revolutionise our understanding of important aspects of wetland communities in later prehistoric Europe.     

CHEMICAL AND MINERALOGICAL APPROACHES TO THE ORGANIZATION OF LATE BRONZE AGE NUZI WARE PRODUCTION

In order to investigate the nature and organization of high‐status ceramic production in the Late Bronze Age, samples of Nuzi Ware from four different sites were analysed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM–EDS) and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP–AES). Chemical and mineralogical evidence suggests that Nuzi Ware was produced in at least two distinct regions, one probably in the Adhaim Basin in northern Iraq and another possibly in the Orontes catchment in southeastern Turkey. The existence of individual production units probably developed in response to the local elites' desire to imitate the tastes of the Mitanni aristocracy, resulting in a mapping of political relationships on to material culture.     

THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE OF THE CHINESE BRONZE AGE

The Chinese Bronze Age culture from the 19^th to the 1^st century BC can be divided into four zones: the Central Plain in the middle and the lower Yellow River region; the Northern zone along the Great Wall; the Southern zone, south to the middle and the lower Yangzi River; the Southwestern zone covering the upper Yangzi River. In each zone, bronzes are not only different in types and styles but also function differently responding to the processes of the early state formation and social development. More precisely, in the first zone, there are mainly ritual bronzes, serving as symbols of the social and political hierarchy. In the second zone, there are mainly utilitarian items such as weapons, tools, bronzes of everyday use, ornaments, as well as horse‐chariot fittings. Bronze musical instruments characterise the third zone. And bronzes of the fourth zone are realistic or symbolic in style, depicting scenes of social life. Though having different cultural origins and characteristics, the four zones communicate with and influence each other continuously, creating a dynamic cultural landscape of the Chinese Bronze Age.     

ISOTOPIC DISCRIMINANTS BETWEEN LATE BRONZE AGE GLASSES FROM EGYPT AND THE NEAR EAST

This paper presents oxygen, strontium and neodymium isotopic analysis from a series of Late Bronze Age glasses from Egypt and Mesopotamia. It was found that oxygen and neodymium isotopes alone cannot readily distinguish between glasses from the various sites. However, combined Sr and Nd isotope analysis separate the data into three groups: an Egyptian group with relatively low Sr and Nd ratios; a Late Bronze Age (LBA) Nuzi group with high Sr and low Nd ratios; and an intermediate Sr and high Nd ratio grouping of glasses from Tell Brak. These findings suggest that most of the glass from Nuzi and Tell Brak had different raw materials and hence the glass was probably produced at different manufacturing sites. However, one glass ingot found at Tell Brak (TB1) appears to have Nuzi‐type Sr–Nd characteristics. This is the first positive identification of multiple production sites in LBA Mesopotamia and an exceptional example of a glass that may have been exchanged from one LBA site to another.     

METALWORKING TECHNIQUES ON THE EURASIAN STEPPES IN THE LATE BRONZE AGE: TECHNICAL ANALYSES OF THE BORODINO TREASURE SPEARHEADS

The Late Bronze Age is a period characterized by chariots and riders, spearheads, bows and battle axes. Such are the assemblages of grave goods attributed to the Seima‐Turbino, Timber‐grave, Abashevo, Sintashta, Pokrovsk and other cultures of the Eurasian forest‐steppe and steppe belt. Although hoard deposits are comparatively rare in this context, this category of finds has also provided some extraordinary examples of metalwork. This paper reports on the analysis of three such artefacts, namely the gold‐ornamented silver‐alloy spearheads from the ‘treasure’ recovered near Borodino in Ukraine at the beginning of the twentieth century. The high‐ resolution technological study of these items presented here includes experimental research to produce similar decorative patterns and a comparison of the resulting traces and imprints with the original archaeological artefacts. The results help to identify use‐wear traces and reveal new information about casting and crafting techniques, tool sets and individual technical styles. Although the spearheads share some basic decorative features such as a gold plate attached to the silver, variations in the tools used and the technical repertoire – chasing, punching, and cutting – suggest that the spearheads were decorated by different hands. The study inevitably leaves many questions about the ‘life history’ for these objects unanswered, but takes the first steps towards a more complete understanding of this remarkable assemblage.     

DIRECT EVIDENCE OF PRIMARY GLASS PRODUCTION IN LATE BRONZE AGE AMARNA,EGYPT

This paper presents direct archaeological evidence for the primary production of glass at the LBA site of Tell el‐Amarna, in the form of numerous finds of semi‐finished glass. The diagnostic microstructural and chemical composition of these finds is presented alongside macroscopically similar finds, of shapeless lumps of finished white glass. The semi‐finished glass was found to contain numerous inclusions of residual quartz and newly formed lime‐rich crystal phases, but no added colorant. However, several samples of semi‐finished glass have antimony oxide levels comparable to those of finished white glass, suggesting that the opacifier was added to the initial glass‐making batch. The results are discussed in comparison with the evidence for glass‐making from Qantir – Pi‐Ramesse, identifying some close technical similarities, which indicate that the same technological processes were used at both sites for the production of glass.     

RESEARCH NOTES AND APPLICATION REPORTS DATING THE AEGEAN LATE BRONZE AGE WITH RADIOCARBON*

The beginning of the Late Bronze Age in the Aegean has usually been thought to coincide with the start of the Eighteenth Dynasty in Egypt, and radiocarbon dates (which consistently suggest an earlier chronology) have been rejected by Aegean specialists because they do not agree with this view. Evidence from pottery is used to re-examine the links between the Aegean and Egypt, with the conclusion that the Aegean Late Bronze Age began during the Hyksos period.     

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.     

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.     

DATING THE BRONZE AGE IN SPAIN

Summary. How can archaeologists combine and use C14 determinations when they have irregular recalibrated dates? This question is solved by an example with six determinations from the Bronze Age settlement of El Castillo in the mountains of eastern Spain. For the first time we can date precisely the end of the Eneolithic to 2150–2110 BC, and the start of a Bronze Age expansion stage by 1960 BC. Each has a distinctive material culture; that of the Bronze Age stage is linked closely to the climax of the Motillas in La Mancha, and more distantly to El Argar in SE Spain.     

APPLICATION OF LEAD ISOTOPE ANALYSIS TO A WIDE RANGE OF LATE BRONZE AGE EGYPTIAN MATERIALS*

Lead isotope analysis was applied to Egyptian materials from the Late Bronze Age in order to investigate the relationship between these different materials, many of which have lead as a significant component. The galena kohls analysed can be provenanced to Gebel Zeit, a large mining site known to have been active during the period. However, the source of lead metal is different and seems to be outside Egypt, along with the source of copper. Lead‐based pigments such as lead antimonate that were used in glass and glazes seem mostly to come from Egypt, although they may well contain a component of ‘Mesopotamian’ lead. In the Predynastic period, galena from many sources is being exploited for use as kohl. However, by the Middle Kingdom (2055–1650 bc ), extraction has concentrated on one source, Gebel Zeit, perhaps reflecting increasingly centralized control and/or the use of large‐scale exploitation. It therefore appears that a complex pattern of trade in lead‐based materials was evident, with lead metal and galena being separate commodities from separate sources and treated as such.     

INEQUALITY BEFORE THE BRONZE AGE: THE CASE OF CHALCOLITHIC CYPRUS

The emergence and nature of social inequality has been the topic of a substantial amount of research in recent years, with one group of scholars concluding that social inequality increased significantly with the rise of urbanism on the basis of the application of Gini measures, and another group arguing that social inequalities existed long before urbanism and that not all urban societies were class societies. Here, we present the case of Chalcolithic Cyprus, a decidedly pre-urban period for which we have quantifiable evidence that might indicate social inequality. On the basis of this dataset we will re-evaluate recent postulates on the emergence and nature of social inequality.     

WHEELS WITH THICKENED SPOKES, AND THE PROBLEM OF CULTURAL CONTACT BETWEEN THE AEGEAN WORLD AND EUROPE IN THE LATE BRONZE AGE

Summary. A technological advance in wheel construction, entailing spokes with thickened or strengthened ends, can be detected in Central Europe at the start of the Late Bronze Age. Spokes with thickened ends are seen in Central Europe on full-size wheels, wagon models and wheel depictions. It is argued that this technological innovation had its source in the Aegean, where wheels with thickened spokes are seen not only depicted on late Mycenaean craters but also on Linear B wheel ideograms. The second part of the article discusses a closely-related Central European group of wheel-shaped designs, characterised by forked spokes, found on pin-heads, pendants, decorated belt-sheets, phalerae and belt-hooks. As some of these designs refer to real wheels constructed with thickened or strengthened spoke ends, it is concluded that the designs really represent wheels, although the designs are often so simplified that this is not immediately apparent.