Choice Reviews Online · 1993 · 299 citations · 0 references
HumanitiesArchaeologyMining EngineeringGeochemistryMetallurgyPrehistoric ArchaeologyAlloysBronze Age ArchaeologyMetallurgical ArchaeologyMetalsMining ArchaeologyMining GeologyAncient MiningBronze Age ChronologyBronze Age Metal ProductionBronze Age MetallurgyBronze ProductionEarly MetallurgyMetal Mining HistoryMetallurgical Trade
Ancient mining and metallurgy in northern Eurasia began in the 7th–6th millennia BC, with significant development in the 5th millennium BC in the northern Balkans and Carpathians, placing metal‑producing centers in peripheral regions rather than the Near East. The study outlines successive metallurgical periods across regions—Carpatho‑Balkan Copper Age, Circumpontic early/middle Bronze Age, and Late Bronze Age Eurasian, European, Caucasian, Central Asian, and Irano‑Afghan provinces—detailing artifact groups, chemical composition, and spatial‑temporal dispersion. Analysis reveals patterns of international metallurgical trade, division of labor, and the eventual collapse of sociocultural systems in these centers during the 1st millennium BC. AATA.
A detailed study of the development of ancient mining and metallurgy in the northern half of Eurasia. While the first traces of metallurgical activity date from between the 7th and the 6th millennia BC, significant mining developed only in the 5th millennium BC in the northern Balkans and Carpathians. Metal-producing centers were in these northern peripheral regions rather than in the Near East and Asia Minor, areas traditionally associated with early classical civilization. Describes successive periods of metallurgical activity in different regions: the Carpatho-Balkan metallurgical province of the Copper Age; the Circumpontic of the early and middle Bronze Age; and the Eurasian, European, Caucasian, Central Asian, and Irano-Afghan of the Late Bronze Age. Provides detailed information about the different groups of copper and bronze artifacts, their chemical composition, and their dispersion in time and space. Analyzes the international metallurgical trade and division of labor, and, finally, the collapse of the sociocultural systems in these metallurgical centers in the 1st millenium BC. -- AATA