Putting one’s heart(h) into forging: using the fire in Aegean metalworking at the end of the Neolithic - Archive ouverte HAL Accéder directement au contenu
Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2023

Putting one’s heart(h) into forging: using the fire in Aegean metalworking at the end of the Neolithic

Résumé

“Primitive metalworking” is considered, in opposition to “real metalworking/metallurgy”, as a process that involved only native minerals and coldworking and excluded the action of melting or smelting. The term “primitive” seems to imply a very simple way of making metal objects, and is used to describe the metalworking practices at the end of the Neolithic in Greece (5th-4th mill. B.C.). But by observing the copper, gold, and silver objects produced during the Late and Final Neolithic, we know that neolithic metalwork implies more complex stages. Regarding metalworking, and other productions such as ceramics, the pyrotechnic skills of these populations were probably high. Fire occupies a key role in these activities, as forging and annealing cycles, which require constant maintenance of the flame. Late Neolithic levels have also revealed many crucibles that were directly connected to fire techniques. Obviously, metalworking activities must be organized near a fireplace. However, they seem to occur in a domestic environment during the Neolithic, rather than in a workshop context as it was more common in the Bronze Age periods. Understanding the use and mastering of fire in neolithic metalworking is crucial for (re)defining what we could label with a more neutral term as “low heat”, rather than “primitive” metalworking practices.
Fichier non déposé

Dates et versions

hal-04450560 , version 1 (10-02-2024)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : hal-04450560 , version 1

Citer

Valentine Martin. Putting one’s heart(h) into forging: using the fire in Aegean metalworking at the end of the Neolithic. ScapeCon 6, Contextualizing Fire in Aegean Prehistory, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of History and Archaeology, Dec 2023, Thessalonique (GR), Greece. ⟨hal-04450560⟩
22 Consultations
0 Téléchargements

Partager

Gmail Facebook X LinkedIn More