Bronze Age Metalworking in the Netherlands (c. 2000-800 BC)

Bronze Age Metalworking in the Netherlands (c. 2000-800 BC)

Author: M. H. G. Kuijpers

Publisher: Sidestone Press

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 178

ISBN-13: 9088900159

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Almost fifty years ago J. J. Butler started his research to trace the possible remains of a Bronze Age metalworker's workshop in the Netherlands. Yet, while metalworking has been deduced on the ground of the existence of regional types of axes and some scarce finds related to metalworking, the smith's workplace has remained elusive. In this Research Master Thesis I have tried to tackle this problem. I have considered both the social as well as the technological aspects of metalworking to be able to determine conclusively whether metalworking took place in the Netherlands or not. The first part of the thesis revolves around the social position of the smith and the social organization of metalworking. My approach entails a re-evaluation of the current theories on metalworking, which I believe to be unfounded and one-sided. They tend to disregard production of everyday objects of which the most prominent example is the axe. The second part deals with the technological aspects of metalworking and how these processes are manifested in the archaeological record. Based on evidence from archaeological sites elsewhere in Europe and with the aid of experimental archaeology a metalworking toolkit is constructed. Finally, a method is presented which might help archaeologists recognize the workplace of a Bronze Age smith.


Appendices to A Living Landscape

Appendices to A Living Landscape

Author: Stijn Arnoldussen

Publisher: Sidestone Press

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13: 9088900124

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This publication contains the six main appendices to the PhD thesis "A Living Landscape: Bronze Age settlement sites in the Dutch river area (c. 2000-800 BC)" by Stijn Arnoldussen which was published by Sidestone Press in 2008. That study comprises an analysis of the nature (i.e. the constituent components) and dynamics (i.e. diachronic approaches to settlement dynamics) of the settlement sites. It aims to integrate and synthesize interpretations of Bronze Age settlements based on a number of large-scale excavations. The discussion of the archaeological and geological research on these sites, as well as more detailed source criticism and long-term overviews of the occupation histories of six (c. 30 km2) macro-regions around them, could for sake of conciseness not be incorporated into the main stud's text. However, such discussions contain critical information necessary to interpret the results and to evaluate their representativeness, and this information is now made available in this separate publication. While these texts are primarily appendices to the thesis, they can be read separately by those who are particularly interested in the the excavations at Zijderveld, Rumpt - Eigenblok, Wijk bij Duurstede, Meteren - De Bogen, Lienden - Kesteren or Dodewaard, which have been published in Dutch. In addition, the appendices provide a recent overview of the palaeogeographical development and occupation history of six large macro-regions in the Dutch river area. This information may be of relevance to those studying other sites within these macro-regions for the period under study (c. 2000-800 BC). Stijn Arnoldussen studied the prehistory of northwestern Europe at Leiden University and won the 'W. A. van Es' award for the best Dutch archaeological MA thesis. From 2003 to 2007 he was involved in a research project that focused on the Bronze Age cultural landscape in the Dutch river area. The present book is a result of this project. Stijn Arnoldussen is also co-editor of the book 'Bronze Age settlements in the Low Countries' (Oxbow Books, 2008). He is presently employed as a senior researcher with the Dutch National Service for Archaeology, Cultural Landscape and Built Heritage (RACM) and starting November 2008, he will be employed as a lecturer in later prehistory at the University of Groningen.


Bronze Age Metalwork: Techniques and traditions in the Nordic Bronze Age 1500-1100 BC

Bronze Age Metalwork: Techniques and traditions in the Nordic Bronze Age 1500-1100 BC

Author: Heide W. Nørgaard

Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd

Published: 2018-10-19

Total Pages: 519

ISBN-13: 178969020X

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Bronze ornaments of the Nordic Bronze Age were elaborate objects that served as status symbols to communicate social hierarchy. An interdisciplinary investigation of the artefacts (dating from 1500-1100 BC) was adopted to elucidate their manufacture and origin, resulting in new insights into metal craft in northern Europe during the Bronze Age.


Metalworkers and their Tools: Symbolism, Function, and Technology in the Bronze and Iron Ages

Metalworkers and their Tools: Symbolism, Function, and Technology in the Bronze and Iron Ages

Author: Linda Boutoille

Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd

Published: 2023-11-30

Total Pages: 186

ISBN-13: 1803276258

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12 papers by 22 authors from the “Metools” symposium (Queens University, Belfast, 2016), aim to shine a spotlight on the tools of the metalworker and to follow their evolution from the beginning of the Bronze Age through to the Iron Age, as well as the place held by metalworking and its artisans in the economic and social landscape of the period.


An Archaeology of Skill

An Archaeology of Skill

Author: Maikel H.G. Kuijpers

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-08-03

Total Pages: 438

ISBN-13: 1351765809

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Material is the mother of innovation and it is through skill that innovations are brought about. This core thesis that is developed in this book identifies skill as the linchpin of – and missing link between – studies on craft, creativity, innovation, and material culture. Through a detailed study of early bronze age axes the question is tackled of what it involves to be skilled, providing an evidence based argument about levels of skill. The unique contribution of this work is that it lays out a theoretical framework and methodology through which an empirical analysis of skill is achievable. A specific chaîne opératoire for metal axes is used that compares not only what techniques were used, but also how they were applied. A large corpus of axes is compared in terms of what skills and attention were given at the different stages of their production. The ideas developed in this book are of interest to the emerging trend of ‘material thinking’ in the human and social sciences. At the same time, it looks towards and augments the development in craft-studies, recognising the many different aspects of craft in contemporary and past societies, and the particular relationship that craftspeople have with their material. Drawing together these two distinct fields of research will stimulate (re)thinking of how to integrate production with discussions of other aspects of object biographies, and how we link arguments about value to social models.


Sacrificial Landscapes

Sacrificial Landscapes

Author: David R. Fontijn

Publisher: Sidestone Press

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 420

ISBN-13:

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This work focuses on the Bronze Age metal finds of one small European region, the southern Netherlands. It looks at the evidence for the selective deposition of metal objects, and discusses the "cultural biographies" of bronze weapons, ornaments, and axes.


A Completely Normal Practice

A Completely Normal Practice

Author: Marieke Visser

Publisher:

Published: 2021-11-12

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 9789464280166

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Unravelling the logic behind the puzzling practice of selective metalwork deposition in the European Bronze Age.