Analysis and Replication Studies of Prehistoric Chinese Ceramics from the Qijia Culture

MRS Advances ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (35-36) ◽  
pp. 1849-1867
Author(s):  
Elizabeth La Duc ◽  
Angela Chang
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Replication Studies ◽  
Qijia Culture ◽  
Interdisciplinary Research Project ◽  
Surface Decoration ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Manufacturing Techniques ◽  
Culture Centered

ABSTRACTEleven ancient Chinese ceramics from the early Bronze Age Qijia culture (c. 2200 – 1600 BCE) in the collection of the Harvard Art Museums were the subject of an interdisciplinary research project to explore questions about manufacturing techniques, specifically details of formation and decoration. While the Qijia culture, centered in the Gansu and Qinghai provinces of northwest China, is historically important as one of the earliest metalworking cultures of China and as a center of intercultural communication between China and central Asia, detailed scholarship about the culture is still emerging. Qijia ceramics have been categorized by typology, but little has been done regarding methods of manufacture. This study used visual examination and digital X-radiography to investigate ceramic production, especially the use of a wheel. In addition, the ceramic paste, including natural inclusions and temper, was examined. While film radiography has often been used to study ceramics, digital radiography presented new capabilities as well as challenges. Experimentation through the making of test vessels and tiles at the Harvard Ceramics Program provided additional insights into Qijia ceramics’ manufacture and surface decoration techniques, often described as cord-impressed.

Research on the Hungarian Bronze Age since 1936 and the Bronze-Age Settlement at Békés-Várdomb

1956 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 123-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Banner
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
The State ◽  
Detailed Account ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Modern Approach ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Bronze Age ◽  
At Home

The state of current knowledge on the Bronze Age in Hungary, was summed up twenty years ago by Dr Francis Tompa, who had by then written several shorter studies on the subject, and had excavated a number of cemeteries and settlements. His summary defined the modern approach to the Bronze Age in Hungary though his conclusions have since been modified in detail by later explorers. How fruitful his work proved to be was shown by the interest of critics abroad and by the fact that research at home took a sudden upward swing.A few years later Dr Paul Patay published a study in which he came to somewhat different conclusions on the chronology of the Early Bronze Age; he also gave a detailed account of the various cultures that must have shaped the course of the Bronze Age in Hungary and in this he was substantially in agreement with Dr Francis Tompa.Dr Amelia Mozsolics dealt with chronological problems of the Bronze Age in Hungary, but had not yet reached satisfactory newer conclusions. Her paper was published only in Hungarian. She presented a useful summary of the history of her subject, and at the same time sharply criticized the views held by foreign and Hungarian experts on the Bronze Age.

Double Edged Blades: Re-visiting the British (and Irish) Flint Daggers

2014 ◽  
Vol 80 ◽  
pp. 33-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine J. Frieman
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Early 20Th Century ◽  
No Production ◽  
New Classification ◽  
Dry Land ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Made In

Flint daggers are a well-known and closely studied category of artefact found throughout western Europe during the final centuries of the Neolithic and the earliest phases of metal use. They are widely linked to the adoption of metal objects and metallurgy – in many cases being described as copies of metal daggers. In Britain, several hundred flint daggers have been recovered from a variety of contexts, among the best known of which are a handful of rich Beaker single inhumation burials. The British flint daggers were of great interest to early archaeologists, and were the subject of several publications in the early 20th century, most notably the seminal 1931 typochronology and catalogue by W.F. Grimes. However, despite 80 years of evolution in our understanding of the British Early Bronze Age, Beaker burials, European flint daggers, and lithic technology in general, little further attention has been accorded to the British flint daggers. This paper returns to the flint daggers deposited in British contexts. It proposes a new classification for British daggers, distinguishing between those probably produced in Britain and those brought in from elsewhere on the continent. It further examines thechaîne opératoirefor these daggers based on their final form as no production locales are yet known and examines in detail the choices made in their deposition, not just in funerary contexts but on dry land and, most importantly, in wet contexts. Finally, it proposes a sequence of development for British flint daggers which links them technologically and morphologically to lanceolate Scandinavian daggers in circulation in the Netherlands. It is suggested that people in south-east Britain knowingly played up this Dutch connection in order to highlight a specific ancestral identity linking them directly to communities across the Channel.

The Early Bronze Age Flint Dagger in England and Wales

1932 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 340-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. F. Grimes
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Simple Leaf ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Bronze Age ◽  
Very High

The chronology of the flint dagger which is the subject of the present paper has been discussed by R. A. Smith, who established the date of the type in the first phase of the Bronze Age, the period to which it had already been assigned by Montelius. A summary ot the list made by Mr. Smith is given in Appendix II below (p. 354-5); the few examples recorded with datable associations since 1919 bring the total up to 26.Sir John Evans's description, adopted by Mr. Smith, gives the length and breadth of the type as varying generally between 5 and 7 ins. and 1½ to 2½ ins. respectively, although both larger and smaller examples occur. The blades are thin in proportion to their length, and lanceolate in outline, although in this respect there is a certain amount of variation. Both faces are flaked, and the working is generally of a very high character. In some cases major excrescences have been reduced by grinding.Some typological development may be observed in the forms, although this cannot be compared with the elaborate evolution of the well-known Scandinavian series (below, p. 350). The changes take place in the butt. The earliest form typoiogically speaking, would seem to be a simple leaf-shaped blade, the widest part of which is approximately at the middle. There is no distinction between blade and tang or handle, and the latter is generally rounded off. Such daggers as the Green Low, Alsop Moor (Appendix I, no. 27, and fig. 1), and Acklam Wold (126) examples represent this form. It is not always easy to decide, however, whether other blades approximating to this shape represent a so-called prototype, and care has also to be taken to differentiate surface-found laurel-leaf blades of Solutrean age, although these are more usually pointed at both ends.

scholarly journals “Shaping” and “Painting” during the Early Bronze Age: the Case-study of Pottery of Colle della Croce (Scicli, Ragusa)

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Veca
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Pottery Technology ◽  
Cultural Districts ◽  
Manufacturing Techniques ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Technical Features ◽  
Local Traditions ◽  
Technical Solutions

AbstractPottery technology, although largely neglected in studies of the Sicilian Early Bronze Age (Castelluccio culture, 2200-1450 BC), represents a strategic field of research for focusing on main steps of manufacturing of Castelluccian vessels. In this perspective, the evidence from the archaeological deposit of Colle della Croce (Scicli, Ragusa) has allowed us to emphasise some new technical features that can be observed in the production within other cultural districts. The most significant phase of the study was the autoptic examination of materials and surfaces that led to the definition of this production as medium and coarse ware, with the use of different kinds of technical solutions in relation to different uses and functions. The manufacturing techniques, especially when surface treatment is clearly recognizable on fragmentary specimens, can be conditioned by several factors, such as the shape type and the function of the vessel. Features such as working plans and supporting systems were observed quite frequently, as well as polishing techniques and joints slots for the handles that could be interpreted as ‘workshop standards’ rather than simply local traditions.

Folklore of Fossils Part II

Antiquity ◽  
1965 ◽  
Vol 39 (154) ◽  
pp. 117-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Oakley
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Sea Urchin ◽  
Oral Tradition ◽  
Sea Urchins ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Left Shoulder ◽  
The South ◽  
Southern England ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Country People

There are several kinds of fossil sea-urchin that are the subject of folklore, the commonest in the south of England being casts in flint, derived from the Chalk, of the heart-urchinMicraster, and of the helmet-urchinEchinocorys. Both of these, but more commonly the latter, are known to the country people as shepherd's crowns or fairy loaves (PL. xxib). Formerly at least, the Essex labourer believed that so long as one of these fossil sea-urchins was kept in the house, his family would never go short of bread (Johnson 1908, 149). At a number of localities in southern England fossil echinoids are traditionally placed on dairy shelves to keep milk from going sour. This practice is clearly linked with the ancient idea that these fossils are thunderstones.The earliest known case of fossil echinoids being used in a ceremonial burial is in the Early Bronze Age tumulus on the Dunstable Downs, where nearly IOO shepherd’s crowns, mainlyMicraster, had been arranged to encircle the bodies of a woman and child (Worthington Smith 1894, frontispiece, 337-8). H. S. Toms collected evidence that up to the middle of the last century fossil sea-urchins were called thunderstones throughout Sussex, whereas they are now simply regarded as ‘lucky’ (PL. XXIIb), and if seen in the soil and not brought home, at least one should spit on the shepherd’s crown and throw it over the left shoulder. Even the idea of luck being attached to sea-urchins found on the fields has disappeared latterly from many villages. As there were still scattered traces of the thunderstone belief in Sussex in 1930, it is probable that more than a century ago the thunderstone aspect was dominant there. This idea survived longer in West Sussex than in East Sussex, and oral tradition can be traced back to 1860.

Patterns of metal procurement, manufacture and exchange in Early Bronze Age northwestern Anatolia: Demircihüyük and beyond

2017 ◽  
Vol 67 ◽  
pp. 51-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele Massa ◽  
Orlene McIlfatrick ◽  
Erkan Fidan
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Central Anatolia ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Composition Analysis ◽  
Central Plateau ◽  
Anatolian Plateau ◽  
Chemical Composition Analysis ◽  
Prehistoric Mining ◽  
Manufacturing Techniques ◽  
Mould Casting

AbstractThis paper adds a new interpretive layer to the already extremely well-investigated site of Demircihüyük, a small Early Bronze Age settlement at the northwestern fringes of the central Anatolian plateau. It presents a reassessment of the evidence for prehistoric mining in the region, as well as a new programme of chemical composition analysis integrated with an object functional and technological typology of the site's metal assemblages. The results reveal complex manufacturing techniques (such as bivalve mould casting, plating and lost wax) and the co-occurrence of several alloying types, including the earliest tin bronzes in the region. Object typology further indicates that the Demircihüyük community was at the intersection of two distinct metallurgical networks: one centred on the western Anatolian highlands, the other spanning the northern part of the central plateau. Additionally, several strands of evidence suggest that the beginning of interregional exchanges, linking central Anatolia to northern Levantine and Mesopotamian societies, may have started at an earlier date than the commonly assumed ca 3000–2800 BC.

scholarly journals IMAGES OF A BULL IN ROCK ART OF THE ANGARA

2022 ◽  
pp. 26-36
Author(s):  
А. Л. Заика ◽  
А. М. Клементьев
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Rock Art ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Taiga Zone ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Ancient Rock ◽  
Artistic Tradition

Изучение древнего наскального искусства требует междисциплинарного подхода. Cотрудничество исследователей петроглифов и палеозоологов позволяет провести реконструкцию состава палеофауны региона, помогает в интерпретации териоморфных образов. Предметом изучения данной статьи являются похожие на быков изображения в наскальном искусстве р. Ангара. Многие изображения датируются эпохой неолита - ранней бронзы. Причины их появления в таежном наскальном искусстве могли быть различными: влияние художественной традиции окуневской культуры с юга; стилизация образа лося или оленя; мифологизация образов таежных животных; наличие для древнего художника реальной натуры - дикого быка. Согласно данным палеозоологии в эпоху голоцена на Ангаре обитали реликтовые животные - бизоны, туры. Возможно, они обитали и на Среднем Енисее. Это позволило высказать предположение, что в наскальном искусстве изображен дикий бык, на которого охотился древний человек. The study of ancient rock art requires an interdisciplinary approach. Active cooperation of rock art researchers and paleozoologists makes it possible to reconstruct the composition of the paleofauna, to interpret theriomorphic images. The subject of the article is images similar to bulls in rock art on the Angara River. Many of the images date back to the Neolithic - early Bronze Age. The reasons for their appearance in taiga zone rock art could be diff erent: the infl uence of artistic tradition of the Okunev culture from the South; stylization of the image of an elk or a deer; mythologization of the images of taiga zone animals; the presence of a real animal in the nature - a wild bull. According to paleozoological data of the Holocene Epoch the Angara River valley was inhabited by relict animals - bisons, tours. Perhaps, they also lived in the Middle Yenisei. Therefore, we suggest that some petroglyphs depict a wild bull, which was hunted by an ancient man.

scholarly journals Skupinové pohřebiště únětické kultury z Lovosic (okr. Litoměřice). K funerálním areálům starší doby bronzové v severozápadních Čechách / The Únětice Culture Group Cemetery from Lovosice (Litoměřice District). On Early Bronze Age Burial Grounds in Northwest Bohemia

2021 ◽  
Vol 112 ◽  
pp. 101-196
Author(s):  
Marek Půlpán ◽  
Katarína Petriščáková ◽  
Jana Kuljavceva Hlavová ◽  
Agnieszka Půlpánová-Reszczyńska ◽  
Peter Pavúk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Mature Stage ◽  
Exchange System ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Old Adults ◽  
River Region ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Wooden Structures ◽  
Burial Grounds

The subject of the article is the “group” Unětice culture cemetery from the Early Bronze Age investigated in 2014 in Lovosice (Litoměřice district, northwest Bohemia). The cemetery’s dating to 2021–1751 BC corresponds to the mature stage of the Unětice culture in other parts of Bohemia (Moucha’s preclassical and classical stages). The cemetery is characterised by stone and apparently even wooden structures, multiple burials and the exclusive presence of miniature vessels. The population was composed primarily of old adults with the corresponding degenerative productive changes; only two non-adults were determined. Epigenetic marks on the skeletons testifying to a certain degree of kinship between the buried individuals were documented at the group cemetery and outside of it. New excavations have provided more detailed information on the spatial structure of burial grounds which, in addition to large cemeteries (of the Liběšovice, Březno near Louny, and Velke Žernoseky type), are composed of cemeteries with 10–20 graves, small groups of graves and solitary graves. These are also frequently accompanied by contemporary settlements located either close to the cemeteries or, as in the case of Lovosice, in the middle of the burial grounds. The spatial distribution of exogenous artefacts (amber beads, gold ornaments, silicite daggers) points to the possibility of the existence of an established network of long-distance routes in northwest Bohemia in the Early Bronze Age. One of the possible nodal points connected to the long-distance exchange system could have been located in the lower Ohře River region. This is documented, among other things, by the concentration of burial grounds with exceptional finds, settlements with evidence of metallurgy and the largest Bohemian hoards of ingots concentrated in the geographically defined microregion of Lovosice.

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