Bronze is the defining metal of the European Bronze Age and has been at the center of archaeological and science-based research for well over a century. Archaeometallurgical studies have largely focused on determining the geological origin of the constituent metals, copper and tin, and their movement from producer to consumer sites. More recently, the effects of recycling, both temporal and spatial, on the composition of the circulating metal stock have received much attention. Also, discussions of the value and perception of bronze, both as individual objects and as hoarded material, continue to be the focus of scholarly debate. Here, we bring together the sometimes-diverging views of several research groups on these topics in an attempt to find common ground and set out the major directions of the debate, for the benefit of future research. The paper discusses how to determine and interpret the geological provenance of new metal entering the system; the circulation of extant metal across time and space, and how this is seen in changing compositional signatures; and some economic aspects of metal production. These include the role of metal-producing communities within larger economic settings, quantifying the amount of metal present at any one time within a society, and aspects of hoarding, a distinctive European phenomenon that is less prevalent in the Middle Eastern and Asian Bronze Age societies.
Engaging with both typological and contextual approaches, this paper endeavours to take a fresh look at one of the most emblematic groups of Atlantic Late Bronze Age metalwork depositions. Taking a revised typo-chronology for carp's-tongue swords as a starting point, we compare single-piece deposition of these items with their occurrence in hoards of mixed composition. Clear regional trends emerge as a result. We also contrast the composition of carp's-tongue hoards on both sides of the English Channel, highlighting the impact that poorly defined key types can have on our perception of an entire complex of metalwork assemblages. Overall, the composition of carp's-tongue hoards proves rather uniform across this geographical divide. Some noteworthy differences, however, can be discerned between British and French assemblages.
Algunas reflexiones sobre el bronce inicial en el noroeste peninsular. La cuestión del llamado horizonte "Montelavar" DIRK BRANDHERM Ruhr-Universität Bochum Institut für Archäologische Wissenschaften Fach Ur-und Frühgeschichte ResumenA pesar de una larga historia de investigación, el Bronce Inicial del Noroeste peninsular sigue siendo uno de los fenómenos menos conocidos de la Edad del Bronce en el ámbito geográfico de la Península Ibérica. Hasta el momento, la mayoría de los intentos para caracterizar mejor este período, particularmente la propuesta de un 'horizonte Montelavar' o 'grupo Montelavar', formulada por Harrison hace treinta años, han contado con ciertos problemas conceptuales, lo que efectivamente ha inhibido su consideración unánime por parte de la investigación posterior. En el presente artículo emprendemos una sistematización sobre todo del registro funerario durante el Bronce Inicial del sector noroccidental de la Península Ibérica desde una nueva perspectiva, prestando particular atención al papel de la región dentro de la red de comunicación interregional que caracteriza el Bronce Inicial en la fachada atlántica. Palabras claves: Bronce Antiguo. Península Ibérica. Horizonte Montelavar. AbstractAlthough considerable effort has gone into the study of the subject, the Early Bronze Age of northwestern Iberia remains one of the more poorly understood phenomena of the Iberian Bronze Age. Most past attempts to systemise the relevant archaeological evidence did suffer from certain conceptual problems, particulary Harrison's notion of a 'Montelavar horizon' or 'Montelavar group', formulated thirty years ago. As a consequence, neither this nor any of the other concepts which have been put forward in the past, has ever been embraced by a majority of scholars. In the present article, we are trying to solve at least some of the problems that plagued earlier concepts, by taking a fresh look at the Early Bronze Age funerary record from northwestern Iberia. At the same time, we are looking at the role played by Galicia and northern Portugal in the network of interregional contacts which characterize the Early Bronze Age in Western Europe.
En la bibliografía reciente, la tan conocida espada de Guadalajara, conservada hoy en el Museo Arqueológico Nacional, por la mayoría de los autores no sólo es tratada como pieza única sino también como hallazgo descontextualizado. No obstante, las primeras referencias publicadas sobre esta pieza, mientras todavía formaba parte de la colección Rodríguez Bauza, parecen indicar que posiblemente en su origen pertenecía a un depósito que también incorporaba otras dos hojas de espada. Una de aquellas hojas probablemente se puede asociar a la chapa de oro suelta que hoy día se conserva junto con la espada restaurada ya en los años treinta. Durante la nueva restauración de este arma a fines de los años ochenta se hicieron visibles las huellas de dos enmangues distintos, demostrando así que el estado presente, con su suntuosa decoración de oro, corresponde a una modificación secundaria. Aunque en el caso de estas armas y sus enmangues cubiertos de oro se pudiera pensar en una influencia micénica, seguramente en el de los segundos por razones tecnológicas parece más probable un origen en la misma Meseta que en el Sureste, donde, en la cultura de El Argar, más bien se estaría preparado para contar con la intrusión dé elementos egeos. <*) Becario postdoctoral. Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Ciudad Universitaria de Cantoblanco. 28049 Madrid.El artículo fue remitido en su versión final el 5-6-98.An exceptional gold-hilted sword, presumably from the province of Guadalajara, which today is kept in Madrid at the National Museum of Archaeology, has usually been treated as an isolated find. However, early references to this piece, when it was kept in the Rodriguez Bauza collection, would seem to indicate that it may have formed part of a hoard together with two other swords, one of which apparently can be associated with fragments of a second hilt-cover of gold sheet, acquired originally with the complete sword. Furthermore, during re-restoration of the first sword, traces left on its surface from at least two different hilts, demonstrated that the current gold-covered design has to be considered a secondary modification. While some Mycenean influence in the design of these weapons and their ornaments cannot be ruled out, for technical reasons a production on the Meseta at least of the gold sheets seems more likely than in the Southeast, where the ElArgarculture is usually more readily associated with the diffusion of Aegean elements.Palabras clave: Bronce Medio. Espada. Depósito. Meseta. Orfebrería.
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