Paint It Black: The Rise of Metallurgy in the Balkans

Abstract

This paper integrates archaeological, material, microstructural and compositional data of c. 7,000 years old metallurgical production evidence with the aim to address the knowledge of the world's earliest metalworkers. The main focus is placed on copper minerals, ores, slags, slagged sherds and metal droplets coming from four Vinča culture settlements in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina: Belovode, Pločnik, Vinča and Gornja Tuzla, all dated between c. 5400 and 4400 BC. Chemical study of copper minerals throughout all sites points at striking uniformity in selecting black and green minerals from the early days of the settlements' occupation, some of which predate the metal smelting events. Microstructural examination of metal production debris showed convincing technological similarity throughout c. six centuries of copper making in the studied sites, as well as a consistent choice of black and green ores for metal extraction. We argue that black and green ores were intentionally selected as ingredients for the metal smelting 'recipe' in the early stages of Balkan metallurgy based on the knowledge related to their characteristic visual aspects. This finding demonstrates how important the adequate combination of colours was for the early copper metalworkers and suggests a unique technological trajectory for the evolution of metallurgy in this part of the world. It also illustrates the capacity that micro-research carries in addressing the how and why of the emergence of metallurgy, and outlines a methodology for future studies of early metallurgies worldwide.

The Provenance, Use, and Circulation of Metals in the European Bronze Age: The State of Debate

“…The temperature and atmosphere of metallurgical processes are best inferred from the study of production debris such as slag, crucibles, tuyères, furnaces, and so on (e.g., Craddock 1995;Hauptmann 2014;Killick 2014;Rehren 2003;Tylecote 1976;Tylecote and Boydell 1978). The study of European Copper and Bronze Age metal production shows a wide variety of systems operating at different temperatures and redox environments, which would affect metal composition in various ways (e.g., Bourgarit 2007;Höppner et al 2005;Müller et al 2004;Murillo-Barroso et al 2017;Radivojević and Rehren 2016;Rovira 2004). If we focus on bronze specifically, there is widespread archaeological evidence, primarily from the Iberian Peninsula, for the production of the alloy by the co-smelting of copper and tin minerals, or the cementation of metallic copper with cassiterite in crucibles in rather wasteful reactions (i.e., with much tin lost in the slag), and with highly variable temperature and redox conditions within individual crucibles (e.g., Farci et al 2017;Figueiredo et al 2010;Rademakers and Rehren 2016;Rovira 2007;Valério et al 2014).…”

Plus ça change: pots, crucibles and the development of metallurgy in Chalcolithic Las Pilas (Mojácar, Spain)

“…As in other European settings (Doonan et al 2007;Dolfini 2013;Roberts 2014;Perucchetti et al 2015;Radivojević and Rehren 2016), how and when metalworking was developed in SE Iberia has become central to understanding the role of technology in social change, as well as processes of invention and diffusion. In these terms, researchers' attention has been drawn to the peculiarities exhibited by the metallurgical tradition developed in SE Iberia and its contrasts with neighbouring areas.…”

“…It is of interest that pottery of Almería type, such as that identified in Las Pilas, comprises a red-slipped shape already present in Neolithic levels, and that the schematic motifs in symbolic ware also have their origins in the earlier period. In contrast to this, examples from other parts of Europe refer to the important implications of metallurgy in other aspects of material culture (Radivojević and Rehren 2016). Similarly, in mainland Greece, graphite-painted wares appear in association with metal-bearing contexts, perhaps a sign of contacts with neighbouring populations from the Balkans (Zachos 2007).…”

Copper in eneolithic communities of Bosnia and Hercegovina (Bakar u eneolitičkim kulturnim zajednicama Bosne i Hercegovine)

“…Strata III and II at Gornja Tuzla, ascribed to the younger layers of the Vinča culture, yielded metal and archaeological metal finds that speak in favor of an early development and use of metallurgical activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Čović 1961;Glumac & Todd 1987;1991: 11-12, fig. 4; Radivojević et al 2010Radivojević et al : 2778Radivojević 2015;Radivojević & Rehren 2016;Radivojević & Grujić 2017). Out of the entire stratigraphy of the site, these two strata point to a very rich and diverse cultural material that, as it seems, resulted from a strong economic growth of the settlement in this period, when the settlement probably covered the largest area and was prosperous (Čović 1961: 94).…”