Circuits of Metal Value: Changing Roles of Metals in the Early Aegean and Nearby Lands [Paperback]

This volume explores the part played by different metals in use from the fourth millennium BC to the Early Iron Age, not only in the Aegean but also in the wider Old World. It addresses the divergent uses and roles of different metals, the interrelationships of these roles and the changing values that may have been accorded to them at different times and in different places by producers and consumers. Individually, the papers in the volume contemplate the particular properties of different metals and the various issues concerning their frequent under-representation in the archaeological (but not necessarily textual) record, and also point out comparative and diachronic perspectives that may have the ability to offer insights into their important roles in wider cultural and historical changes over a period of several millennia. After the Introduction and Chapter 1, which reflects on some of the parameters involved in the term precious as applied to metals, the remaining six chapters cover the Aegean and the networks that link the Aegean with Italy, Cyprus and the Near East more generally, and south-east Anatolia and the Caucasus. Between them they discuss the beginnings of regular iron metallurgy, the uses of and attitudes to gold, silver and bronze and other copper-based alloys at various times between the fourth millennium BC and the Early Iron Age.Innovative new examination of the cultural role of metals in Aegean prehistory.Reflects on the relative values of different metals and how they indicate the establishment of exchange networks at different levels in society.Considers the dichotomy between wealth accumulation and commodity as reflected in the archaeological record.Examines the impact of ironwork on the relative value of materials and its introduction and importance in exchange networks between the Aegean and surrounding regions.Intended to have broad appeal, this neat, slim, yet robust paperback volume maintains an accessible style throughout. [T]his volS2