The development of prehistoric mining and metallurgy in Anatolia

• Main Author: De Jesus, P. S.
• Published: University College London (University of London) 1978
• Subjects: 930.1
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.453395

It has long been known that Anatolia (approximately present day Turkey) participated actively in diverse aspects of metallurgy from as early as the Neolithic period. This thesis treats various facets of the metallurgical industry from its outset in the 7th millennium B.C.to the end of the Early Bronze Age (ca. 2000 B.C.) It collects together much of the geological data pertaining to the metalliferous ores of gold, silver, arsenic, and copper. Subjects also discussed are the methods of mining and smelting. Concomitant with these is a report on surveys made by the author (under the auspices of the Turkish Mineral Exploration and Research institute) on the location of early mining and smelting sites in Turkey. Analyses of slag and ore are included in the Appendices and Catalogues. The metalwork itself is presented in Catalogue form, and full reference is made to all the prehistoric Anatolian metalwork which has been analyzed. Based on the above data, the development of the metallurgical industry as a whole is viewed over the course of 5 millennia. Many more copper deposits, unknown to archaeologists and historians, are brought to light i n this study. The presence of these deposits allows us now to widen our scope of the development of the metallurgical industry, Instead of seeing it as dependent on a few major deposits such as Ergani, Murgul and Kastamonu, we can now reserve the option of offshoots and separate development in different areas of Anatolia. The metalwork, in fact, suggest this, though it does not become apparent until EB 11, from when the bulk of our documents dates. Earlier material is not lacking and does suggest an even more dispersed series of local metallurgies. Chalcolithic metallurgies were probably loosely associated, perhaps by sharing common sources, but they still appear to have remained culturally distinct. It was the coming together of the Chalcolithic cultures that provided the prolific metallurgical development witnessed in EB 11 and EB 111.