ENERGY EXPENDITURE, COPPER OUTPUT AND DEMAND FOR WOOD – A MAJOR TRANSFORMATION IN BRONZE AGE METALWO
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 28/10/2020

In Central European Bronze Age (2200-800 BC) a major transformation process concerning the metalworking technology is evident. A series of changes in technology and productive activities are observable in material culture at the end of the Early and the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age (around 1600 BC). This includes an increased copper output in the mining areas as well as a change in metal processing technology, visible in the replacement of the oxidizing smelting process by a smelting technique that runs under reducing conditions. The reducing process allows the production of larger amounts of metal and a greater standardisation, but presupposes a more complex furnace construction, which is indicated by furnace features from the Eastern Alps. In addition, in the later phase of the Early Bronze Age a change in alloying from arsenical copper and copper with a low tin content to tin copper with approximately ten percent of tin occurs. These changes in metalworking technology are accompanied by an increase in energy expenditure required for the production of copper and bronze artefacts and an increased demand for wood resources. The calculation of the energy expenditure – including all production steps – is a rarely applied method. It gives a comparative value for every copper or bronze artefact, which reflects the time and effort required for the production of an object in different periods of the Bronze Age. Moreover, a calculation of the required wood resources illustrates the need for wood as a fuel and the human impact on the environment. The changes visible in the archaeological record (changes in technology, increased copper output) are reflected in the energy expenditure calculations and the estimated demand for wood. Together, all the named factors point towards a major economic transformation at the end of the Early Bronze Age.


Author(s): Brinkmann, Johanna (Institut fuer Ur- und Fruehgeschichte Kiel; CRC 1266 - Scales of Transformation)