EARLY METALLURGICAL STUDIES IN THE CENTRAL MEDITERRANEAN: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 2021-02-13

The last 25 years has witnessed a surge of specialist interest in the archaeometallurgy of prehistoric Italy and Sardinia, with many new studies being presented, and new approaches debated, at EAA meetings (e.g. 2009, 2013 and 2017). As a result, the discipline has made a quantum leap in areas including chronology, technology, and the social context of early metal making and using. However, while answering longstanding questions, the recent research has also opened up new problems requiring integrated interdisciplinary approaches to be addressed. The paper offers a critical overview of the most salient advances in the study of early copper-alloy metallurgy in the central Mediterranean region since the early 2000s including the eastern Alps, the peninsula, and Sardinia; provides insights into as yet unpublished research carried out by the authors, focusing in particular on issues of metalwork chronology and provenance; and looks into the future of the discipline, highlighting research problems that need addressing urgently. It is argued that these problems can only be solved through a renewed dialogue between archaeologists and materials scientists.


Author(s): Dolfini, Andrea (School of History, Classics and Archaeology) - Iaia, Cristiano (Newcastle University)