Early Bronze Age metallurgy: a newly discovered copper manufactory in southern Jordan
THOMASE. LEVY,RUSSELL B. ADAMS,ANDREAS HAUPTMANN, MICHAELPRANGE, SIGRID SCHMI’IT-STRECKER & MOHAMMAD NAJJAR*
Recent excavations in southern Jordan have reveuled the largest Early Bronze Age (c. 3600- 2000 BC) metal manufactory in the ancient Near East. On-site Geographic Information Sysferns (GIs) antrlyses of the finds provide new evidence concerning the scale and organization of metal production nt n time when ttiefirst cities emerged in this part of the Near East. Materials and lead isotope analyses of the metallurgical finds provide important data forreconstructing ancient metal processing and for identijjing trade networks.
Key-words: archaeonietallurgq.. Early Bronze Age, Jordan, Khirhat IIamra Ifdan, GIS
The Early Bronze Age (EBA, c. 360(1-200(1 R(:) Early Bronze I11 (c. 2700-2200 BC). Thanks in represents a time of fundamental social change part to this ‘Pompcii cffcct’, KHI represents the in the southern Levant when the first fortified first near-complete EBA metal workshop in the towns and urban centres evolved. Since the ancient Near East. Use of on-site Geographic 1930s, scholars have linked advances in met- Information Systems (GIS) data recording has allurgy with the emergence of urbanism and greatly streamlined and facilitated the recog- the rise of some of the earliest civilizations nition of activity areas linked to ancient metal (Childe 1930). Recent excavations at the site production at the site (Levy et 01. Zflol). The Khirbat Hamra Ifdan (KHI) in the copper-ore- analysis ofthe metallurgical data from KHI will rich Faynan district of southern Jordan have enhance our understanding of the copper pro- revealed the largest Early Bronze Age metal duction processes and provides an important workshop in the Middle East, and have yielded analytical lens for monitoring the oscillations thousands of finds related to nncicnt coppcr in social change in a region traditionally viewed processing. This uniquc asscmblagc of as a periphery to the ancient EBA centres of archaeometallurgical remains includes cruci- civilization -namely Egypt and Mesopotamia. ble fragments, prills and lumps of copper, slags, The Faynan district, -50 km southeast of the ores, copper tools (e.g. axes, chisels, pins), cop- Dead Sea, was the most important resource area per ingots. a few furnace remains and an ex- for copper in the southern Levant (FIGURE1). tensive collection of ceramic casting moulds The Jabal Hamrat Fidan (JHF) represents the for ingots and tools. The archaeometallurgical western ‘Gateway’ to Faynan, a region which data from this site provides vital information contains evidence for numerous single arid for accurately reconstructing EBA metal process- multiple occupation sites dating to the entire ing as well as some of the dimensions of trade span of the EBA and was the largest source of relations that were linked to significant changes copper ore during this period in the southern in social evolution in that period. The ‘manu- Levant. Sites such as KHI provide ideal ‘open- factory’ (Costin 1991) complex at KHI survived air laboratories’ for investigating the social di- in a remarkable state of preservation due to the mensions of these ancient production centres. structures being sealed by wall collapse as a The Faynan district is best known from bib- result of earthquake activity at the end ofthe lical texts as the location of Punon, one of the
* Lcvy & Adams. Department of Anthrnpnlogy. LJniversity of California, Sari Diego, CA 92093-0532, USA. Hauptmann & Prange. Deutsches Rergbau-Museum, D-44791Bocliur11, Germany. Schmitt-Strecker, Max-Planck-Institut fir Chemie (Otto Hahii-Institut), D-55020 Mainz, Germany. Najjar. Department of Antiquities. Amman, Hashcmite Kingdom of Jordan. Rcccived 19 September 2001, accepted 19 necember 2001, rcvised 30 January2002 ANTIQUITY76 (20021: 425-37 in Ra
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40 stations mentioned in the book of Numbers (Numbers 33: 42-43; generally idcntified with the Greek Phaino, the present Khirbet Faynan, Jordan) and in the archaeological literature for extensive evidence concerning ancient mining and smelting sites spanning the Chalcolithic (c.4500-3600 BC) through the Islamic periods (Hauptmann 1989; 2000; Hauptmann et 01. 1992). KHI is situated on a naturally defended mesa- top plateau or 'inselberg' aproximately 25 m above the wadi channel, and located in the middle of a seasonal drainage known as the Wadi Fidan. The area was first visitcd by Frank (1934), in part by Glueck (Glueck 1935; Adams 1992),and reported on by several other survey projects (Knauf & Lenzen 1987; MacDonald 1992). The site was first probed by Adanis (1999; 2000), whose early excavations demonstrated the rich potential of the site for examining the technological and scalar changes in copper production during the EBA. In 199!1-2000, the first large-scale excavation work was carried out at the site under the direction of T.E. Levy and R.B. Adams aimed at providing a founda- tion for examining the social context of EBA metallurgy (Levy et af. 1999).
EBA metallurgy in context and at KHI FIG~JRE2. Clvexvierv of the Eu'crr.1,~Bronze Age The earliest metal production sites in the south- excavations at Khirliet Hamra lfdan (KHI), Jordan, ern Levant date to the Chalcolithic period (c. higliligh1s courtyard where rriuiri casting activities 4500-3600 BC), when production was carried took place. out near large corporate buildings within vil- lage settlements found primarily in Israel's scale. In the coppcr district of Faynan, for the northern Negev desert far away from the source first time large-scale EB 11-111 mining activities areas of copper in tho Arahah valley and Sinai were carried out in galleries and shafts. To smelt Peninsula (Levy & Shalev 1989). Chalcolithic the ore, 13 contemporary smelting sites were metallurgy was linked to the emergence uf the discovered where some 5000 tons of slag re- first chiefdom organizations in this part of the veal a metal production of perhaps several Ncar East and seems to have been controlled hundred tons of copper during the EBA by social elites (Levy 1998). By the beginning (Hauptmann 2000). This is by far the largest of the EBA I (c. 3600-3300 RC), with the col- cvidence of copper production during this pe- lapse of Chalcolithic settlement over much of riod in the ancient Near East. The recent exca- Palestine, for the first time, metal production vations at KHI provide a powerful lens for took place near the ore sources of Faynan in examining the more gencral processes of so- Jordan. With the rise of fortified towns in the cial evolution seen through the development southern Levant during the EB TI-TIT (c. 2900- of craft specialization in ancient metallurgy. 2200 BC), and within the contexts of develop- Scalar differences in metal production between ing complexity in the Levant and surrounding the Clialcolithic period and the EB In are marked cultures (i.e. Old Kingdom Egypt, sce below), and point to significant differences between metal production increased dramatically in metal production for chiefdom elites in the
FIGURE1 (opposite). General map of the Faynan (Jordan)research areo. 428 LEVY, ADAMS, HAUPTMANN, PRANGE, SCIIMITT-STRECKER & NAJJAR lab no. period site 14C date ‘‘C dates provenance publication BP cal~c(la) HD-12337 Chalcolithic Tell Wadi Faynan 5740k35 46754575 Square A, Najjar et al. 1990 L 23, -1.4 m HD-12336 Chalcolithic ‘Jell Wadi Faynan 5375f30 43304165 Square A, Najjar et 01.1990 L 8, -1.05 m HD-16380 EBA I Wadi Fidan 4 4702f37 3610-3375 Arca L), L 4-14 Adanis & Genz 1995 I ID-163 2 7 EBA I Wadi Fidan 4 4718k25 3615-3380 Area D, L 4-9 Adanis & Genz 1995 HD- 13776 EBA I Wadi Fidan 4 4684f50 3610-3365 Area A, L 50 Adams & Genz 1995 HD-16379 EBA I Wadi Fidan 4 4576f45 3360-3165 Area A, L 5 Adams & Genz 1995 HD-16378 EBA I Wadi Fidari 4 4422f51 3255-2920 Area A, L 22 Adams & Genz 1995 HD-13975 EBA I1 Barqa el-€Miye 4376f57 3080-2910 House 1, Fritz 1994 27/91 L 13 HD-105 7 7 EBA 11-111 Faynan 9 4140k109 2880-25U0 smelting site IIauptmarin 1989 HD-10573 EBA 11-ILI Wadi Chair 4 4059+55 2840-2490 smelting site Hanptinann 2000 Beta-143811 EBA 111 JHF 120 (KHI) 4020f70 2605-24(35 L 1236 lhis ariicle HD-16533 EBA III JHF 120 (KHI) 4044+40 2585-2490 Trench 1, Adams 1999 L 114 HD-10994 EBA Ill Fajman 9 3973f85 2575-2345 smelting site fIauptmann 1989 HD-10574 EBA I11 Kas en-Naqb 1 3971k67 2565-2400 smelting site Hauptmarin 2000 HD-10993 EBA 111 Faynan 9 3981k50 2560-2455 srnelting site Hauptmarrn 1989 Bcta-143813 EBA 111 JHF I20 (KHI) 39tiOk50 2555-2535 L 1602 this article 2490-2445 HD-10579 EBA Ill Faynan 16 3923ktil 24135-231 5 smelting sile IIauptmarin 2000 Bcta-143810 EBA 111 JHF 120 (KHI) 3870k40 2465-2205 1,1010-14758 this article HD-16529 EBA 111 Wadi Gwair 3 3919l26 2460-2345 smelting site Hauptmann 2000 HD-16534 EBA Ill JHF 120 (KHI) 3914f45 2460-2320 ‘hnch2, Adams 1999 L 209 €ID-10584 EBA 111-IV Faynan 9 3812k77 2395-2135 smelting site Hauptmann 1989 Beta-14381 2 EBA IV JHF 120 (KHI) 3650k60 2125-2075 L 1010-14208 this article 2055-1935
TABLE1. Radiocarbon deterniinations for JHF research area, during /he Chalcolithic-Eurly Bronze Age. former period, and more ‘commodity driven’ linked to a period of social collapse. The rea- production in the latter (Adams 1999). sons posited for the collapse of EBA urbanism Three main occupation phases have been are varied and include: general climatic dete- identified at KHI. Stratum I represents later rioration in the 3rd millennium Near East (Weiss occupations from the Islamic, Byzantine and ef al. 1993), Egyptian conquests during the Old Iron Age periods. Stratum I1 dates to the EB IV Kingdom Fifth Dynasty (Redford 1992), inva- occupation and Stratum I11 to the EB 111 period sions of West Semitic ‘Anlorite’tribes from Syria, when the site was occupied most extensively. internal social upheaval and other factors. It is There are indications of an EB I1 occupation in against these formative processes of social Stratum IV however, the excavation sample size change that EBA metallurgy evolved. is too small to make meaningful observations. Early Bronze Age metal workshops have been Radiocarbon dates from the region, coupled with found across the Near East in Oman at Maysar ceramic and stratigraphic data provide a solid 1 (Weisgerber 1981); in Iran at Shahi-i Sokhta chronological framework for evaluating changes (Heskel 1982), Tepe Hissar (Pigott et al. 1982), in metal production during the last phases of and Shahdad (Pigott 1989; 1999); in Anatolia the EBA at Faynan (TABLE1). at Arslantepe (Palmieri et al. 1993), Kestel (and The main occupation phases at KHI are Stra- G6ltepe) (Yener ZOOO), Noquntepe (level VIII tum I11 (EBA 111, c. 2700-2200 BC) that coin- - Miiller-Karpe 1994), Tepecik, Cudeyde cides with the consolidation of the earliest (Goldman 1956),Gozlii Kule/Tarsus (Goldman fortified sites throughout the Levant and Stra- 1956),Degirmentepe (Esin 1988),Hisarlik (Level tum I1 (EB IV, c. 2200-2000 BC) that is often 11, Troy - Schliemann 1881). Interestingly, the EARLY BRONZE AGE METALLURGY A COPPER MANUFACTORY IN SOUTHERN JORDAN 429 nearby (c. 100 km south) copper mines at Timna artefact category Stratum Stratum Stratum in southern Israel have produced little evidence II Ill Iv of EBA metal processing and the island of Cy- nietal ohjects prus, the most important soiirc:e of eastern axes 0 3 0 Mediterranean metal during the Middle and Late chisels 0 0 0 Bronze Age (c.2000-1300 BC), has virtually no pins 12 47 0 evidence of contemporary EBA metal produc- ingots 2 58 0 tion or processing. More significant is the rela- lumps 15 169 3 tively small scale of production and treatment copper ores of raw metal reflected at these other Near East- OE (ore] 62 230 4 ern EBA metal production sites noted here. Until OE-DLS 10 35 0 the recent excavations at KHI, the largest as- (dolomite-limestone-shale) semblage of metallurgical remains of that pe- OE-PK (ore and prill) 0 3 2 riod came from Schliemann’s excavations at Troy OE-PSI) 52 216 3 (ore mixed with prill and slag] (Hisarlik) where 70 crucible fragments, 70 cast- OE-PSOIDLS 24 80 1 ing moulds and some other metal production (combination of both) remains were found. In addition to the small sam- OE-SI. (ore and slag) 7 37 0 ple sizes from these sites, little data has been quantified, making comparative studies difficult. prills PR (prill) 21 280 1 The recent excavations at KHI (FIGLJRE2) shed PR-PSO 1 29 0 new light on the scale and organization of Near (prill, mixed with slag and ore) Eastern EBA metal processing due to the unu- sually large sample of artefacts related to pro- slag duction activities. The excellent preservation SL (slag) 8 32 0 of these materials at the site and the relatively SL-SMS 19 82 1 (shiny. glass-like black slag) undisturbed contextual data of these finds point to ‘factory-like’ production technologies. A to- casting moulds tal of 3782 archaeometallurgical finds were axes 1 25 recovered from the EBA strata at the site in an chisels 0 58 chisel wibutt excavation exposure of c. 977 sq. m. The total 0 29 pins 1 25 volume of deposits excavated for the two main small ingots 0 3 EBA strata are Stratum I1 - IiB IV = (160.58 cu. ingots 16 345 m) and Stratum I11 - El3 III (405.91 cu. m). The indeterminate 51 366 finds can be divided (TABLE2, FIGURE3) into: blade 0 15 a copper metal objects (axes, chisels, pins, smelting facility remains ingots) crucible fragments 40 625 6 b copper ores (most identified with specific Lady Fingers 2 117 0 source arcas in Faynan) furnace fragments 8 44 0 c copper prills (droplets of metal obtained through smelting) and copper lumps (pro- stone tools hainnierstones 45 342 0 duced by re-melting smaller batches of raw grooved ‘mining or 7 61 0 copper) metalwork hammer d slag (extremely metal-rich slags transported as an intermediate product from smelt- total 404 3356 22 ing sites in the Faynan area to KHI for further metal extraction, and slag from re- TABLE2. Summary of Early Bronze Age melting in crucibles) metallurgical finds from Khirbet Hamra Ifdan, e casting moulds (for axes, chisels, pins, blades, Jordan. and ingots) f remains of pyrotechnical facilities (small tioned in smelting furnaces) and crucibles for melting copper-rich slag, g spherical and elliptical grooved stone ham- batches of copper, partly for smelting ore; mers used for further treatment of metal some clay rods or ‘Lady Fingers’ that func- objects or breaking up casting moulds. 430 LEVY, ADAMS, HAUPTMANN, PRANGE, SCHMITT-STRECKER k NAJJAR
I 2
4
FIGURE3. Casting moulds, melted copper from crucible 3 5 and metal tools from KHI. 1 multiple pin casfingmould 2 recycled metal remains with evidence of corrosion 3 ingot casting mould 4-5 copper ingot [top and side view] 6 axe casting mould 6 7 7 copper axe
The organization and scale of metal (droplets of smelted metal], small metal batches production and copper-rich slag from the specialized smelt- Identification of thc distribution patterns of the ing sites (Hauptmann 2000) (FIGURE1). In terms thousands of metallurgical remains discovered of pyro-techniques, the conccntrations of metal at KHI was facilitated through GIS and the prills and metal lumps across the site, and evi- ArcView 3.2 program. As highlighted in the flow dence of re-cycling based on clusters of re-melted chart (FIGIJRE4) and the graphic presentation copper prills, ingots, and tools ‘frozen’ in the of data through GIS maps (FIGURES5A, 5B), by negative impression of a crucible base (referred identifying clusters of archaeoirietallurgical data to as the KHI ‘cupcake’; FIGURE3:2), point to across the site in courtyards, rooms and other the centrality of melting and re-melting activi- architectural features, it is possible to recon- ties for casting at KHI. struct all of the stages in metal processing at It is possible to identify an EBA Yactory-1inc’- this site. Accordingly, ore extracted through like operation for the production of copper tools mining activities was mostly smelted near and ingots at the KHI settlement. As seen in source; however, the distribution oismall quan- the GIS map for the EB I11 period (FIGIJKO5A), tities of ores and slag at KHI points to some specialized metal-processing activities were on-site smelting of ore in crucibles. The bulk concentrated in a variety 01 the more than 80 of pre-cast metal arrived in the form of prills rooms, courtyards and other spaces excavated EARLY BRONZE AGE METALLURGY A COPPER MANUFACTORY IN SOUTHERN JORDAN 431
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a coc 432 LEVY, ADAMS, HAUPTMANN, PRANGE, S(:HMTTT-STRECKER Rr NAJJAR to metal production have also been analysed tive chemo-physical models of modern metal to clarify the ‘Metallurgical Chain’ at KHI. Al- technology. Such models indicate a refining of though lack of space precludes including all raw copper, i.e. a deliberate purification from these studies here, the full range of metal pro- impurities such as lead, arsenic, iron or nickel duction activities is highlighted in the flow- by blowing air into the liquid metal bath. Ac- chart (FIGIJRE4). cordingly, impurities get oxidized until the liq- The magnitude of the KHI metallurgical as- uid copper itself is transformed to copper-oxide. semblage for the EB I11 (TABLE2), its compari- Hence, a typical feature of refining is a surplus son with other contemporary Near Eastern of cuprite (Cu,O) in the crucible. The new dis- production sites, and the highly specialized na- covery reported here changes this view by pro- ture of KHI during this period point to a ‘quan- viding fresh empirical data from the Early Bronze tum leap’ in the scale of early metal production Age. The finds from KHI show that a variety of at a time when the earliest Levantine urban metallurgical materials were delivered from centres were growing and solidifying their outside to this EB settlement/manufnctory. power. GIS plots comparing the EB I11 (Stra- Among these were slags with copper contents tum 111: FIGURE5A) distribution of metallurgi- up to 10% weight or more (‘furnace conglom- cal remains and architecture with those of the erate’) and thousands of prills and small batches EB IV [Stratum 11; FIGURE5B) highlight the nested of copper with adhering slag. They are proof and structured organization as well as scale of of the partially limited success of smelting proc- metal production in the EB 111 urban period. In esses carried out at the smelting sites in tho the following (EB IV) period, a time of general Faynan area (FIGURE1). In addition, high-grade social dissolution in the southern Levant, there pieces of malachite, chrysocolla and copper- is a distinct absence of architectural features chlorides were transported from the nearby and infrastructure associated with metal pro- Paynan mines to KHI. At the KHI processing duction. The quantity of metallurgical remains centre, they were all repeatedly smelted and drops markedly from c. 3356 in the EB I11 to melted in crucibles in order to remove slag, and only c. 404 in the EB IV. Regional surveys in to gain larger lumps of metal of sufficient quan- the research area show (with the exception of tity to cast into an ingot or tool (FIGIJRE3). The KHI) a paucity of EB IV sites that would have smelting of orcs perhaps followed a traditional provided a local subsistence base for the in- workshop recipe that goes back to the Chalco- habitants of the site. However, in the EB 111 there lithic period, when smelting activities were was a network of small hamlets, agricultural carried out inside the settlement. The hypoth- installations, cemeteries and other sites linked esis that ancient metal workshops had their own to KHI. Thus, the JHF settlement pattern data, ‘recipes’ - which might have been character- coupled with on-site metallurgical production istic for certain regions - has been suggested data at KHI indicate a much less intensive, earlier (Junghans et al. 1960). periodic and unsystematic scale of production The multiple re-melting and re-cycling of in the EB IV compared with the EB 111. These copper lumps and prills into larger units are results confirm the generally accepted view of probably identical with the production of a social ‘collapse’ in the EB IV however, by washed or purified copper as described in 3rd- focusing on craft production as an analytical millennium BC cuneiform tablets from Ebla in lens for examining change, the foundations of Syria (Reiter 1997). This was called ‘urudu-luh- a more quantitative method for measuring ha’, in contrast to urudzi, which means un-pu- change has been achieved. rified copper. Before a more in-depth knowledge on EBA copper processing was available, it was Processing and trade of copper at KHI suggested that such purification would mcan With the discovery and analyses of the metal a deliberate refining of metal in the moderii workshop at KHI, for the first time in Old World metallurgical sense (Waetzold & Bachniann archaeomctallurgy research there is now strong 1984).As shown by the phase contents of slags evidence that provides better insight into the and copper, this was not the case at KHI, and craftwork of copper processing during the 3rd there is no evidence as yet for refining at any millennium BC. Until now, reconstruction of other of the ancient Near Eastern EBA work- these processes was based on simple specula- shops. The skill and expertise of the KHI met- EARLY BRONZE AGE, METALLUKGY A COPPER MANUFACTORY IN SOUTHERN JORDAN 433 allurgists was remarkable as they produced high- a suggestion lacks any archaeological evidence. quality copper perfectly suitable for a flawless The bar ingot trade from Faynan supports pre- casting and ready for export in the form ofboth vious observations of a pronounced ‘metallur- ingots and finished tools (FIGURE3). Alloy- gical drift’ of Faynan copper to the north, ing was not performed in the KHI manufac- northwest (Hauptmann 2000) and southwest tory. This is an important observation, as tin since the Chalcolithic period. Finally, the new bronzes are extremely rare in the EBA II/III data from KHI in Jordan support hypotheses southern Levant. It seems that this metallur- that relate the extensive ‘EB IV’ settlements in gical process was carried out at urban cen- the Negev desert of Israel with an ancient cop- tres in the north and the northwest per trade network that ultimately reached Old (Hauptmann 2000). Kingdom and Intermediate Period Egypt In addition to technological questions, (Haiman 1996; Adams 1999). Recent petro- archaeometallurgical studies concerning prov- graphic analysis of ceramics from these EB 1V enance provide insights on where the copper sites in the Negev suggest the possibility that from Faynan was traded. Sourcing metal is based in fact some of these sites have a longer pe- upon a chemical ‘fingerprinting’ of impurities riod of occupation and probably originated in ore (the source) and a comparison of fin- earlier during the EB 111. This is confirmed ished objects with this ore. Methods to deter- by both typological and petrographic analy- mine these impurities comprise both chemical sis of the KHI ceramics and comparison with analyses of trace elements, and the analyses of the evidence from the Negev (Goren 1996; lead isotope abundance ratios (LIA). Adams 1999).The combiriation of the ceramic For Faynan, reference compositions of ores and metallurgical similarities make a com- and (EB) raw copper were previously determined pelling case for the re-dating of the some of (Hauptmann et al. 1992).Similarities between these Negev sites. the two were found (FIGURE61, but a large range of trace element variation seems to he charac- Conclusion teristic. The chemical composition of crescent- The evidence for large-scale and multi-phased shaped bar ingots from KHI indicate a manufacture in copper production at KHI dur- considerable bunching of trace elements that ing the later phase of the EBA presents a unique results from the metal processing as described opportunity to examine the evolution of a highly above: i.e. re-melting and re-cycling led to a specialized craft at a time when the Levant ‘pe- homogenization of varying compositions of riphery’ and neighhouririg ‘core’ civilizations copper that now may be seen as a representa- such as Egypt were undergoing major socio- tive average composition. political changes. In particular the rise of for- This chemical composition is also reflected tified Early Bronze Age towns in the Levant in a number of late EBA crescent shaped bar suggests developing complexity in social or- ingots that were found at several localities in ganization, which parallels the rise of Pharaonic the southern Levant (FIGLJRF7). These data point Egypt during the Old Kingdom, albeit on a to the origin of the ingots in the area of Faynan, smaller scale. In the Levant, a part of these so- an observation that is also supported by the cial changes were the development of elites and stylistic attributes of the ingots (Adams 1999; corporate authorities in the new urban centres 2000). Unmistakable, however, are lead isotope that controlled specialized craft and subsist- abundance ratios, which do not change between ence production (Costin 1991).The recent ex- ore and metal, no matter how many (s)melting cavations reported here are different from the processes the ore/metal was exposed to. These normative EBA fortified town pattern in that observations are based on the analyses of some KHI is 70 south Levantine crescent-shaped bar ingots a a naturally fortified, non-urban site that lacks at the Max-Planck-lnstitut fur Chemie at Mainz, evidence of palatial and large scale archi- and at the Geochronological Laboratory, Uni- tecture (FI(XJKE5A) versity of Miinster. All compositions match b located in the desert periphery rather than exactly the range of ores and raw copper from the Mediterranean ‘centre’of EBA urban Faynan. Admittedly, we cannot exclude that settlement, and bar ingots derived from Timna copper, but such c contains evidence for highly organized craft 434 LEVY, ADAMS, HAUPTMANN, PRANGE, SCHMITT-STRECKER & NAJJAR
FIGURE 5A. GIs map of EB HI (Stratum III] archaeometallurgical remains. 5B GIs map of EB IV (Stratum II) archaeometnllurgicnl remains at KHI, Jordan. EARLY BRONZE AGE METALLURGY: A COPPER MANIJFACTORY IN SOUTHERN JORDAN 435
FIGURE6. Trace elements [medians and interquartile ranges) of ores and copper of the Early Bronze Age Ill metal produciion at Faynan (Feinan],[ordan. Note the decrease of trace elements from ore [panel 1) to raw copper [panel 2) which still shows a large range of concen- trations. Metal 'ready to export' (crescent- shaped bar ingots, panel 3) provides a tight composition that results from repeated re- melting processes. It probablyrepresents at best %opperfrom Fuynan'during the EBA.
Inx FIGURE7. Histogram of "'Pb/ -I C 206Pb-ratiosin ores and raw I copper from Favnan [Feinan), 3 in ores from llmna (Hauptmann 20001, and PL crescent-shaped bar ingots s from several localities in the z southern Negev. Dots indicate first results of ingots from KHI; those fiom Ein Ziq and Beer Ressisim are taken from Segal et al. 11999). Principally, the ingots' origin could be from 7'imna too, but the overwhelming compositions point to Faynan (Feinan) - and are supported by the archaeological evidence of mining and smclting in this area. 436 LEVY, ADAMS, HAUPTMANN, PRANGE, SCHMITT-STKE(:KER Pr NAJJAR
production from an as yet to be determined search on the EBA matalliirgical remains from organizing body. KHI will provide the first comprehensive as- Current models for understanding the role of sessment of the role of metal production on the pre-industrial elites suggest they manipulated emergencc, maintenance and collapse of the production and distribution of staples (e.g. ce- earliest urban phenomenon in the Levant from reals and other commodities) and/or wealth one of the region's major ore resource zones in objects (craft products) as a mechanism to en- this part of the ancient Near East. hance and consolidate their social status (Johnson & Earle 1987). It is against this back- Acknowledgements. Thc authors are grateful to Dr Fawwaz ground that our assessment of the implications Al-Khraysheh, Director (kneral, Department of Antiqui- of the large-scale production of copper at KHI ties of Jurdari arid Dr Chazi Bislieh. the fumier Director General, for their support. Thanks also to Dr Pierre Rikai, can be made. Three primary factors are key to Director, American Center for Oriental Research (ACOR), understanding the development of the metal Amman. for his help. Special thanks to UCSD students trade in the region during the EBA: produc- Adolfo Muniz, Neil Smith, Yoav Arbel, Michael IIoman, tion, distribution (trade) and consumption Sarah Melina and Cclia dc Jong for their help with data (Costin 1991). Since our site at KHI is the key processing in the field and laboratory, James D. Anderson for surveying expertise, arid to Mr Steger, Deutsches Bergbau- EBA site in the largest Levantine copper resource MUS~UIII,for performing cheniical analyses. We are grate- zone, we will have, perhaps for the first time, fill to the C. Paul Johnson Family Charitable Foundation, a fuller picture of the socio-economic processes, the National Geographic Society, and the Deutschc which until now have been dominated by as- Forschungsgemeinschaft for generous financial support and to our 1JCXI Summer Session Archaeological Field School sessments based upon the archaeological view students for their hard work. Finally, we thank the Bedouin as seen from evidence for end-of-the-line trade tribes of the Qurayquira village (Jordan) for their friend- and consumption. Forthcoming in-depth re- ship, hard work and hospitality.
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