Metal Ages In Europe: Part 1 – Earliest Metallurgy


SunDisk_goldAs we travel into to future together it remains important to think of the past and of our European ancestors. And while there has been and still is a lot of attention here on renegade for our history, there is nonetheless large part of our past that we ignore because it isn’t part of “history”. I am talking of course about our prehistoric ancestors. That is why I have decided to write a series of articles about the people in Europe during the copper, bronze and iron ages. In this first article I will write about the discovery and use of early metals. Follow up articles will cover Megaliths (giant stones), the chalcolithic (copper-stone) age, the bronze age, the Hallstatt culture (early Iron Age), La Tène culture (late Iron age).

Disclaimer: These articles are based upon archaeological findings, which basically means that most of it is speculation. I therefore urge everybody to form (and share) their own opinions from these findings as much as possible.

hematite 1

Stone Age Metal

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Bandkandkeramik (linear pottery) notice the red colour

Man’s first use of metals and other minerals dates back far into the prehistoric age. Hematite for example was used as red colouring agent in Palaeolithic cave paintings and in the linear pottery culture (Bandkeramik). Malachite was similarly used as a green colouring agent.   The tools of early man were made from wood, bone, antlers, ivory and of course stone. They were very efficient at their jobs and there was no pressing need to search for different materials. The first uses of metal ores were nothing more than mere decorations.

The Birth of Metallurgy

There is not much knowledge on the conception of metallurgy. We do not know when, we do not know where and we do not know which ores. Malachite (green) and azurite (blue) are likely candidates because of their colours. It was easy to grind these ores into a fine powder and to use it for decoration. A happy accident with fire resulting in melted ore is most likely what gave men the idea for its usability as a tool. These early metals were easy to melt and remelt, making it almost impossible for archaeologist to discover traces of the early metallurgy.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAA recent study (Miljana Radivojević, Thilo Rehren, Julka Kuzmanović-Cvetković, Marija Jovanović and J. Peter Northover (2013). Tainted ores and the rise of tin bronzes in Eurasia, c. 6500 years ago.) shows us that the first copper and bronzes are a full 1500 years older and their origins a lot more European than is commonly thought and taught.  It does, however, not appear as if this first discovery of metallurgy spread to neighbouring regions, which can be explained by the  fact that it looks like this culture, the Vinca, did not use their metal for functional tools, instead continuing its use as ornaments and decorations. It is also important to note that different kinds of ores were discovered independently of each other in different places and times

Lots of minerals and ores are found in veins in rough rocks. The first minerals and ores were without doubt found on the surface outside of the actual settlements. Extraction was a simple matter digging them loose, but could with primitive tools only be done in a limited manner. Another method was the panning of metals in a similar manner as happened during the “gold rush.”

The true mining and burrowing into to the earth for metals was something that most likely only happened later because especially at the start of the metallic ages there simply wasn’t the expertise and geological knowledge required for these kind of works.

The Jewish academia assumes that the most important impulses for innovation in Europe stemmed from the Near East.  There is evidence that colonists from the eastern Mediterranean settled in the Iberian Peninsula and exploited its rich ores. Fortified villages with stone walls in these ore rich areas point to the necessity of protection of their newfound wealth. Similar colonists and prospectors settled in Bretagne and the British isles, two other areas rich in ore. Tin especially seems to be a very valued resource that traveled far. Tin from British Cornwall was discovered in a statue commissioned by the Egyptian pharaoh Pepi in 2300 B.C.

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A possibility is that the demand from the Mediterranean had been a stimulant for the rapid development in metallurgy in other parts of Europe. A similar example is the central European metal industry that developed because of demand in the Near East, especially in the so-called “ore mountains” in the border area of the modern Poland, Czechia and Slovakia.

It is important to remember that the Europe was sparsely populated compared with Asia Minor and The Nile Valley.  The larger, more hierarchical societies would have had a much larger demand for luxury goods than the Europeans who did not have such a class divide at this time.

Source Article from http://renegadetribune.com/metal-ages-europe-part-1-earliest-metallurgy/

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