Reconstructing manufacturing technologies: microscale analysis on the first Greek metals

Abstract

At the end of the sixth and the beginning of the fifth millennium BC, inhabitants of the areas in and around the Aegean Sea started to use native or pure metals (copper, gold, and silver) to make tools and ornaments. As a dynamic period in terms of exchange and technical innovations, the Late Neolithic/Chalcolithic provided an ideal background for the first metalwork practices of Greece. More than 370 objects have been recorded so far as evidence of this craft. Knowledge about their manufacturing processes is scarce: neither workshops nor tools have been securely identified yet. However, technical actions have left traces on the objects, still visible when the object is not too corroded. These can be distinguished on their surface under digital microscope (Dino-Lite), up to a magnification of x250. After testing different technical processes through experimental archaeology, one can compare the archaeological and experimental traces. This approach has been conducted for the study of copper finds from northern Greece (Sitagroi, Dikili Tash, Kryoneri, and Dimitra). It allows us to suggest a set of manufacturing techniques integrated in the context of early metalworking.