historical technologies

glas
In de zestiende eeuw voor Christus werd in Mesopotamië de zogenaamde "zandkerntechniek" uitgevonden. Deze techniek bleef gedurende de volgende 1500 jaar de voornaamste methode voor het maken van glas. Een mengsel van mest en klei werd om een ijzeren staafje geboetseerd en vervolgens met verwarmde dikke glasdraden omwikkeld, al dan niet in kleur. Na afkoeling van het glas werd de gedroogde kern uit het voorwerp geschraapt. De techniek verbreidde zich snel. In de vijftiende eeuw voor Christus was er in Egypte een echte glasindustrie, met als belangrijkste productiecentrum de stad Tell el-Amarna. De meest voorkomende vormen in de zandkerntechniek zijn kleine glazen cosmeticaflesjes, waarin parfum, oliën en make-up werden bewaard.

De Egyptenaren zagen glas als een door mensen gemaakte edelsteen. Het kleurige glaswerk leek dan ook gemaakt van bijvoorbeeld turkoois, amethist en lapis lazuli. Vanwege de kostbaarheid was het alleen voor de elite bestemd. In de twaalfde eeuw voor Christus stagneerde de glasproductie, gelijktijdig met het verval van de Bronstijdculturen in het oostelijk Middellandse Zeegebied. Aan het einde van de achtste eeuw wordt er weer zandkernglas gemaakt in het Nabije Oosten, en op de Griekse eilanden.

uit: www.historischeverenigingleerdam.nl/het-maken-van-glas-in-de-oudheid_221.html

gold & copper

The paper deals with the different use of gold and copper in the Early and Middle Copper Age on one side and the Late Copper Age cultures of the Carpathian Basin on the other side. Transylvania was in the antiquity one of the richest gold mining areas of Eurasia. This is demonstrated on the basis of Roman and Medieval texts, expecially on hand of those about the Decebalus gold treasure found by the troups of Trajan in 106 A.D.

In strong contrast to the wide use of gold (and also of copper) in the very gold rich area of Transylvania during Early and especially Middle Copper Age cultures (i.e. the Tiszapolgár and Bodrogkeresztúr and their corresponding cultures in other parts of the Carpathian Basin, among others the Lasinja culture in Transdanubia with its gold discs) there is no trace of the use of gold in the Late Copper Age. In the Late Copper Age also a very strong decrease in the number and also weight of the copper artifacts can be observed, too, and it is very remarkable that the few copper objects were daggers. This stays to indicate wartime or at least a continuing armed unrest during Late Copper Age. Invasions, conquests and similar events never promote production, accumulation, hoarding and public use of gold.

link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-94-015-1292-3 

The Copper Age, also called the Eneolithic or the Chalcolithic Age, has been traditionally understood as a transitional period between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age, in which a gradual introduction of the metal (native copper) took place, while stone was still the main resource utilized. Recent archaeology has found that the metal was not introduced so gradually and that this entailed significant social changes, such as hierarchical leadership, developments in the type of habitation (larger villages, launching of fortifications), long-distance trade, and copper metallurgy.
Roughly, the Copper Age could be situated chronologically between the 5th and 6th millennium BC in places like the archaeological sites of Majdanpek, Јarmovac and Pločnik (a copper axe from 5500 BC belonging to the Vinča culture). Somewhat later, in 5th millennium BC, metalwork is attested at Rudna Glava mine in Serbia, and at Ai Bunar mine in Bulgaria.
 3rd millennium BC copper metalwork is attested in places like Palmela (Portugal), Cortes de Navarra (Spain), and Stonehenge (United Kingdom). However, as often happens with the prehistoric times, the limits of the age cannot be clearly defined and vary with different sources.
 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metallurgy_during_the_Copper_Age_in_Europe
www.archaeologyuk.org/ba/ba101/feat1.shtml
Defining characteristics of the Chalcolithic include the introduction of copper, and some changes to the material culture visible in the archaeological data, including a much richer artistic and cultic tradition.

neareast-prehistory.com/html/chalcolithic.html 

Diffusion of metallurgy in Europe and Asia Minor. The darkest areas are the oldest
 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_Age

 Iron technology did not come to Africa from western Asia via Carthage or Merowe as was long thought, concludes "Aux origines de la métallurgie du fer en Afrique, Une ancienneté méconnue: Afrique de l'Ouest et Afrique centrale". The theory that it was imported from somewhere else, which - the book points out - nicely fitted colonial prejudices, does not stand up in the face of new scientific discoveries, including the probable existence of one or more centres of iron-working in west and central Africa andthe Great Lakes area. 
portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=3432&URL_DO=DO_PRINTPAGE&URL_SECTION=201.html