COSTA Laurent Jacques.
Obsidian: a witness to trade in the prehistoric Mediterranean.
Wandering
Regular price
€16,30
| N° d'inventaire | 10886 |
| Format | 16 x 24 |
| Détails | 110 p., black and white illustrations, paperback. |
| Publication | Paris, 2007 |
| Etat | Nine |
| ISBN | |
This intensely black, vitreous volcanic rock, once cut, is the sharpest of all existing stones. Its technical qualities, for making effective, but also aesthetic, tools, made obsidian a precious material, a trade commodity valued throughout the prehistoric Mediterranean.
From 6000 BC, the rare obsidian deposits underwent organized, large-scale exploitation: real production centers emerged and their products spread throughout the Mediterranean. How was this obsidian then distributed? In what form? According to what methods? What role did these specialized workshops play in the organization of Mediterranean trade? What status did the objects that circulated have? It is to this set of questions that the book attempts to answer, by dissecting each analysis, then by placing the information in the social and economic context of the communities of this prehistoric Mediterranean.
This work is not only a synthesis of data on obsidian, it is also the fruit of research work on the way in which prehistoric obsidian deposits were exploited and presents some innovative hypotheses on the organization of these productions, the great complexity of which has not ceased to amaze us.
From 6000 BC, the rare obsidian deposits underwent organized, large-scale exploitation: real production centers emerged and their products spread throughout the Mediterranean. How was this obsidian then distributed? In what form? According to what methods? What role did these specialized workshops play in the organization of Mediterranean trade? What status did the objects that circulated have? It is to this set of questions that the book attempts to answer, by dissecting each analysis, then by placing the information in the social and economic context of the communities of this prehistoric Mediterranean.
This work is not only a synthesis of data on obsidian, it is also the fruit of research work on the way in which prehistoric obsidian deposits were exploited and presents some innovative hypotheses on the organization of these productions, the great complexity of which has not ceased to amaze us.
From 6000 BC, the rare obsidian deposits underwent organized, large-scale exploitation: real production centers emerged and their products spread throughout the Mediterranean. How was this obsidian then distributed? In what form? According to what methods? What role did these specialized workshops play in the organization of Mediterranean trade? What status did the objects that circulated have? It is to this set of questions that the book attempts to answer, by dissecting each analysis, then by placing the information in the social and economic context of the communities of this prehistoric Mediterranean.
This work is not only a synthesis of data on obsidian, it is also the fruit of research work on the way in which prehistoric obsidian deposits were exploited and presents some innovative hypotheses on the organization of these productions, the great complexity of which has not ceased to amaze us.