Dissertation Research: The Technological and Social Dimensions of the Mallorcan Copper Age Metallurgy

在露丝·特林汉姆博士的指导下，克里斯托弗·霍夫曼先生 将为他的博士论文收集数据他将研究铜 这些文物来自一系列考古遗址， 位于西班牙马略卡岛，可以追溯到铜器时代 (from约公元前2500年至1800年）。通过一系列的分析 他将试图确定金属矿石的产地 开采，是否在当地冶炼，如何广泛的 物体是如何制造的，它们是如何使用的，以及它们是如何和为什么被制造的。 都被处理掉了为了实现这一目标，他将进行化学和 对当地矿床的铜矿石进行了铅同位素分析， 试图确定化学特征，然后将这些 与艺术品本身的特征吻合冶金 分析将揭示制造技术， 对磨损痕迹的显微镜检查将提供 这些物品是如何被使用的 霍夫曼先生希望了解 技术和社会变革。冶金学并不起源于 马略卡，但从东地中海扩散到该地区。 虽然人们大约知道铜工具最早出现的时间， 岛上的人更不了解这一点的影响， 对社会组织的影响。这 这是一个有趣的现象，因为考古学家 认为马略卡岛和西班牙社会的大部分基本上 不受影响然而，由于各种各样的工件类型 在岛上发现的，由于不同的考古发现， 霍夫曼认为， 否则他希望重建这些物体 制造和使用。 这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。它将提供 许多考古学家感兴趣的数据，并增加我们的 了解马略卡岛的史前史它还将揭示 社会和技术变革之间的复杂关系 并将协助培养一位有前途的年轻科学家。

Under the direction of Dr. Ruth Tringham, Mr. Christopher Hoffman will collect data for his doctoral thesis. He will study copper artifacts from a series of archaeological sites which are located on the Spanish island of Mallorca and which date to the Copper Age (from approximately 2500 to 1800 BC). Through a series of analyses he will attempt to determine where the metal producing ore was mined, whether it was smelted locally, how the wide range of objects were fabricated, how they were used, and how and why they were disposed of. To accomplish this he will conduct chemical and lead isotope analyses of copper bearing ores from local deposits, attempt to define chemical signatures and then match these signatures to those of the artifacts themselves. Metallurgical analysis will shed light on manufacturing techniques and microscopic examination for traces of wear will provide insight into how the objects were used. Mr. Hoffman wishes to understand the relationship between technological and social change. Metallurgy did not originate on Mallorca but diffused to the region from the Eastern Mediterranean. While it is known approximately when copper tools first appeared on the island much less is understood about the effects which this very basic technological change had on social organization. This particular situation is interesting because archaeologists have argued that Mallorcan and much of Spanish society was basically unaffected. Because however of the wide variety of artifact types found on the island and because of the varied archaeological contexts in which they were recovered, Mr. Hoffman believes otherwise and he wishes to reconstruct how these objects were manufactured and used. This research is important for several reasons. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists and increase our understanding of Mallorcan prehistory. It will also shed light on the complex relationships between societal and technological change and will assist in the training of a promising young scientist.