Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Metal Production on the Early Bronze Age Hungarian Plain

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Under the supervision of Prof.. Geoffrey A. Clark, Christopher A. Papalas will analyze metal production debris from two Hungarian Bronze Age settlements once inhabited by the Maros group of the Perjamos or Pecica culture (2500 B.C. - 1500 B.C.). The Maros were among the first inland Europeans to have bronze metallurgy and are known for their spectacular cemeteries containing bronze ornaments, tools, and weapons. Although metal objects played a crucial role in the turbulent world of the Maros, we know very little about who made them or how they were made. Papalas' research examines materials and techniques the Maros used through time, analyzing the largest systematic collection of Bronze Age metal production debris available in Eastern Europe. Research on metal production during the European Bronze Age is important because bronze metallurgy is associated with the rise of complex, state level societies almost everywhere it occurs. Temperate Europe is an exception to this pattern, however, as a more egalitarian and tribal social structure persisted until well after the Bronze Age. Cases where complex technologies develop in relatively egalitarian societies are of key importance to the study of the social role of technology, a central issue in anthropology with direct relevance to ancient and modern societies worldwide. This project will begin with an analysis of metallurgical debris in order to reconstruct Maros metal working techniques at several points in time. This should shed light on the development and organization of early metallurgy in the region. Copper ore deposits in the mountains of Western Romania will also be sampled for comparison to the archaeological data. These were probably the source of most Maros metal and are known to have been of great importance during the Bronze Age, but little is known about them. Finally, a series of smelting experiments will be conducted to actually recreate the materials and methods used by Maros metal smiths. Together, these procedures will produce the most comprehensive picture of a Bronze Age metallurgical industry in all of Eastern Europe.Because of its interdisciplinary nature, this project will have an audience well beyond the social sciences. Geologists will be benefit from additional information about the rich ore deposits of Western Romania - data of both scientific and economic interest. From a methodological point of view, the proposed study will systematically integrate results obtained from a wide range of techniques drawn from several disciplines. It can thus serve as a model for analogous interdisciplinary studies in the future. Finally, the project will foster collaborative relations between American and Eastern European scholars, an important step towards strengthening American ties to this region.