Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures

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| Editors: Helaine Selin

Metallurgy: Early Metallurgy in Mesopotamia

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-3934-5_8548-2
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The development of metallurgy in ancient Mesopotamia and the surrounding regions of the Ancient Near East to the end of the Neo-Babylonian period (ca. 539 BCE) represented a largely unprecedented achievement that strongly influenced the evolution of technology in much of the ancient Old World. Although the alluvial plain of the Tigris and the Euphrates was lacking in the mineral resources and fuel required to extract metals, the rise of urban centers and long-distance trade networks allowed this region to benefit from raw materials and expertise gathered over a wide area from the Aegean Sea to the Indus River valley. This technology required an investment in labor and materials that reached beyond the constraints of earlier industries and enabled advancements in many fields including agriculture, transportation, armament production and the visual arts. Although much has been learned from archaeological exploration, the study of ancient texts, and the application of scientific analysis...

Keywords

Native Copper Bronze Alloy Ceramic Core Iron Oxide Pigment Wrought Iron 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew YorkUSA