Hacinebi Excavations:

Selected Late Chalcolithic Archaeometallurgical Finds

For discussion of copper archaeometallurgy at Hacinebi, see Özbal 1996, 1997; and Özbal et al. 1998, 1999 on the publications page of this website.

 

Copper metallurgy was widely practiced at Hacinebi in all fourth millennium occupation phases at Hacinebi (A, B1, and B2), beginning well before the period of intensive contact with Uruk Mesoipotamia (phase B2). Artifacts associated with very stage of the production process can be documented: ores, smelting furnaces, crucibles, slag, casting molds, and finished products are all present at Hacinebi.

Phase A smelting pit-furnace Op. 12 locus 265. A series of four contemporaneous pit furnaces were found in the same occupation surface, and have been radiocarbon dated 4160-3700 BC (calibrated, at .95 prob.) [Ozbal et al. 1998:167].	Phase B1 crucible fragments with copper and slag from Op. 14 locus 167.
Open faced ceramic molds for casting axe-shaped copper ingots.	Close-up of one of the molds (HN6549, from Op. 5 locus 130), showing an embedded copper fragment. This mold dates to the phase A-B1 transition.
HN12285 - Op. 14 locus 80. Bevel rim bowl fragment with a fragment of malachite (copper ore) stuck to the interior of the base. The bowl may have been used as either a measure or a scoop. Phase B2.	Chisel (HN6561- op. 5 locus 130) made from 90 % pure smelted copper (see Özbal 1996). Phase A-B1 transition.

 

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Gil J. Stein
g-stein@northwestern.edu
Anthropology Department, Northwestern University
Last modified - August 8, 2001