YRA Seminar Series
New Seminar Series
We are happy to announce a new Seminar Series with monthly presentations highlighting exciting research of ECRs!
Each month, we will host an online 1-hour meeting, with about 30 minutes presentations followed by a discussion on the topic. ECRs from around the globe will be invited to present diverse topics, reflecting the multidisciplinary character of archaeological sciences. We aim to have these talks in a relaxed atmosphere, with discussions around a cup of morning coffee, a lunch break, or an afternoon tea depending on the time zone of the participants.
The time slots of each presentation will be accommodated to be the most comfortable for the presenter and listeners from their targeted research area.
The talks will be held online via Zoom. Links to each online meeting will be communicated via email shortly beforehand. Subscribe to our mailing list here.
Next presentation: June 3rd, at 8:30 am (UTC)
Copper technologies in Taiwan and the Philippines during the Metal Age
Mélissa Cadet (Academia Sinica, Taiwan)
Keywords: Copper-based metallurgy; South-East Asia; Metal Age; Maritime exchange
Abstract:
In the island contexts of South-East Asia and Taiwan, the development of metallurgy followed a different time-period and pattern compared to the Mainland. Indeed, in Taiwan and the Philippines, there is no mention of a Bronze and Iron Age but of a Metal Age (or directly an Iron Age) since iron, copper-based, glass and precious metal technologies seem to appear together in archaeological context. The first signs of metallurgy in the island contexts of Taiwan and the Philippines appear to have followed similar patterns; no Bronze Age, no sign of primary production, only secondary production and where maritime exchange is a central issue in the development of these technologies. Metallurgy would probably have reached the islands through maritime contacts with mainland Southeast Asia, where metallurgical practices took place earlier (11-13th BC) and maritime contacts have been known since the Neolithic period, notably through nephrite objects. Current evidence seems to support that Taiwan and the Philippines did not have any primary production of copper during the Metal Age but still needs to be proved by future studies. It has been proposed that raw materials and some finish objects were imported. However, secondary production activities are attested with molds, both in Taiwan and the Philippines.
Copper and its alloys are one of the materials thought to come from the maritime interactions and thus represent an important proxy to study the movements of goods/communities/technologies between the different areas around the South China Sea. Regarding the similarities observed between Taiwan and the Philippines as well as the ancient exchanges attested between the two areas, the current project aims to collect data in order to start discussing the copper-based traditions and the potential exchange networks. We also hope that the data can contribute to understand the origin, timing and development of copper-based metallurgy in Taiwan and the Philippines and its link to other regions for the acquisition of raw materials/finish objects. Around 50 scientific samples, mainly in Taiwan so far, have been collected to be studied following an archaeometric approach (Optical Microscopy, SEM-EDS and ongoing lead isotope analyses). In Taiwan, the current results show that artefacts are diverse, both in terms of their forms (such as bells, vessels, knife handles, Chinese coins, unidentified fragments) and composition (alloys), including bronze, leaded-bronze, high-tin bronze, unalloyed copper, leaded copper and brass. Some artefacts result probably from oversea exports. In Taiwan, differences can also be observed between sites, probably as a result of the different metallurgical practices identified during the excavations, such as secondary production activities.
