Manufacturing technology in prehistoric southwest Asia

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project Area: Ancient West Asian Civilization as the foundation of all modern civilizations: A counter to the 'Clash of Civilizations' theory.
• Project/Area Number: 24101004
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (Research in a proposed research area)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Review Section: Humanities and Social Sciences
• Research Institution: University of Tsukuba
• Principal Investigator: MIYAKE Yutaka 筑波大学, 人文社会系, 教授 (60261749)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 松本 建速 東海大学, 文学部, 教授 (20408058) ; 小高 敬寛 東京大学, 総合研究博物館, 特任助教 (70350379) ; 前田 修 筑波大学, 人文社会系, 助教 (20647060)
• Research Collaborator: TAO Masatoshi 東海大学, 文学部, 非常勤講師 ; LEMIERE Marie オリエント学研究所, 教授 ; YALCIN Unsal ドイツ鉱山博物館, 教授
• Project Period (FY): 2012-06-28 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 西アジア / パイロテクノロジー / 土器 / プラスター / 銅冶金術 / 石器の加熱処理

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Manufacturing technology in prehistoric southwest Asia made great advances in the period around the transition to the Neolithic. Up to that time, various artefacts had been produced by altering the shapes of raw materials through the application of physical force; as represented by stone and bone tools. However, just before the Neolithic period, a novel technology emerged that took advantage of chemical changes that were caused by the heating of raw materials. It is currently known that lime plaster was the earliest product of this new technology and that it was followed by gypsum plaster, ceramics and copper metallurgy. This innovative technology, often called pyrotechnology, become the principal manufacturing technology in the periods that followed, being extended to gold, silver and iron metallurgies and glassworks. Our research focuses on prehistoric craftsmanship, with emphasis on pyrotechnology.

Free Research Field

西アジア考古学