Carnelian Bead Production

Profound cultural changes occurred in the later 3rd millennium BC in many parts of the Aegean during the transition from the Early Bronze Age II to III (EBA II to III). These are for example observable in the drastic changes in architectural and pottery styles. This contribution deals with some examples of archaeological indicators for long-distance contacts between the Aegean and the east (Asia Minor and even beyond) during the Early Bronze Age. Relevant archaeological material for textile manufacture, adornment, seal and weight use, and silver production will be discussed. It is argued that trade and the potential physical presence of foreign merchants had a decisive impact on the “emergence of civilisation” during the EBA II. The long distance exchange was most likely driven by the eastern demand for silver and an Aegean desire for rare commodities, like specific “semi-precious“ beads and woolen textiles. A considerable disruption of this exchange pattern is witnessed by the beginning of the EBA III in the Aegean. It brought the development towards a more complex socio-economic organisation in many parts of the Aegean to a temporary end, with the notable exception of Crete. In the light of the recent suggestions of an earlier beginning of the EBA III in the Aegean, it seems difficult to reconcile this disruption with a potential climatic change around 2200 BC

İnönü Cave, which is known to have been inhabited from the Chalcolithic Age (Cal. 4260-3976 BC) to the Early Iron Age (Cal. MÖ. 1221-979 BC) with the archaeological studies carried out in recent years, is important with regard to providing the first data about the prehistory of the Western Black Sea Region. In 2018, it was determined that thousands of beads found in a small pot in this cave were made of raw materials such as steatite, gold, electrum, and carnelian. These beads belonging to the Chalcolithic Age provided various information about their periods and the people who owned them. This article aims to explain the types of carnelian beads in the above-mentioned collective finds, how they were produced, and their relationships with their counterparts during the period they belonged to. According to the results obtained, these carnelian beads, which were among the personal ornaments of the people living in İnönü Cave on the Western Black Sea coast of Anatolia during the Chalcolithic Age, are very similar to their contemporaries found in the cemeteries such as Varna and Durankulak in the Balkans. Furthermore, it was found out that the production process of these beads consisted of various stages and that chipped stone drillers were used in this process.
Keywords: İnönü Cave, Chalcolithic Age, red agate, carnelian, bead.

Son yıllarda yapılan arkeolojik çalışmalar ile, Kalkolitik Çağ'dan (Kal. MÖ. 4260-3976) Erken Demir Çağı'na kadar (Kal. MÖ. 1221-979) iskan edildiği bilinen İnönü Mağarası, Batı Karadeniz Bölgesi'nin prehistoryası hakkında ilk verileri sunması açısından önemlidir. 2018 yılında bu mağarada bir çömlekçik içinde bulunan binlerce boncuğun steatit, altın, elektrum ve karnelyan gibi hammaddelerden yapıldığı tespit edilmiştir. Kalkolitik Çağ'a ait bu boncuklar, ait olduğu dönem ve onlara sahip olan insanlar hakkında çeşitli bilgiler sunmuştur. Bu makale, yukarıda bahsedilen toplu buluntu içinde yer alan karnelyan boncukların hangi tiplerde olduğunu, nasıl üretildiğini ve ait olduğu dönemdeki benzerleri ile ilişkisini açıklamayı amaçlamaktadır. Elde edilen sonuçlar, Kalkolitik Çağ'da, Anadolu'nun Batı Karadeniz kıyısında, İnönü Mağarası'nda yaşayan insanların kişisel süs eşyaları içinde yer alan bu karnelyan boncukların, Balkanlar'da Varna ve Durankulak gibi mezarlık alanlarında bulunan çağdaşları ile yakın benzerlik gösterdiği yönündedir. Ayrıca, bu boncukların üretim sürecinin çeşitli aşamalardan oluştuğu ve bu süreçte yontma taştan yapılmış delicililerin kullanıldığı anlaşılmıştır.

This paper presents a case of funerary re-utilisation of the Dolmen de Palacio III megalithic monument (Almadén de la Plata, Sevilla) by the Early Iron Age communities of the Sierra Norte de Sevilla region. This case is first discussed as evidence of the strong durability of religious traditions among the local populations as opposed to the dynamics of orientalising influences to which Andalusian indigenous communities are exposed since the IXth century cal BC. Secondly, this case is interpreted from the viewpoint of the powerful permanence through time of megalithic monuments as material expressions of the religious memory

In the late 19th century, ancient tombs were discovered near the village of Vohemar at the northeastern point of Madagascar, and subsequent excavations during the French period (1896–1945) revealed the presence of a major necropolis active from ~13th to 18th centuries. Some artefacts (Chinese ceramic shards and glass trade beads) recovered from these excavations was sent to France and now in part belong to the collection of the Musée d’Histoire Naturelle, Nimes. Carnelian and glass trade beads were analyzed with a mobile Raman spectrometer, which identified different materials (soda-lime glass, quartz/moganite, carnelian/citrine, chalcedony) and coloring agents (Naples yellow, cassiterite, amber chromophore, transition metal ions, etc.). The results are compared with those obtained on beads excavated at different sites of Southern Africa and at Mayotte Island, and it appears that (most of) the beads come from southern Asia and Europe. The results confirmed the role that northern Mad...

En los últimos años el número de elementos de adorno en cornalina documentados en yacimientos del Bronce Final y de la Edad del Hierro en el Sur de Portugal ha aumentado de forma sustancial, y hoy en día se conocen más de cinco decenas de cuentas y colgantes realizados en este material. Se presenta una primera síntesis sobre dichos elementos, con el objetivo de discutir su tipología, cronología y distribución, pero también su eventual origen, que cabría buscar en el Mediterráneo Oriental.

In the past few years there has been a significant increase in the number of carnelian adornments documented in Late Bronze Age and Iron Age sites of southern Portugal, with more than fifty beads and pendants made from this material being currently known. We present a first synthesis regarding these pieces, which aims to discuss their typology, chronology and distribution, but also their possible origin, which is most likely to be found in the Eastern Mediterranean.

First highlighted as possible markers for early, 2 nd millennium BCE contacts between the Iberian Peninsula and the Eastern Mediterranean, phytomorphic carnelian pendants have become a significant part of the discussion on that subject. However, a number of new finds which have taken place in recent years have transformed the available image regarding both the geographic distribution and the chronological setting of these pieces. An updated overview is presented here, which suggests they should now preferably be considered as part of the array of prestige goods introduced in the Far West by Phoenician trade between the later stages of the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age.

In the late 19th century, ancient tombs were discovered near the village of Vohemar at the northeastern point of Madagascar, and subsequent excavations during the French period (1896–1945) revealed the presence of a major necropolis active from ~13th to 18th centuries. Some artefacts (Chinese ceramic shards and glass trade beads) recovered from these excavations was sent to France and now in part belong to the collection of the Musee d’Histoire Naturelle, Nimes. Carnelian and glass trade beads were analyzed with a mobile Raman spectrometer, which identified different materials (soda-lime glass, quartz/moganite, carnelian/citrine, chalcedony) and coloring agents (Naples yellow, cassiterite, amber chromophore, transition metal ions, etc.). The results are compared with those obtained on beads excavated at different sites of Southern Africa and at Mayotte Island, and it appears that (most of) the beads come from southern Asia and Europe. The results confirmed the role that northern Mad...

In the late 19th century, ancient tombs were discovered near the village of Vohemar at the northeastern point of Madagascar, and subsequent excavations during the French period (1896–1945) revealed the presence of a major necropolis active from ~13th to 18th centuries. Some artefacts (Chinese ceramic shards and glass trade beads) recovered from these excavations was sent to France and now in part belong to the collection of the Musée d’Histoire Naturelle, Nimes. Carnelian and glass trade beads were analyzed with a mobile Raman spectrometer, which identified different materials (soda-lime glass, quartz/moganite, carnelian/citrine, chalcedony) and coloring agents (Naples yellow, cassiterite, amber chromophore, transition metal ions, etc.). The results are compared with those obtained on beads excavated at different sites of Southern Africa and at Mayotte Island, and it appears that (most of) the beads come from southern Asia and Europe. The results confirmed the role that northern Mad...