Abstract
Several decades after the discovery of the spectacular Nahal Mishmar Hoard (a collection of cast metal goods, some quite ornate, found in a cave high in the cliffs of the Judean Desert), many important questions about Chalcolithic metallurgy in the southern Levant remain unanswered. What is the origin of the materials used? Where were the final goods produced and what were the dynamics of production? In fact, new questions have also arisen as recent discoveries force us to reconsider previous interpretations of Chalcolithic metallurgy and the societies within which it evolved. Such will be the focus of this chapter.
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Notes
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This is especially true if Bir es-Safadi is also part of the same site, the two sites (Abu Matar and Safadi) becoming separated by geological activity.
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Golden, J. (2014). Who Dunnit? New Clues Concerning the Development of Chalcolithic Metal Technology in the Southern Levant. In: Roberts, B., Thornton, C. (eds) Archaeometallurgy in Global Perspective. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9017-3_21
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