Gold and Granulation: Exploring the Social Implications of a Prestige Technology in the Bronze Age Mediterranean

Thea Politis Στο A. J. Shortland (ed.) 2017. The Social Context of Technological Change. Egypt and the Near East, 1650-1150 BC, Oxford: 161-194.

The variability present in the early developments of the technology of granulation, the most difficult gold-smithing technique to perfect and master, can be used to define and explore socio-economic relationships within the archaeological systems of the Early to Late Bronze Age Mediterranean. This paper will discuss and outline the integration of the theoretical and the practical, developing a middle range theory specific to assessing the significance of the early history of this prestige technology. Furthermore, concepts such as technological innovation, style, and cross-craft interaction will be considered along with the intersection of local and international meaning and practice with illustrations drawn from material from the Hyksos stronghold of Tell el ‘Ajjul in Southern Palestine, and Thera and the Greek Mainland in the Aegean.