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Archaeology of touchstones. An introduction based on finds from Birka, Sweden
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SYSNO ASEP 0484518 Document Type B - Monograph R&D Document Type Monograph Title Archaeology of touchstones. An introduction based on finds from Birka, Sweden Author(s) Ježek, Martin (ARU-G) RID, SAI, ORCID Number of authors 1 Issue data Leiden: Sidestone Press, 2017 ISBN 978-90-8890-517-9978-90-8890-518-6978-90-8890-519-3 Number of pages 220 s. Publication form Print - P Language eng - English Country NL - Netherlands Keywords archaeology ; prehistory ; early middle ages ; burials ; grave-goods ; elites ; touchstones ; chemical microanalysis ; archaeometallurgy ; behavioural patterns ; symbolic ; history of archaeology ; Vikings Subject RIV AC - Archeology, Anthropology, Ethnology OECD category Archaeology R&D Projects GA16-22207S GA ČR - Czech Science Foundation (CSF) Institutional support ARU-G - RVO:67985912 Annotation The book introduces a recently discovered phenomenon that accompanied mankind from his discovery of the uses of metal all the way through to the Middle Ages - that is the importance of touchstones, tools used to determine the nature and test the value of non-ferrous metals. Of the hundreds of thousands of such finds, which have most often been regarded as 'whetstones', the author has made a selection of specimens that cast light on the role of touchstones in the culture of ancient societies, especially in the burial ritual. Forming a key part of the book are the results of chemical microanalyses of metal streaks on the touchstones, a hitherto unused source of information for the skills of ancient metallurgists. Streaks of precious metal are not as important today as the common streaks of lead, tin, brass, etc., streaks of metals composed of zinc, nickel, mercury, etc., raise new questions. Viking Age Birka serves as a fine example. It has yielded the largest known assemblage of touchstones and also boasts the largest number of such finds to have been analysed in the scanning electron microscope. However, this site has counterparts in Mesopotamia and the Near East, in the ancient Mediterranean region, in the Cimmerian and Scythian environments, in Europe of the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman and Migration periods, and, in particular, in the northern part of Europe during the Early Middle Ages - anywhere trade was not dominated by coins minted by local authorities. The four-millennium continuity of the essentially unified spiritual life shared by a large part of the Old World came to an end with the onset of Christianity in Europe. Workplace Institute of Archaeology (Prague) Contact Lada Šlesingerová, slesingerova@arup.cas.cz, Tel.: 257 014 412 Year of Publishing 2018
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