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Miners and mining in the Late Bronze Age: a multidisciplinary study from Austria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 November 2011

Jörg Schibler ,
Elisabeth Breitenlechner ,
Sabine Deschler-Erb ,
Gert Goldenberg ,
Klaus Hanke ,
Gerald Hiebel ,
Heidemarie Hüster Plogmann ,
Kurt Nicolussi ,
Elisabeth Marti-Grädel  and
Sandra Pichler
...Show all authors
Jörg Schibler
Affiliation:
1Institute for Prehistory and Archaeological Science (IPAS), Basel University, Spalenring 145, CH-4055 Basel, Switzerland
Elisabeth Breitenlechner
Affiliation:
2Institut für Botanik, Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck, Sternwartestrasse 15, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Sabine Deschler-Erb
Affiliation:
1Institute for Prehistory and Archaeological Science (IPAS), Basel University, Spalenring 145, CH-4055 Basel, Switzerland
Gert Goldenberg
Affiliation:
3Institut für Archäologien, Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck, Langer Weg 11, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Klaus Hanke
Affiliation:
4Vermessung und Geoinformation, Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstrasse 13, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Gerald Hiebel
Affiliation:
4Vermessung und Geoinformation, Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstrasse 13, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Heidemarie Hüster Plogmann
Affiliation:
1Institute for Prehistory and Archaeological Science (IPAS), Basel University, Spalenring 145, CH-4055 Basel, Switzerland
Kurt Nicolussi
Affiliation:
5Institute of Geography, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 52, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Elisabeth Marti-Grädel
Affiliation:
1Institute for Prehistory and Archaeological Science (IPAS), Basel University, Spalenring 145, CH-4055 Basel, Switzerland
Sandra Pichler
Affiliation:
1Institute for Prehistory and Archaeological Science (IPAS), Basel University, Spalenring 145, CH-4055 Basel, Switzerland
Alexandra Schmidl
Affiliation:
2Institut für Botanik, Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck, Sternwartestrasse 15, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Stefan Schwarz
Affiliation:
2Institut für Botanik, Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck, Sternwartestrasse 15, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Barbara Stopp
Affiliation:
1Institute for Prehistory and Archaeological Science (IPAS), Basel University, Spalenring 145, CH-4055 Basel, Switzerland
Klaus Oeggl
Affiliation:
2Institut für Botanik, Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck, Sternwartestrasse 15, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
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Extract

The extraction and processing of metal ores, particularly those of copper and tin, are regarded as among the principal motors of Bronze Age society. The skills and risks of mining lie behind the weapons, tools and symbols that drove political and ideological change. But we hear much less about the miners themselves and their position in society. Who were these people? Were they rich and special, or expendable members of a hard-pressed workforce? In this study the spotlight moves from the adits, slags and furnaces to the bones and seeds, providing a sketch of dedicated prehistoric labourers in their habitat. The Mauken miners were largely dependent on imported meat and cereals, and scarcely hunted or foraged the resources of the local forest. They seem to be the servants of a command economy, encouraged to keep their minds on the job.

Keywords

AustriaLate Bronze Ageminingenvironmenteconomy
Type
Research article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 85 , Issue 330 , December 2011 , pp. 1259 - 1278
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 2011

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