The Archaeology of Britain: An introduction from ... - waughfamily.ca
The Archaeology of Britain: An introduction from ... - waughfamily.ca
The Archaeology of Britain: An introduction from ... - waughfamily.ca
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• 104 • Timothy Champion<br />
CRAFT, TECHNOLOGY AND TRADE<br />
Much <strong>of</strong> the output <strong>of</strong> non-agricultural production in the Bronze Age does not survive, especially<br />
items <strong>of</strong> organic materials, but s<strong>ca</strong>ttered evidence <strong>of</strong> raw material extraction, specialist tools and<br />
waste products allows a picture <strong>of</strong> the developing technology and craft skills <strong>of</strong> the period to be<br />
formed.<br />
<strong>The</strong> flint mines <strong>of</strong> southern <strong>Britain</strong>, which had been so important a source <strong>of</strong> raw material in<br />
the Earlier Bronze Age, went out <strong>of</strong> use. Flint was still used to make tools, but they were simpler<br />
and more utilitarian than before; Later Bronze Age flint assemblages <strong>of</strong>ten consist <strong>of</strong> little more<br />
than comparatively crude flakes. <strong>The</strong> explanation <strong>of</strong> this change is complex: there may have been<br />
an alternative and better source, especially metal, for the many different tools needed; alternatively,<br />
an elaborate technology was now unnecessary for stone tools as they were no longer used for<br />
symboli<strong>ca</strong>lly important social roles.<br />
Metal ores were exploited at several lo<strong>ca</strong>tions in western <strong>Britain</strong>. Deep mines for copper are<br />
known <strong>from</strong> Wales, especially at Great Orme, Llandudno, on the north Welsh coast. <strong>An</strong>alyses <strong>of</strong><br />
trace elements suggest that a number <strong>of</strong> western copper sources were used at different times,<br />
though copper was also imported <strong>from</strong> the Continent. Gold, tin and lead were also won, but little<br />
is known about their extraction.<br />
Other mineral resources exploited<br />
include shale <strong>from</strong> Dorset, used<br />
mainly for manufacturing bracelets.<br />
One important new industry was<br />
salt boiling. At sites along the east<br />
and south coasts <strong>from</strong> Lincolnshire<br />
to Dorset, seawater was heated in<br />
fired clay containers to extract the<br />
salt, which could then be traded<br />
inland. <strong>The</strong> demand for salt may<br />
have arisen <strong>from</strong> a fashionable taste<br />
for salty food, but more probably it<br />
was related to a reorganization <strong>of</strong><br />
food production and a growing need<br />
to preserve, store and trade meat.<br />
Organic materials such as cloth<br />
and leather are more problematic.<br />
Though no actual examples have<br />
survived, they certainly provided<br />
finished products that played a<br />
criti<strong>ca</strong>l role in domestic and social<br />
life. <strong>The</strong> best evidence for leather<br />
working is seen in specialized knives<br />
first produced in the Later Bronze<br />
Age, suggesting a new level <strong>of</strong> craft<br />
specialism and an increased<br />
importance for non-meat products<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>ca</strong>ttle. Textiles are best<br />
Figure 6.8 <strong>The</strong> Dover Bronze Age boat during ex<strong>ca</strong>vation.<br />
Source: Courtesy <strong>of</strong> the Canterbury Archaeologi<strong>ca</strong>l Trust<br />
demonstrated by spindle-whorls and<br />
loom-weights, which become