New Perspectives on the Hole Argument

This special issue of Foundations of Physics collects together articles representing some recent new perspectives on the hole argument in the history and philosophy of physics. Our task here is to introduce those new perspectives

Belovode: past, present and future

The 2012 and 2013 excavations and subsequent post- excavation analyses by The Rise of Metallurgy in Eurasia project team at the site of Belovode built upon two decades of earlier work led by the National Museum of Belgrade and the Museum in Požarevac (Jacanović and Šljivar 2003; Šljivar 2006; Šljivar and Jacanović 1996b, 1996c, 1997c; Šljivar et al. 2006). This earlier work across 17 trenches had identified four building horizons (Belovode A–D), the presence of the entire Vinča culture ceramic sequence from Vinča Tordoš (A–B1) to the Gradac Phase (I–III) as well as stone tools, figurines, obsidian blades, animal bone and, most importantly for the current research, evidence for the smelting of copper ores. As detailed in Chapter 5, it was the archaeometallurgical analysis of five small copper slags from Trench 3 together with the radiocarbon dating of the excavated horizon in which they were found that provided evidence for copper smelting at c. 5000 BC (Radivojević et al. 2010a) and the foundation for The Rise of Metallurgy in Eurasia project. However, in the absence of any detailed publication on these earlier excavations at Belovode, further questions relating to broader context of the earliest evidence for copper smelting could not be explored

Balkan metallurgy in a Eurasian context

As outlined in Chapter 2, three key lines of enquiry shaped The Rise of Metallurgy in Eurasia project and underpinned the research questions. Firstly, there are competing views about whether metallurgy in Eurasia had a single origin or arose in multiple places. There are also different perspectives regarding the ways in which pre-existing technical knowledge influenced and inspired the emergence of this new technology. Further discourse relates to the manner in which this early metallurgy was organised across the chaîne opératoire of metal production and use and developed across a range of metals and alloys. Each of these three themes are fundamental to early metallurgy across the world (see papers in Roberts and Thornton 2014). These are areas of investigation with a deep history of scholarship and a wide range of competing explanatory models

Balkan metallurgy and society, 6200–3700 BC

This chapter reviews the pre-existing evidence and interpretations for early mineral use and metallurgy in the Balkans from the earliest use of copper minerals at c. 6200 BC (Late Mesolithic-Early Neolithic) to c. 3700 BC (end of the Chalcolithic). It presents the empirical and intellectual foundations upon which the data, analyses and interpretations of The Rise of Metallurgy in Eurasia project builds. The early metallurgy in this region encompasses the production, distribution and consumption of copper, gold, bronze, lead and silver, all being either pure metals or a natural alloy (tin bronze)1. The chapter initially defines the geographical and temporal scope under consideration before evaluating the archaeological and metallurgical evidence in relation to: mineral exploitation; mining; smelting, metals and metal artefacts; and metal circulation. Following each of these sub-sections is a summary of how The Rise of Metallurgy in Eurasia project oughtto contribute to this aspect of metallurgical activity, setting this in relation to the project’s six research questions as presented in Chapter 2. The chapter concludes by highlighting the dominant interpretative narratives relating to early metallurgy, metallurgists and societies in the Balkans that The Rise of Metallurgy in Eurasia project will evaluate, against all the available and relevant archaeological and metallurgical data

Where do we take global early metallurgy studies next?

The results and experiences gained from the multidisciplinary and holistic approaches underlying the Rise of Metallurgy in Eurasia project provide an opportunity, not only to reflect on programmes of further research in the Balkans, but also on scholarship in early metallurgy across the world. This chapter outlines what might be usefully taken forward from this project, but also seeks to highlight gaps in our understandings that could be addressed. It is by no means a comprehensive agenda for global early metallurgy studies but is instead intended to stimulate further debate and discussions that lead to new programmes of research

Belovode excavation results

The Neolithic–Chalcolithic site of Belovode covers approximately 40 ha (Figure 1). In the two fieldwork campaigns of 2012 and 2013, only 31.5 m2 was excavated due to the archaeometallurgical focus of the project. The trench was positioned on the eastern platform of the settlement, where previous excavations had uncovered significant metallurgical evidence in Trenches 3 (Šljivar and Jacanović 1997c, Radivojević et al. 2010a) and 17, which are located to the north and the south of Trench 18 respectively. A 5 x 5 m area was opened in the 2012 season and then, based on the preliminary spatial analysis of metallurgical finds, in 2013 the trench was slightly expanded with a 2 x 3 m extension on the eastern side

The Rise of Metallurgy in Eurasia: Evolution, organisation and consumption of early metal in the Balkans: an introduction to the project

The study of early metallurgy has many aspects and has, accordingly, taken many forms and foci (Rehren and Pernicka 2008 and literature therein). Some scholars have documented the morpho-typological evolution of artefact types and some have explored the role of metals in creating social hierarchies, in storing and displaying wealth, or the more transcendent role of metals in a variety of rituals. Other researchers are fascinated by the skills and technical achievements of the metalworkers and their intangible heritage as expressed in intricate castings, ingenious manufacturing methods and elaborate surface decorations. Yet others study the transformation of rocks and ores to metal as documented in the slags and furnace fragments or try to trace the geological origins of metal objects, as a proxy for the movement of people, materials, and ideas. The investigation of ancient mining extends well beyond the field of archaeometallurgy, with mines for flint, pigments, precious stones and salt all pre-dating metal smelting, and quarrying for building stone exceeding metal mining both in scale and value generation (e.g. Schauer et al. 2020). This range of interests inevitably implies the application of a multitude of methods, borrowed from a host of mother disciplines, adjusted and refined to form the interdisciplinary field of archaeometallurgy. It also makes any holistic project both a daunting prospect and an exercise in interdisciplinary diplomacy

The Vinča culture: an overview

This chapter reviews the archaeological evidence for the Vinča culture, the broader archaeological context for the majority of the metal production and metal artefacts extensively explored in Chapter 3, as well as for the sites of Belovode and Pločnik, whose investigation forms the core of The Rise of Metallurgy in Eurasia project. The chapter will provide a lengthy introduction to the current data and interpretations of the Vinča culture that are subsequently developed in far greater detail in the thematic overviews by many of the leading specialists in later chapters (Chapters 39–52). This monograph seeks to address, at least in part, the absence of a dedicated synthesis of the Vinča culture since Chapman’s (1981) monograph (see Chapman 2020b for a critical reflection). The concept of archaeological cultures remains problematic in European prehistory in terms of definition and interpretation, yet extremely resilient in the absence of comparable empirically orientated alternatives (Roberts and Vander Linden 2011). Due to competing national traditions of scholarship, the culture history groupings and terminologies are strikingly complex in the later prehistoric Balkans (Gori and Ivanova 2017; Tsirtsoni 2016a). As such, the chapter explores the historiography and complex debates that surround the archaeological and temporal definitions of the Vinča culture. The importance of the Vinča culture lies not only in the evidence of early metallurgy but also in the evidence for the expansion of material culture production and circulation, the intensification of agriculture and increase in sedentism and settlement growth, which are all subsequently reviewed. The chapter concludes by examining past and present interpretations of the communities who lived and died within what we now term the Vinča culture

Relative and absolute chronologies of Belovode and Pločnik

The chronology of the sites of Belovode and Pločnik has been discussed several times in the past two decades since excavations were renewed at each site (Arsenijević and Živković 1998; Šljivar 1996; Šljivar and Jacanović 1996a; Šljivar and Kuzmanović Cvetković 1997a), though not in detail and rarely integrating the relative and the absolute chronological sequences. Chronologies from both sites have been published (Whittle et al. 2016), drawing upon eight radiocarbon dates from the two trenches then existing for Belovode (Trenches 7 and 8) and nine radiocarbon dates from three trenches for Pločnik (Trenches 14, 15 and 16). These dates were allegedly focussing on the dating of metallurgical finds, however, the nature of those finds was not known at the time, so the best guess was to date materials from the spits, which only adds to the doubt on the chronological precision achieved. The seriation and ceramic sequences of both sites resulting from this project are discussed in detail elsewhere in this volume (see Chapters 12, 13, 27 and 28) and in this chapter will be used only to illustrate relative chronology compared to other chronologies used for Vinča culture (see Chapter 4). The identical spit and context excavation methodology employed on both sites enables us to compare chronologically sensitive pottery forms to other relevant sites of the period. This chapter presents 29 new radiocarbon dates from throughout the excavated sequences: 17 from Trench 18 at Belovode and 12 from Trench 24 at Pločnik. The systematic excavations, relative ceramic sequences and the intensity of radiocarbon dating enables a far more precise modelling of dates for the identifiable activity horizons at both sites