Illustrations: 4 Maps and 47 B/w Illustrations Description: This is one of the few well documented, well-researched and well-presented book on the history of mining and metallurgy in ancient India based on archaeological, literary and ethnological evidences and on first hand knowledge of various mining sites. Apart from the introduction and conclusion, this work of about 300 pages consists chapters on mineral ores in ancient India, gold, silver, copper and bronze, iron and zinc. This book also contains 4 maps and 47 illustrations.

Contributed seminar papers.

The Rise of Metallurgy in Eurasia is a landmark study in the evolution of early metallurgy in the Balkans. It demonstrates that far from being a rare and elite practice, the earliest metallurgy in the world was a common and communal craft activity.

“Archaeomineralogy” provides a wealth of information for mineralogists, geologists and archaeologists involved in archaeometric studies. The first edition was very well-received and praised for its systematic description of the rocks and minerals used throughout the world by our ancestors and for its excellent list of over 900 references, providing easy access to the fields of archaeomineralogy and geoarchaeology. This second edition of “Archaeomineralogy” takes an updated and expanded look at the human use of rocks and minerals from the Paleolithic through to the 18th century CE. It retains the structure and main themes of the original but has been revised and expanded with more than 200 new references within the text, a bibliography of additional references not included in the text, a dozen new figures (drawings and photos), coverage of many additional important mineral, rock, and gem materials, a broader geographic scope, particularly but not limited to Eastern Europe, and a more thorough review of early contributions to archaeomineralogy, especially those of Agricola. From reviews of the first edition: "... crammed full of useful information, is well-balanced using both new and Old World examples of the archaeomaterials described. It also provides a broad, but of necessity, all too brief overview of the geological raw materials used in antiquity." -- Geoscientist "...provides much interesting discussion of how particular names came to be employed by archaeologists working in different regions of the world.... much to offer for any geologist or archaeologist interested in minerals and rocks and how they have been used in the past." -- Mineralium Deposita "... a gem of a book, it's strength is that it is encyclopedic in content, if not in layout, draws on a wealth of field experience and almost every sentence contains a nugget of information" -- The Holocene

1.1 Prologue What is archaeomineralogy? The term has been used at least once before (Mitchell 1985), but this volume is the first publication to lay down the scientific basis and systematics for this subdiscipline. Students sometimes call an introductory archaeology course "stones and bones." Archaeomineralogy covers the stones component of this phrase. Of course, archaeology consists of a great deal more than just stones and bones. Contemporary archaeology is based on stratigraphy, geomorphology, chronometry, behavioral inferences, and a host of additional disciplines in addition to those devoted to stones and bones. To hazard a definition: archaeomineralogy is the study of the minerals and rocks used by ancient societies over space and time, as implements, orna ments, building materials, and raw materials for ceramics and other processed products. Archaeomineralogy also attempts to date, source, or otherwise char acterize an artifact or feature, or to interpret past depositional alteration of archaeological contexts. Unlike geoarchaeology, archaeomineralogy is not, and is not likely to become, a recognized subdiscipline. Practitioners of archaeomineralogy are mostly geoarchaeologists who specialize in geology and have a strong background in mineralogy or petrology (the study of the origin ofrocks).

The study of ancient metals in their social and cultural contexts has been a topic of considerable interest in archaeology and ancient history for decades, partly due to the modern dependence on technology and man-made materials. The formal study of Archaeometallurgy began in the 1970s-1980s, and has seen a recent growth in techniques, data, and theoretical movements. This comprehensive sourcebook on Archaeometallurgy provides an overview of earlier research as well as a review of modern techniques, written in an approachable way. Covering an extensive range of archaeological time-periods and regions, this volume will be a valuable resource for those studying archaeology worldwide. It provides a clear, straightforward look at the available methodologies, including: • Smelting processes • Slag analysis • Technical Ceramics • Archaeology of Mining and Field Survey • Ethnoarchaeology • Chemical Analysis and Provenance Studies • Conservation Studies With chapters focused on most geographic regions of Archaeometallurgical inquiry, researchers will find practical applications for metallurgical techniques in any area of their study. Ben Roberts is a specialist in the early metallurgy and later prehistoric archaeology of Europe. He was the Curator of the European Copper and Bronze Age collections at the British Museum between 2007 and 2012 and is now a Lecturer in Prehistoric Europe in the Departm ent of Archaeology at the Durham University, UK. Chris Thornton is a specialist in the ancient metallurgy of the Middle East, combining anthropological theory with archaeometrical analysis to understand the development and diffusion of metallurgical technologies throughout Eurasia. He is currently a Consulting Scholar of the University of Pennsylvania Museum, where he received his PhD in 2009, and the Lead Program Officer of research grants at the National Geographic Society.