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Tin Found in Israel from 3k Years Ago Comes from Cornwall

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Re: Tin Found in Israel from 3k Years Ago Comes from Cornwall

#2
Bronze-age collapse, the Sea Peoples https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Peoples and Phoenician trade routes...

Trade is a given. Celtic (mode) jewelry found in near-eastern sites, riverine trade routes littered with evidence from around 5-6k BCE indicating vast ancient world trade networks.

While first discovered writing on clay tablets in Mesopotamia are first SURVIVING samples of writing, this doesn't preclude cellulose-based writing media (paper) that simply rotted. Harrappan and early Sumerian trade has been also archeologically demonstrated, as well as Harrappan and trade routes, based upon found artifacts likely origins.

Re: Tin Found in Israel from 3k Years Ago Comes from Cornwall

#3

Bronze-age collapse, the Sea Peoples https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Peoples and Phoenician trade routes... Trade is a given. Celtic (mode) jewelry found in near-eastern sites, riverine trade routes littered with evidence from around 5-6k BCE indicating vast ancient world trade networks. While first discovered writing on clay tablets in Mesopotamia are first SURVIVING samples of writing, this doesn't preclude cellu…

Humans have likely been trading, boating, and migrating since we stood upright on some African savannah so many hundreds of thousands of years ago.

Re: Tin Found in Israel from 3k Years Ago Comes from Cornwall

#4
From a 2016 talk: "Possible some came from Cornwall though I rather doubt they went up there more than once in a blue moon. There are some tin mines in southern Turkey but not enough. The vast majority came from Afghanistan. Specifically the Badakhshan region of Afghanistan." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRcu-ysocX4&feature=youtu.be...

Re: Tin Found in Israel from 3k Years Ago Comes from Cornwall

#5
It'll be interesting to find what follows.

3k ybp is a relatively unique timestamp for tin. This is during or shortly after the bronze age collapse, where many mediterranean civilisations (greece, egypt, assyria, hatti..) receded, and bronze (inc tin) trade receded with them. Bronze presumably became scarce, and ironworking developed as the eventual alternative.

The centuries of the last bronze dark age is the mythical period of iron age cultures (eg the hero achilles, king david, Rome's founders Romulus & Remus)...

In any case, it was a period of change... changing politics politics, migrations, trade patterns & metallurgy/metal-trade.

Does anyone know if these are new methods for identifying origin? Should we expect more artefacts? If so, we might find be able to identify all sorts of new trade patterns, and see if they relate to political/population chronologies... mythical characters may find themselves in a slightly more historical context.

Re: Tin Found in Israel from 3k Years Ago Comes from Cornwall

#8
post #4

From a 2016 talk: "Possible some came from Cornwall though I rather doubt they went up there more than once in a blue moon. There are some tin mines in southern Turkey but not enough. The vast majority came from Afghanistan. Specifically the Badakhshan region of Afghanistan." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRcu-ysocX4&feature=youtu.be...

Is it unfeasible that the tin was traded from ancient Britain to ancient France to Ancient Greece to ancient Israel in sort of a chain rather than ships transporting them directly to Israel?

Re: Tin Found in Israel from 3k Years Ago Comes from Cornwall

#9

You hear people today saying we live in a "global economy." It seems like that statement might be true of people hundreds or even thousands of years ago.

Look at how metals were traded in that time. "Bullhide ingots" are not uncommon and are widespread, Certainly people copied good ideas and used them locally, too; but I've always thought that evidence of some clever (and tough!) folks doing a lot of running all over the ancient world.

Re: Tin Found in Israel from 3k Years Ago Comes from Cornwall

#10
post #5

It'll be interesting to find what follows. 3k ybp is a relatively unique timestamp for tin. This is during or shortly after the bronze age collapse, where many mediterranean civilisations (greece, egypt, assyria, hatti..) receded, and bronze (inc tin) trade receded with them. Bronze presumably became scarce, and ironworking developed as the eventual alternative. The centuries of the last bronze dark age is the mythic…

Climate change, too. The Minoan Warm Period ended around this time, and temps would not return to their optimum until the Roman Warm Period almost 1000 years later. Had to have an effect on agriculture and trade.
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