Iron Oxide Rock Artefacts in Mesopotamia c. 2600-1200 BC
An interdisciplinary study of hematite, goethite and magnetite objects
By (author) Martine Marieke Melein
Paperback (Published)
(September 2018)
ISBN: 9781784919641
8.07 x 11.46 inches
Price: $80.00
In stock
The flourishing civilisations of Mesopotamia imported all kinds of materials from the surrounding regions. Iron oxide rock was very popular for weight stones and cylinder seals around 2000 BC. This research aims to determine the region of origin for the raw material, what made people start using iron oxide rock, and what led them to
The flourishing civilisations of Mesopotamia, nowadays Iraq and Syria, imported all kinds of materials from the surrounding regions. Iron oxide rock (hematite, goethite and magnetite) was very popular for weight stones and cylinder seals around 2000 BC. This research aims to determine the region of origin for the raw material, what made people start using iron oxide rock, and what led them to stop using it. To answer these questions, a multidisciplinary approach was applied. Geology and archaeology were combined to identify Northern Syria as the region of origin. Archaeometric research of the production process showed that technological change concurred with the start and end of the use of iron oxide rock. Cuneiform texts yielded, among other information, the earliest description of magnetism known to mankind. Furthermore, element and mineral composition of 50 artefacts from three Dutch collections were determined with modern, non-destructive analysis techniques.
Martine Melein grew up in the most southern part of the Netherlands. Her interest in archaeology began when she was very young, and her grandfather told her stories about ancient cultures. When she was 17, she left Maastricht to study archaeology in Leiden. She is the first of her family to have completed an academic education. After finishing her doctoral education in Mesopotamian archaeology, and obtaining a post-academic teaching degree in social science, she lectured on various Ancient Near Eastern subjects at Leiden University, as well as for the general public. During her PhD-research she raised a family and earned money as a housekeeper, lunch lady, educational co-ordinator of Geo- and Bioarchaeology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and finally assistant to the director of the academic teacher education, also at Vrije Universiteit. She presented her research at several ICAANE and RAI conferences and participated in the international METROLOGIA-research group, as well as in scientific workshops on themes such as metrology and pigments. One of Martine’s major strengths lies in combining scientific disciplines, thus allowing to tell a more complete and balanced story of our past.
- By (author) Martine Marieke Melein
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