Number, Measurement and the Search for the Concept of Weight in Prehistory
This monograph offers a groundbreaking perspective on prehistoric metrology by introducing the concept of portioning systems as a precursor to weighing and the balance scale. Drawing on archaeological evidence from the Near East and Europe, it develops a holistic framework for understanding independent phases of metrological development across prehistoric societies more broadly. At its core lies a fundamental question: were many of the artefacts considered to have functioned as measure of metal in the Copper and Bronze Ages, among them ingots, bars, and aes formatum, actually measured and perceived of in terms of weight? Taking this question as its starting point, the book traces the intellectual journey toward the concept of weight as a pivotal threshold between tangible, anthropomorphic measures and abstract numerical thinking. By identifying and analyzing previously overlooked portioning systems, this study fills a critical gap in archaeological interpretation, offering a comprehensive account of how number and measure evolved in prehistory.
This monograph offers a groundbreaking perspective on prehistoric metrology by introducing the concept of portioning systems as a precursor to weighing and the balance scale. Drawing on archaeological evidence from the Near East and Europe, it develops a holistic framework for understanding independent phases of metrological development across prehistoric societies more broadly. At its core lies a fundamental question: were many of the artefacts considered to have functioned as measure of metal in the Copper and Bronze Ages, among them ingots, bars, and aes formatum, actually measured and perceived of in terms of weight? Taking this question as its starting point, the book traces the intellectual journey toward the concept of weight as a pivotal threshold between tangible, anthropomorphic measures and abstract numerical thinking. By identifying and analyzing previously overlooked portioning systems, this study fills a critical gap in archaeological interpretation, offering a comprehensive account of how number and measure evolved in prehistory.
Other Titles in this Series
Alabaster
An Interdisciplinary Study of the Sources and Uses of Calcite Alabaster in Antiquity
Volume 5
Consumption, Ritual, Art, and Society
Interpretive Approaches and Recent Discoveries of Food and Drink in Etruria
Volume 2
Similar Books
Colour Concept “Secoli bui” a colori
Codici cromatici e architetture dipinte nell’età tardoantica e medievale
Crossing Disciplines in the Study of Archaeology and Prehistoric Art: Insights from the Sahara and Mediterranean Africa
Proceedings of the XX UISPP World Congress (5–9 September 2023, Timișoara, Romania) Volume / Session 18
Crossing Sacred Landscapes
Contacts and Continuities in the Desert Cults and Beliefs of Ancient Northern Arabia and the Arid Southern Levant
Cuneiform Artefacts from Archaeological Contexts: New Research on Ancient Iraq
Proceedings of a Conference Held at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, July 4–5, 2024
Volume 2
Exploring Prehistoric Pottery in Japan
A Study of Organic Inclusions, Adhering Materials, and Impressions of Woven Items
Linguistic and Cultural Dynamics in a Frontier Society
New Perspectives on Northeastern Bavaria and Western Bohemia in the Early Middle Ages
Volume 9
Making and Meaning in the Bronze and Iron Ages
Chronology, Landscapes and Societies across Europe. Proceedings from the METALAGES2024 Colloquium (Florence, 23 October 2024)
Medieval Yeghegis, Armenia
History, Archaeology, Society. Local Multiplicities and Global Connections of a Rural Centre on the Silk Road(s)
Promoting the Profession
Papers in Honour of Peter Hinton Director of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists 1997-2025
The Kingdom of Makuria and its Civilization
A Renewed Insight through New Archaeological Discoveries
Economic Trends in China During the Age of Confucius (1000–250 BC)
The Archaeological Evidence
Volume 10
The Temple of Ištar-of-Akkad in Babylon from the Neo-Assyrian until the Persian Period
The Archival Texts
Volume 33
Unsilencing the Archives
New Approaches to the History of Archaeological Labor in the Mandate Period Middle East
Volume 80
Ägäische Wandmalereien aus dem Tuthmosidenpalast von Tell el-Dab’a II
Architektursimulationen aus Palast G und ihre Wahrnehmung im ägyptischen Kontext
