Metallurgy
Metallurgy: The Bronze Age
Metallurgy was first practiced in Asia Minor a little after 4000 B.C.E, afforded individuals greater control over nature by providing harder, more efficient tools and weapons. At first copper ore was taken from the surface, but metalsmiths mined and smelted various ores to produce bronze. The technology of bronze-casting spread from Mesopotamia throughout the ancient world. In India, advanced metalwork techniques were used to produce jewelry, musical instruments, horse fittings, and toys. The master metallurgists were the Chinese, who use sectional clay molds to cast separate parts of bronze vessels, which they then soldered together.
Mesopotamia’s Ziggurats
The ziggurat is a massive terraced tower made of rubble and brick, was the spiritual center of the Mesopotamian city-state. It serves as a shrine and temple and possibly also a funerary site. It symbolized the sacred mountain that linked heaven to earth. The ziggurat stored clay tablets that were inscribed with cuneiform records of the city’s economic activities, its religious customs, and its rites. In a certain shrine room at the ziggurat housed a group of statues representing men and women of various sizes, with large eyes and hands encased across their chests. They may represent gods but its more likely that they represent the townspeople of Tell Asmar in Sumer.
Landmarks of the Iron Age
Iron technology encouraged the rapid rise of large and powerful empires: Equipped with iron weapons. These weapons were mostly use by the Assyrians, the Chaldeans, and the Persians for conquering vast portions of Mesopotamia. In Asia Minor the successors of the Hittites began the practice of minting coins. It was easier to trade than gold and silver bars, coin currency facilitated commercial ventures.
Chapter 2:
The Olympic Games
The Olympic Games were the chief feature of the PanHellenic Festival, instituted in 776 B.C.E in honor of the Greek Gods. It is located in Olympia,
Metallurgy was first practiced in Asia Minor a little after 4000 B.C.E, afforded individuals greater control over nature by providing harder, more efficient tools and weapons. At first copper ore was taken from the surface, but metalsmiths mined and smelted various ores to produce bronze. The technology of bronze-casting spread from Mesopotamia throughout the ancient world. In India, advanced metalwork techniques were used to produce jewelry, musical instruments, horse fittings, and toys. The master metallurgists were the Chinese, who use sectional clay molds to cast separate parts of bronze vessels, which they then soldered together.
Mesopotamia’s Ziggurats
The ziggurat is a massive terraced tower made of rubble and brick, was the spiritual center of the Mesopotamian city-state. It serves as a shrine and temple and possibly also a funerary site. It symbolized the sacred mountain that linked heaven to earth. The ziggurat stored clay tablets that were inscribed with cuneiform records of the city’s economic activities, its religious customs, and its rites. In a certain shrine room at the ziggurat housed a group of statues representing men and women of various sizes, with large eyes and hands encased across their chests. They may represent gods but its more likely that they represent the townspeople of Tell Asmar in Sumer.
Landmarks of the Iron Age
Iron technology encouraged the rapid rise of large and powerful empires: Equipped with iron weapons. These weapons were mostly use by the Assyrians, the Chaldeans, and the Persians for conquering vast portions of Mesopotamia. In Asia Minor the successors of the Hittites began the practice of minting coins. It was easier to trade than gold and silver bars, coin currency facilitated commercial ventures.
Chapter 2:
The Olympic Games
The Olympic Games were the chief feature of the PanHellenic Festival, instituted in 776 B.C.E in honor of the Greek Gods. It is located in Olympia,