Metallurgy and Civilisation: Eurasia and Beyond, 2009, 208 p. -

The papers presented here provide a good overview of the breadth and depth of current archaeometallurgical research related to Asia and beyond. Many of the issues raised in this book, such as the beginnings of bronze metallurgy in China, the early history of lost-wax casting in Asia, the development of early steel-making technology in Europe and Asia, and the role of the steppe influence in metalworking in Eastern Zhou China, will continue to attract substantial research interest. The important role which casting technologies have played in large parts of Asia is immediately evident, as is the importance of studying technical aspects not in isolation, but as parts of complex and multi-dimensional cultural developments. It is evident that long-distance cultural connections and technological inspirations remained active over many millennia. The richness of past and present interactions, the ever-expanding archaeological knowledge (many of the papers are based on the most recent archaeological discoveries), and an increasing cooperation across disciplinary, geographical and political boundaries visible in this volume are impressive. CONTENTS: Early metallurgy across Eurasia : Ancient metallurgy in the Eurasian steppes and China: problems of interactions (E. Chernykh) ; Early metallurgy in China: some challenging issues in current studies (J. Mei) ; Metal trade in Bronze Age Central Eurasia (L. Zhang) ; Documentary and archaeological evidence for an antique copper-nickel alloy (baitong) production in southern China and its exportation to India (F. Widemann) ; Metal trade between Europe and Asia in classical antiquity (A. Giumlia-Mair, M. Jeandin, K. Ota) ; The black bronzes of Asia (P. Craddock, M. van Bellegem, P. Fletcher, R. Blurton, S. La Niece) / Bronze casting technologies in ancient China : Origins and evolution of the casting technology of Anyang bronze ritual vessels: an exploratory survey (Y. Liu) ; Three Western Zhou bronze foundry sites in the Zhouyuan area, Shaanxi province, China (W. Zhou et al.) ; New research on lost-wax casting in ancient China (W. Zhou, Y. Dong, Q. Wan, C. Wang) ; Incipient metallurgy in Yunnan: new data for old debates (T. Chiou-Peng) ; A study of the surface craft of weapons from the Ba-Shu region of ancient China (Z. Yao, S. Sun) ; Production of signature artifacts for the nomad market in the state of Qin during the late Warring States period in China (4th–3rd century BCE) (K. M. Linduff) / Ancient iron and steel technologies in Asia : An early iron-using centre in the ancient Jin state region (8th–3rd century BC) (R. Han, H. Duan) ; From western Asia to the Tianshan Mountains: on the early iron artefacts found in Xinjiang (W. Guo) ; South Indian Iron Age iron and high carbon steel: with reference to Kadebakele and comparative insights from Mel-siruvalur (S. Srinivasan, C. M. Sinopoli, K. D. Morrison, R. Gopal, R. Ranganathan) ; Survival of traditional Indian ironworking (V. Tripathi, P. Upadhyay) ; Fine structures: mechanical properties and origin of iron of an ancient steel sword excavated from an old mound in Japan (M. Kitada) ; Specialisation in iron- and steel-making in the early Middle East and Central Asia: myths, assumptions and a reassessment of early manuscript evidence (B. Gilmour) / Ancient metallurgical and manufacturing processes : The early history of lost-wax casting (C. J. Davey) ; A natural draught furnace for bronze casting (B. Asmus) ; The liquation process utilised in silver production from copper ore: the transfer to and development in Japan (E. Izawa) ; A technical study of silver samples from Xi'an, Shaanxi province, China, dating from the Warring States period to the Tang dynasty (J. Yang, P. Jett, L. Brostoff, M. Taube) ; Scientific analysis of lead-silver smelting slag from two sites in China (P. Xie, T. Rehren).