Featured in the EXARC Journal

Ancient Technology

Copper Smelting Could Have Been Discovered in Connection with the Massive Production of Lime Plaster in the Near East During the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B, which is Much Earlier than Previously Believed

Author(s)
Ulf Fornhammar
Henry Hammarström
Publication Date
A common theory is that copper smelting first appeared in the Near East in close connection with the early pottery industry. However, copper smelting may well have been discovered many times in history and at many places. Our hypothesis is that copper smelting could have been discovered when the copper-bearing mineral malachite, accidentally or intentionally, was present in lime-burning kilns...

Preliminary Observations of Potsherds Rounding in the Estuary of the Morye River – an Analog of Paleo-Okhta

Author(s)
Alexander Akulov
Publication Date
One of the arguments proposed for interpreting the Neolithic site of Okhta as a settlement is the fact that potsherds found upon the site show no signs of rounding. Interpretation of the site as a settlement correlates poorly with the geological data, which suggests that, in the Neolithic period, the site was the bottom of a shallow bay of the Littorina Sea into which Paleo-Okhta and Paleo-Tosna flowed...

Ancient Technologies in Contexts of the Sustainable Development Goals

Author(s)
Kirsten Dzwiza
Publication Date
#EAC12 World Tour 2021
***The demand for innovative solutions to pressing ecological and societal challenges is on a constant rise. Ancient technologies provide extensive yet underutilized opportunities to help solve such problems. This paper presents three of these technologies and their successful application in modern contexts based on five illustrating case studies...