Veröffentlichungen aus dem Deutschen Bergbau-Museum Bochum / Alpine Copper II – Alpenkupfer II – Rame delle Alpi II – Ciuvre des Alpes II

Die Erschließung der Kupfervorkommen in den alpinen Gebirgsregionen erlangte vor allem im 2. und 1. Jahrtausend v.Chr. eine enorme wirtschaftliche Bedeutung, da alpines Kupfer für die Metallversorgung Europas eine zentrale Rolle spielte. Der vorliegende Band resümiert den aktuellen Forschungsstand zur prähistorischen alpinen Kupfergewinnung von den Westalpen und Südalpen bis vor die Tore Wiens in den Ostalpen. Die 23 Beiträge hervorgegangen aus einer im September 2016 veranstalteten Tagung an der Universität Innsbruck umfassen die Themen Montanlandschaft, Bergbau, Aufbereitung, Verhüttung und Metallhandel in der Bronzezeit und frühen Eisenzeit. Ein zentrales Forschungsunternehmen kommt im vorliegenden Band in besonderer Weise zu Wort, nämlich das 2014 bis 2018 von Partnern in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz durchgeführte D-A-CH-Projekt „Prehistoric copper production in the Eastern and Central Alps technical, social and economic dynamics in space and time“. Die Autor*innen des Bandes stellen die Fahlerzproblematik und die verschiedenen technischen Prozesse im Rahmen einer allgemeineren „chaîne opératoire“ in ein neues Licht. In Umrissen lässt sich schon heute erkennen, wie unterschiedlich einzelne alpinen Regionen allgemeinere technische und wirtschaftliche Konzepte rund um die Kupfergewinnung adaptiert haben.

The exploitation of copper deposits in the mountainous areas of the Alps gained enormous economic importance particularly in the 2nd and 1st millennium B.C., as Alpine copper began to play a central role in the metal supply of Europe.
This volume summarises the current state of research on prehistoric Alpine copper exploitation from the western and southern Alps to the gates of Vienna in the eastern Alps. The 23 papers were originally presented as contributions to a conference held in September 2016 at the University of Innsbruck, which covered topics such as mountain landscapes, mining, beneficiation, smelting and the metal trade in the Bronze and Early Iron Ages.
A particular focus of the present volume is the D-A-CH-funded project on ‘Prehistoric copper production in the Eastern and Central Alps: technical, social and economic dynamics in space and time’, a research collaboration between partners in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
The various contributions provide new perspectives on the questions surrounding fahlore and the different technological processes within the framework of a broader ‘chaîne opératoire’. Even with the current stage of research, it is already possible to sketch how different Alpine regions adapted more general technological and economic trends surrounding copper exploitation in very different ways. The exploitation of copper deposits in the mountainous areas of the Alps gained enormous economic importance particularly in the 2nd and 1st millennium B.C., as Alpine copper began to play a central role in the metal supply of Europe.
This volume summarises the current state of research on prehistoric Alpine copper exploitation from the western and southern Alps to the gates of Vienna in the eastern Alps. The 23 papers were originally presented as contributions to a conference held in September 2016 at the University of Innsbruck, which covered topics such as mountain landscapes, mining, beneficiation, smelting and the metal trade in the Bronze and Early Iron Ages.
A particular focus of the present volume is the D-A-CH-funded project on ‘Prehistoric copper production in the Eastern and Central Alps: technical, social and economic dynamics in space and time’, a research collaboration between partners in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
The various contributions provide new perspectives on the questions surrounding fahlore and the different technological processes within the framework of a broader ‘chaîne opératoire’. Even with the current stage of research, it is already possible to sketch how different Alpine regions adapted more general technological and economic trends surrounding copper exploitation in very different ways.