Acquisition, Production, Consumption, and Discard: Reconstruction of Operational Chain of Haft Tappeh Metal Artifacts for Understanding the Everyday Life of the City

Rafi,i-Alavi, Babak

doi:https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14754141.v1

Acquisition, Production, Consumption, and Discard: Reconstruction of Operational Chain of Haft Tappeh Metal Artifacts for Understanding the Everyday Life of the City

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Babak Rafi,i-Alavi

Department of Archaeology, Art University of Isfahan

https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14754141.v1

Abstract

The present study seeks to understand the 'Chaîne Opératoire' of Haft Tappeh metal objects from raw material to the time they were retrieved through archaeological excavation. For reconstructing the operational sequence, the archaeological and textual evidence, as well as isotopic analysis were used. The essential goal of this paper is not only to reconstruct the life cycle of Haft Tappeh metal artifacts but also to understand the society and everyday life of the people behind objects. The typological diversity and spatial distribution of metal objects in Haft Tappeh show that it was an urban center with industrial characteristics and one of the production centers during the first phase of the Middle Elamite period, where manufacturing weapons and tools was of particular importance. The comparison between the Chogha Zanbil and Haft Tappeh in terms of metal objects shows fundamental differences between the types and amount of metal objects in these two Middle Elamite urban centers with distinctly diverse characteristics.

Keywords

Haft Tappeh

Middle Elamite Period

Metal Artifacts

Chaîne Opératoire

Material Culture Studies

Subjects