International audience ; La perception d'une évolution linéaire des artéfacts au cours du temps n'est plus d'actualité. La combinaison des analyses typologiques et technologiques a démontré l'existence de phénomènes de continuité, de rupture, de transfert, de progression et de régression dans la mise en oeuvre des produits manufacturés. Dans le cas des armes, les productions répondent à des besoins spécifiques liés aux facteurs techniques, stratégiques, sociaux, idéologiques, politiques, culturels. Ce n'est qu'en prenant en compte ces divers champs de recherche qu'une investigation pertinente devient possible et évite une orientation simpliste, figée ou erronée des interprétations.
International audience ; La perception d'une évolution linéaire des artéfacts au cours du temps n'est plus d'actualité. La combinaison des analyses typologiques et technologiques a démontré l'existence de phénomènes de continuité, de rupture, de transfert, de progression et de régression dans la mise en oeuvre des produits manufacturés. Dans le cas des armes, les productions répondent à des besoins spécifiques liés aux facteurs techniques, stratégiques, sociaux, idéologiques, politiques, culturels. Ce n'est qu'en prenant en compte ces divers champs de recherche qu'une investigation pertinente devient possible et évite une orientation simpliste, figée ou erronée des interprétations.
International audience ; La perception d'une évolution linéaire des artéfacts au cours du temps n'est plus d'actualité. La combinaison des analyses typologiques et technologiques a démontré l'existence de phénomènes de continuité, de rupture, de transfert, de progression et de régression dans la mise en oeuvre des produits manufacturés. Dans le cas des armes, les productions répondent à des besoins spécifiques liés aux facteurs techniques, stratégiques, sociaux, idéologiques, politiques, culturels. Ce n'est qu'en prenant en compte ces divers champs de recherche qu'une investigation pertinente devient possible et évite une orientation simpliste, figée ou erronée des interprétations.
International audience ; La perception d'une évolution linéaire des artéfacts au cours du temps n'est plus d'actualité. La combinaison des analyses typologiques et technologiques a démontré l'existence de phénomènes de continuité, de rupture, de transfert, de progression et de régression dans la mise en oeuvre des produits manufacturés. Dans le cas des armes, les productions répondent à des besoins spécifiques liés aux facteurs techniques, stratégiques, sociaux, idéologiques, politiques, culturels. Ce n'est qu'en prenant en compte ces divers champs de recherche qu'une investigation pertinente devient possible et évite une orientation simpliste, figée ou erronée des interprétations.
Arts and crafts are one of the most revealants cultural witnesses for the study of the prehistorical and protohistorical periods, because they are the result of « savoire-faire » , technics, designs and functions which include tradition and change. Among this material culture, weaponry is very important, since it means the contact point between the craftmen and the impact point between people. The story of the invention and the evolution of weapons is related to needs, abilities and limits linked to three main factors : - the metal, which allows complex forms perfectly adapted to a specific use. - strategy in constant evolution and interaction with the material possibilities (quality and quantity) and the social and politic environment. - cultural traditions. The increasing knowledge is ponderated by the cultural choices. Some forms and types are the result of some research of identity more than a technical limit. The main base of this resarch is constituted by a large corpus of weapons, from the first metallic ones during the Chalcolithic to the numerous and variated weapons of the Middle Bronze Age. Until now, there was no global synthesis on this subject. Most studies concerned one form or one region. We have choose to treat the whole phenomenon, in a large geographic scale (including Eastern Aegean, Anatolia, the Caucasus, Mesopotamia, the Levant, Northen Egypt, Cyprus, Iran, Persian Gulf, Margiana – 620 sites) and on the « longue durée ». In order to know and to understand the patterns of invention, development and diffusion of forms ans types, we had to create a large database. 6133 weapons are described in about sixty fields which include intrinsec data (form, dimensions, metallography), extrinsec data (region, site, context, assemblage), analytic data (typology, chronology) and bibliographical data. This database have been integrated in a GIS, allowing a evolutive cartography of weapons. The results of the typo-chronological analysis and of the distribution of weapons allow us to consider the evolution, ...
Arts and crafts are one of the most revealants cultural witnesses for the study of the prehistorical and protohistorical periods, because they are the result of « savoire-faire » , technics, designs and functions which include tradition and change. Among this material culture, weaponry is very important, since it means the contact point between the craftmen and the impact point between people. The story of the invention and the evolution of weapons is related to needs, abilities and limits linked to three main factors : - the metal, which allows complex forms perfectly adapted to a specific use. - strategy in constant evolution and interaction with the material possibilities (quality and quantity) and the social and politic environment. - cultural traditions. The increasing knowledge is ponderated by the cultural choices. Some forms and types are the result of some research of identity more than a technical limit. The main base of this resarch is constituted by a large corpus of weapons, from the first metallic ones during the Chalcolithic to the numerous and variated weapons of the Middle Bronze Age. Until now, there was no global synthesis on this subject. Most studies concerned one form or one region. We have choose to treat the whole phenomenon, in a large geographic scale (including Eastern Aegean, Anatolia, the Caucasus, Mesopotamia, the Levant, Northen Egypt, Cyprus, Iran, Persian Gulf, Margiana – 620 sites) and on the « longue durée ». In order to know and to understand the patterns of invention, development and diffusion of forms ans types, we had to create a large database. 6133 weapons are described in about sixty fields which include intrinsec data (form, dimensions, metallography), extrinsec data (region, site, context, assemblage), analytic data (typology, chronology) and bibliographical data. This database have been integrated in a GIS, allowing a evolutive cartography of weapons. The results of the typo-chronological analysis and of the distribution of weapons allow us to consider the evolution, ...
Arts and crafts are one of the most revealants cultural witnesses for the study of the prehistorical and protohistorical periods, because they are the result of « savoire-faire » , technics, designs and functions which include tradition and change. Among this material culture, weaponry is very important, since it means the contact point between the craftmen and the impact point between people. The story of the invention and the evolution of weapons is related to needs, abilities and limits linked to three main factors : - the metal, which allows complex forms perfectly adapted to a specific use. - strategy in constant evolution and interaction with the material possibilities (quality and quantity) and the social and politic environment. - cultural traditions. The increasing knowledge is ponderated by the cultural choices. Some forms and types are the result of some research of identity more than a technical limit. The main base of this resarch is constituted by a large corpus of weapons, from the first metallic ones during the Chalcolithic to the numerous and variated weapons of the Middle Bronze Age. Until now, there was no global synthesis on this subject. Most studies concerned one form or one region. We have choose to treat the whole phenomenon, in a large geographic scale (including Eastern Aegean, Anatolia, the Caucasus, Mesopotamia, the Levant, Northen Egypt, Cyprus, Iran, Persian Gulf, Margiana – 620 sites) and on the « longue durée ». In order to know and to understand the patterns of invention, development and diffusion of forms ans types, we had to create a large database. 6133 weapons are described in about sixty fields which include intrinsec data (form, dimensions, metallography), extrinsec data (region, site, context, assemblage), analytic data (typology, chronology) and bibliographical data. This database have been integrated in a GIS, allowing a evolutive cartography of weapons. The results of the typo-chronological analysis and of the distribution of weapons allow us to consider the evolution, ...
Arts and crafts are one of the most revealants cultural witnesses for the study of the prehistorical and protohistorical periods, because they are the result of « savoire-faire » , technics, designs and functions which include tradition and change. Among this material culture, weaponry is very important, since it means the contact point between the craftmen and the impact point between people. The story of the invention and the evolution of weapons is related to needs, abilities and limits linked to three main factors : - the metal, which allows complex forms perfectly adapted to a specific use. - strategy in constant evolution and interaction with the material possibilities (quality and quantity) and the social and politic environment. - cultural traditions. The increasing knowledge is ponderated by the cultural choices. Some forms and types are the result of some research of identity more than a technical limit. The main base of this resarch is constituted by a large corpus of weapons, from the first metallic ones during the Chalcolithic to the numerous and variated weapons of the Middle Bronze Age. Until now, there was no global synthesis on this subject. Most studies concerned one form or one region. We have choose to treat the whole phenomenon, in a large geographic scale (including Eastern Aegean, Anatolia, the Caucasus, Mesopotamia, the Levant, Northen Egypt, Cyprus, Iran, Persian Gulf, Margiana – 620 sites) and on the « longue durée ». In order to know and to understand the patterns of invention, development and diffusion of forms ans types, we had to create a large database. 6133 weapons are described in about sixty fields which include intrinsec data (form, dimensions, metallography), extrinsec data (region, site, context, assemblage), analytic data (typology, chronology) and bibliographical data. This database have been integrated in a GIS, allowing a evolutive cartography of weapons. The results of the typo-chronological analysis and of the distribution of weapons allow us to consider the evolution, ...
Arts and crafts are one of the most revealants cultural witnesses for the study of the prehistorical and protohistorical periods, because they are the result of « savoire-faire » , technics, designs and functions which include tradition and change. Among this material culture, weaponry is very important, since it means the contact point between the craftmen and the impact point between people. The story of the invention and the evolution of weapons is related to needs, abilities and limits linked to three main factors : - the metal, which allows complex forms perfectly adapted to a specific use. - strategy in constant evolution and interaction with the material possibilities (quality and quantity) and the social and politic environment. - cultural traditions. The increasing knowledge is ponderated by the cultural choices. Some forms and types are the result of some research of identity more than a technical limit. The main base of this resarch is constituted by a large corpus of weapons, from the first metallic ones during the Chalcolithic to the numerous and variated weapons of the Middle Bronze Age. Until now, there was no global synthesis on this subject. Most studies concerned one form or one region. We have choose to treat the whole phenomenon, in a large geographic scale (including Eastern Aegean, Anatolia, the Caucasus, Mesopotamia, the Levant, Northen Egypt, Cyprus, Iran, Persian Gulf, Margiana – 620 sites) and on the « longue durée ». In order to know and to understand the patterns of invention, development and diffusion of forms ans types, we had to create a large database. 6133 weapons are described in about sixty fields which include intrinsec data (form, dimensions, metallography), extrinsec data (region, site, context, assemblage), analytic data (typology, chronology) and bibliographical data. This database have been integrated in a GIS, allowing a evolutive cartography of weapons. The results of the typo-chronological analysis and of the distribution of weapons allow us to consider the evolution, the transmission and the exchanges in a dynamic way. The high complexity demonstrates a non-linear evolution linked to the interaction between technics and society. Iconography was also an impotant source for the understanding of stategical and cultural facts, and so were all the contextual data. Most of all, the cultual or economical deposits, and the large quantity and variety of graves permitted to reinforce the analytical link between objects and people. From the study of metal weapons, the non-material questions were maybe the more important and the more difficult to answer : it's the case for identity, diffusion of knowledge, invention and the cultural diversity of the Ancient Near East people. ; Les productions artisanales de l'homme font partie des témoins culturels les plus pertinents pour l'étude des périodes préhistoriques et protohistoriques, dans la mesure où elles sont issues de savoir-faire, de techniques et de conceptions morphologiques et fonctionnelles qui mêlent tradition et changement. Au sein de cette culture dite « matérielle », l'armement métallique occupe une place cruciale puisqu'il est le point de rencontre entre les artisans et le point confrontation entre les peuples. L'histoire de l'apparition et de l'évolution des armes métalliques répond à une série de besoins, de possibilités et de contraintes qui sont principalement liées à 3 facteurs : - le matériau, qui permet la réalisation de formes complexes et parfaitement adaptées à un usage souhaité, dont la solidité et l'efficacité peuvent atteindre de haut degrés en fonction des compétences des artisans. - les stratégies militaires et leurs innovations, qui sont en constante interaction avec les possibilités matérielles (quantitatives et qualitatives) et l'environnement social et politique à différentes échelles (contrôle palatial ou système moins hiérarchisé, périodes d'insécurité ou de guerre ouverte, etc.) - les traditions artisanales et culturelles. L'accumulation des savoir-faire est pondérée par les refus d'emprunts et surtout les choix culturels. Ces derniers sont au cœur de la problématique envisagée. En effet, les formes et les types sont en lien direct avec une préférence qui n'est souvent pas régie par une contrainte technique, mais plutôt par une volonté identitaire. Nous avons choisi d'orienter nos recherches en prenant en compte autant que possible l'ensemble de ces problèmes en toile de fond. Cependant, la principale base documentaire est constituée d'un vaste corpus d'armes en métal. Aucune synthèse générale n'avait encore été menée jusqu'ici, chacune étant concentrée sur une période, une région et/ou une forme bien précise. Il nous semblait pertinent d'étudier le phénomène dans son ensemble, à la fois sur la longue durée et sur une aire géographique large. Afin de connaître et de comprendre les modalités d'apparition, de développement et de diffusion des formes et des types d'armes, il est apparu nécessaire de mettre en place une base de données permettant de gérer la documentation à la fois riche et variée. Plus de 6130 armes sont répertoriées et le plus souvent illustrées, sur un espace s'étendant de la mer Égée jusqu'à la Bactriane, du Caucase au delta du Nil et de Chypre au Golfe arabo-persique, et ce du milieu du Ve au début du IIe millénaire avant notre ère. La base de données s'organise en une soixantaine de champs correspondants aux principaux éléments descriptifs des objets, mais également de leurs contextes. À côté des données intrinsèques (morphologie, dimensions, composition), extrinsèques (région, structure, assemblage, contexte) et documentaires (bibliographie), des résultats analytiques sont essentiels (typologie, chronologie). La base de données a été intégrée à un SIG, permettant ainsi une cartographie variée et évolutive de la répartition des armes sur plus de 620 sites. Les résultats de l'analyse typochronologique et de la répartition des armes permettent d'appréhender l'évolution, la transmission et les échanges de façon dynamique. La complexité entrevue et les nombreuses nuances observées témoignent d'une évolution non linéaire liée à des facteurs techniques, conceptuels et sociopolitiques en constante interaction. Bien qu'inégalement réparties dans le temps et l'espace, les données iconographiques livrent des informations précieuses à la fois sur la perception, l'utilisation militaire et le rapport culturel à l'armement. Enfin, pour ne pas restreindre cette recherche aux seuls enjeux matériels, une large part de l'étude est consacrée aux divers contextes, en particulier les dépôts et les tombes. Les données funéraires sont en effet très variées et offrent la possibilité d'établir le degré de relations entre les armes et les hommes. En réalisant cette synthèse globale de l'évolution des armes métalliques depuis les origines jusqu'au milieu de l'âge du Bronze, nous avons tenté, à travers l'analyse exhaustive des objets et du contexte de leur découverte, de comprendre les trajectoires, les échanges et les transferts techniques et conceptuels au sein des sociétés du Proche et du Moyen-Orient. Cette recherche, volontairement entreprise sur un espace géographique vaste et sur la longue durée, nous a surtout permis de nous interroger sur des thèmes dépassant le cadre matériel, tels que l'identité, les mécanismes de diffusion des techniques et des savoirs, le conservatisme face à l'innovation, ainsi que la diversité culturelle des sociétés de l'Orient ancien.
Arts and crafts are one of the most revealants cultural witnesses for the study of the prehistorical and protohistorical periods, because they are the result of « savoire-faire » , technics, designs and functions which include tradition and change. Among this material culture, weaponry is very important, since it means the contact point between the craftmen and the impact point between people. The story of the invention and the evolution of weapons is related to needs, abilities and limits linked to three main factors : - the metal, which allows complex forms perfectly adapted to a specific use. - strategy in constant evolution and interaction with the material possibilities (quality and quantity) and the social and politic environment. - cultural traditions. The increasing knowledge is ponderated by the cultural choices. Some forms and types are the result of some research of identity more than a technical limit. The main base of this resarch is constituted by a large corpus of weapons, from the first metallic ones during the Chalcolithic to the numerous and variated weapons of the Middle Bronze Age. Until now, there was no global synthesis on this subject. Most studies concerned one form or one region. We have choose to treat the whole phenomenon, in a large geographic scale (including Eastern Aegean, Anatolia, the Caucasus, Mesopotamia, the Levant, Northen Egypt, Cyprus, Iran, Persian Gulf, Margiana – 620 sites) and on the « longue durée ». In order to know and to understand the patterns of invention, development and diffusion of forms ans types, we had to create a large database. 6133 weapons are described in about sixty fields which include intrinsec data (form, dimensions, metallography), extrinsec data (region, site, context, assemblage), analytic data (typology, chronology) and bibliographical data. This database have been integrated in a GIS, allowing a evolutive cartography of weapons. The results of the typo-chronological analysis and of the distribution of weapons allow us to consider the evolution, ...
International audience ; Recent excavations near Adam (Oman) yielded new data about the margins of the desert in Central Oman during the Iron Age. Before our 2015 season, the Iron Age in Adam was essentially unknown. Several graves and reused burials had been identified during surveys and excavations in two graveyards, but it seemed that the area of Adam was not highly occupied during this period, contrary to the situation observed in the major site of Salut, only 40km to the north-west. However, the discovery of an Iron Age site near Adam allows us to reconsider this first impression. The site consists of a group of structures located on the eastern tip of Jabal Mudhmar, near Wadi Halfayn. The main stone building contains unique bronze weapons (life-sized, smaller than life-sized and miniatures) including arrows, bows, quivers and daggers that could be used for ritual purposes. Judging by its geographic location and its unusual content, the site could have had several functions: as a meeting and ritual place linked to social, political or religious activities or a relay on the ancient road between Adam and Sinaw.
International audience ; Recent excavations near Adam (Oman) yielded new data about the margins of the desert in Central Oman during the Iron Age. Before our 2015 season, the Iron Age in Adam was essentially unknown. Several graves and reused burials had been identified during surveys and excavations in two graveyards, but it seemed that the area of Adam was not highly occupied during this period, contrary to the situation observed in the major site of Salut, only 40km to the north-west. However, the discovery of an Iron Age site near Adam allows us to reconsider this first impression. The site consists of a group of structures located on the eastern tip of Jabal Mudhmar, near Wadi Halfayn. The main stone building contains unique bronze weapons (life-sized, smaller than life-sized and miniatures) including arrows, bows, quivers and daggers that could be used for ritual purposes. Judging by its geographic location and its unusual content, the site could have had several functions: as a meeting and ritual place linked to social, political or religious activities or a relay on the ancient road between Adam and Sinaw.
International audience ; Recent excavations near Ādam (Oman) yielded new data about the margins of the desert in central Oman during the early and late Iron Age periods. After nine campaigns of excavations and surveys in the area around Ādam, only a few graves had been identified during the surveys and the excavations of two graveyards (Ādam north and south) but settlement sites were scarce and it seemed that the area was not highly occupied during this period, unlike the situation observed at the major site of Salūt, only 45 km northwest of Ādam. The discovery of an enigmatic Iron Age site near Ādam, however, leads us to reconsider this first impression. The site consists of a group of structures located on the eastern tip of Jabal Midmār (Mudmār, Mudhmar, Madmār), near Wādī Halfayn. The main stone building contains unique copper weapons (actual size, reduced models, and miniatures) including arrows, bows, quivers, and daggers that could have been used for a ritual purpose. One other building was excavated, and the micro-regional topography and survey provided further data on the function of the site. From its geographic location and its unusual content, the site could have several functions: a meeting place linked to social, political, or religious use, and a staging post on the ancient road between Ādam and Sinaw.
International audience ; Recent excavations near Ādam (Oman) yielded new data about the margins of the desert in central Oman during the early and late Iron Age periods. After nine campaigns of excavations and surveys in the area around Ādam, only a few graves had been identified during the surveys and the excavations of two graveyards (Ādam north and south) but settlement sites were scarce and it seemed that the area was not highly occupied during this period, unlike the situation observed at the major site of Salūt, only 45 km northwest of Ādam. The discovery of an enigmatic Iron Age site near Ādam, however, leads us to reconsider this first impression. The site consists of a group of structures located on the eastern tip of Jabal Midmār (Mudmār, Mudhmar, Madmār), near Wādī Halfayn. The main stone building contains unique copper weapons (actual size, reduced models, and miniatures) including arrows, bows, quivers, and daggers that could have been used for a ritual purpose. One other building was excavated, and the micro-regional topography and survey provided further data on the function of the site. From its geographic location and its unusual content, the site could have several functions: a meeting place linked to social, political, or religious use, and a staging post on the ancient road between Ādam and Sinaw.
International audience ; Recent excavations near Ādam (Oman) yielded new data about the margins of the desert in central Oman during the early and late Iron Age periods. After nine campaigns of excavations and surveys in the area around Ādam, only a few graves had been identified during the surveys and the excavations of two graveyards (Ādam north and south) but settlement sites were scarce and it seemed that the area was not highly occupied during this period, unlike the situation observed at the major site of Salūt, only 45 km northwest of Ādam. The discovery of an enigmatic Iron Age site near Ādam, however, leads us to reconsider this first impression. The site consists of a group of structures located on the eastern tip of Jabal Midmār (Mudmār, Mudhmar, Madmār), near Wādī Halfayn. The main stone building contains unique copper weapons (actual size, reduced models, and miniatures) including arrows, bows, quivers, and daggers that could have been used for a ritual purpose. One other building was excavated, and the micro-regional topography and survey provided further data on the function of the site. From its geographic location and its unusual content, the site could have several functions: a meeting place linked to social, political, or religious use, and a staging post on the ancient road between Ādam and Sinaw.