Forging Globalities: Bronze, Connectivity, and the Making of Early Complex Societies

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Auteurs principaux: Revista, Zen, HISTORY, 10
Format: Recurso digital
Publié: Zenodo 2025
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author Revista, Zen
HISTORY, 10
author_facet Revista, Zen
HISTORY, 10
contents The Bronze Age, characterized by the widespread adoption of bronze metallurgy, was a transformative era that fundamentally reshaped human societies across Eurasia and beyond. This paper investigates the intricate relationship between the innovation of bronze technology, the emergence of extensive long-distance connectivity, and the subsequent formation and consolidation of early complex societies. We argue that the demand for the raw materials of bronze—copper and particularly the scarce tin—acted as a powerful catalyst, driving the establishment of interregional trade networks that spanned continents. These networks facilitated not only the exchange of goods but also the diffusion of ideas, technologies, and cultural practices, thereby forging what can be understood as early globalities. Through an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on archaeometallurgy, network analysis, and theories of social complexity, this study explores how this unprecedented level of connectivity fostered specialized craft production, enabled elite aggrandizement, spurred urban development, and ultimately contributed to the hierarchical and heterogeneous structures characteristic of early states and chiefdoms. The paper posits that bronze, as a material, was not merely a technological advancement but a fundamental agent in a dynamic feedback loop that integrated disparate regions into an interconnected system, laying the groundwork for future social and economic developments.
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spellingShingle Forging Globalities: Bronze, Connectivity, and the Making of Early Complex Societies
Revista, Zen
HISTORY, 10
The Bronze Age, characterized by the widespread adoption of bronze metallurgy, was a transformative era that fundamentally reshaped human societies across Eurasia and beyond. This paper investigates the intricate relationship between the innovation of bronze technology, the emergence of extensive long-distance connectivity, and the subsequent formation and consolidation of early complex societies. We argue that the demand for the raw materials of bronze—copper and particularly the scarce tin—acted as a powerful catalyst, driving the establishment of interregional trade networks that spanned continents. These networks facilitated not only the exchange of goods but also the diffusion of ideas, technologies, and cultural practices, thereby forging what can be understood as early globalities. Through an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on archaeometallurgy, network analysis, and theories of social complexity, this study explores how this unprecedented level of connectivity fostered specialized craft production, enabled elite aggrandizement, spurred urban development, and ultimately contributed to the hierarchical and heterogeneous structures characteristic of early states and chiefdoms. The paper posits that bronze, as a material, was not merely a technological advancement but a fundamental agent in a dynamic feedback loop that integrated disparate regions into an interconnected system, laying the groundwork for future social and economic developments.
title Forging Globalities: Bronze, Connectivity, and the Making of Early Complex Societies
url https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17773027