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Biblical Antiquities :
Bronze Age Weapons : Late Bronze Age Spearhead
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Late Bronze Age Spearhead - AR.008
Origin: Israel
Circa: 1500
BC
to 1200
BC
Collection: Biblical Antiquities
Style: Late Bronze Age
Medium: Bronze
Condition: Extra Fine
$9,000.00
Location: United States
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| Description |
This exquisite weapon was forged at a time
when bronze was the most valuable metal, worth
far more than gold. Thus the intrinsic value of
this object in its own time leads one to question
its function. Was it simply a Spear Head used for
hunting or self-defense? Did it serve a higher
ritual purpose; we will never know the answer,
how ever we can assume that it was cherished in
its own time. Not only was the material precious,
but also the handle of the implement is
decorated with an intricate pattern. What warrior
or general might have wielded this weapon in
battle? While these questions will remain a
mystery, the beauty of this spear head is
unquestionable.
The Bronze Age was a period in the civilization's
development when the most advanced
metalworking (at least in systematic and
widespread use) consisted of techniques for
smelting copper and tin from naturally occurring
outcroppings of ore, and then alloying those
metals in order to cast bronze. The Bronze Age
forms part of the three-age system for
prehistoric societies. In that system, it follows
the Neolithic in some areas of the world. In many
parts of sub-Saharan Africa, the Neolithic is
directly followed by the Iron Age.
The place and time of the invention of bronze are
controversial, and it is possible that bronzing
was invented independently in multiple places.
The earliest known tin bronzes are from what is
now Iran and Iraq and date to the late 4th
millennium BC, but there are claims of an earlier
appearance of tin bronze in Thailand in the 5th
millennium BC. Arsenical bronzes were made in
Anatolia and on both sides of the Caucasus by
the early 3rd millennium BC. Some scholars date
some arsenical bronze artefacts of the Maykop
culture in the North Caucasus as far back as the
mid 4th millennium BC, which would make them
the oldest known bronzes, but others date the
same Maykop artefacts to the mid 3rd
millennium BC.
The Bronze Age in the Near East is divided into
three main periods (the dates are very
approximate):
• EBA - Early Bronze Age (c.3500-2000 BC)
• MBA - Middle Bronze Age (c.2000-1600 BC)
• LBA - Late Bronze Age (c.1600-1200 BC)
Metallurgy developed first in Anatolia, modern
Turkey. The mountains in the Anatolian highland
possessed rich deposits of copper and tin.
Copper was also mined in Cyprus, Egypt, the
Negev desert, Iran and around the Persian Gulf.
Copper was usually mixed with arsenic, yet the
growing demand for tin resulted in the
establishment of distant trade routes in and out
of Anatolia. The precious copper was also
imported by sea routes to the great kingdoms of
Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.
- (AR.008)
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