Book Review: An Archaeology of Skill: Metalworking Skill and Material Specialization in Early Bronze Age Central Europe by Maikel H.G. Kuijpers

Abstract

Craft is a difficult thing to define. The skills required to make objects is ephemeral. We know it when we see the results of craftsmanship, but studies about understanding the development and practice of the skills of craftsmanship are rare. Furthermore, the application of these studies to archaeology are almost non-existent. Statements about craft in archaeological literature are made in the context of material culture or within cultural groups, but the exploration of the skill that goes into making crafts is taken for granted. The only evidence we have is in the finished product.

Keywords

• review
• chalcolithic
• bronze age
• austria
• switzerland
• book