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Comments on the Antiquity of Mining Rocks and Minerals

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Mineral Resources of Turkey

Part of the book series: Modern Approaches in Solid Earth Sciences ((MASE,volume 16))

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Abstract

The history of mining can be written from many perspectives: mining technology, labour inputs, economic impact or materials exploitation. Hard materials were needed to advance the material culture of civilisation, and this need drove the mining and quarrying activities of antiquity. This article discusses a selected number of materials that were commonly mined or quarried in the ancient Near East. The author seeks to illustrate the value of hard rock materials, their variety and exploitation requirements. He also notes the lack of information available on human groups, communities, and the social networks involved in exploration, quarrying and mining. This article is an appeal for more research on this topic.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    It is acknowledged that Australopithecines have now been classed in at least five different categories (Picq 2013: 70–71). I use the general term Australopithecus to represent the whole group.

  2. 2.

    Figure 1.2, Image #326474, courtesy of the American Museum of Natural History Library.

  3. 3.

    Unfortunately I was not able to consult the latter publication for the current study.

  4. 4.

    This population figure is the present author’s estimate, not that of the site’s excavators.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. American Research Institute in Turkey, Ankara, Turkey

    Prentiss S. de Jesus

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  1. Prentiss S. de Jesus
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Correspondence to Prentiss S. de Jesus .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Exploration Targeting, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia

    Franco Pirajno

  2. Department of Geological Engineering, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey

    Taner Ünlü

  3. Department of Mineral Research and Exploration, General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration, Ankara, Turkey

    Cahit Dönmez

  4. Department of Geological Research, General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration, Ankara, Turkey

    M. Bahadır Şahin

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de Jesus, P.S. (2019). Comments on the Antiquity of Mining Rocks and Minerals. In: Pirajno, F., Ünlü, T., Dönmez, C., Şahin, M. (eds) Mineral Resources of Turkey. Modern Approaches in Solid Earth Sciences, vol 16. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02950-0_1

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