A Chalcolithic Error: Rebuttal to Amzallag 2009

In the October 2009 issue of the AJA, Amzallag published a hypothesis for the origins and spread of furnace-based metallurgy in the Old World (From Metallurgy to Bronze Age Civilizations: The Synthetic Theory, AJA [2009] 497–519). Amzallag's paper is rife with misunderstandings of both an archaeological and a technical nature, leading to a skewed vision of early metallurgical development. In this rebuttal, we seek to correct some of the more egregious errors in his article and provide a counterargument for the origins of copper-based metallurgy in the Old World.

See also:

• A Return to the Dark Ages? Reply to Thornton et al. 2010
• From Metallurgy to Bronze Age Civilizations: The Synthetic Theory