• Copper
• Magan
• Mesopotamia
• Trade

The Copper Trade in the First Half of the 3rd Millennium BC: Interconnections and Socio-Economic Complexity between Southern Mesopotamia and Magan
Sara Quaggio (Phd thesis, University of Pisa)
The thesis aims to investigate the dynamics of circulation of copper artefacts between the Persian/Arabian Gulf area (United Arab Emirates, Oman), identifiable with the country of Magan from Mesopotamian sources, and the central-southern Mesopotamia in the first half of the 3rd millennium BCE.
A key question guiding this research is: Do copper artefacts, at the centre of this investigation, reflect different communities within the archaeological landscape? Can they be used to autonomously assess existing interpretations or to develop new perspectives on cultural and social entities, focusing on the production and use of such artefacts? Therefore, this research sets a fundamental goal: to delve, through a comprehensive analysis based on carefully selected archaeological data, into how exchange systems involving the regions of Mesopotamia and Magan cannot be confined to a mere network of binary relationships, subjected to a Mesopotamian hegemony that assumes the role of protagonist in adopting the major technological innovations of the period. On the contrary, the intention is to demonstrate how such commercial interaction systems embraced a multiplicity of directions, hitherto only partially explored, which could highlight innovations and empirical-technical modes still largely unexplored as a whole.
The study presents a systematic analysis of the extraction and production process of the mineral through an examination of the geomorphological context and the mineral resources located in the eastern portion of the Arabian Peninsula, with particular attention to the Omani area (Chapters 1-2) and the potential ancient, exploited deposits. Furthermore, the production-theme of copper artefacts is addressed through an approach aimed at analysing the various stages of the chaîne opératoire, with particular attention to the techniques and tools used in the extraction and transformation phases of the mineral, and the potential similarities and/or changes in diachronic perspective identifiable at the regional and interregional levels over a chronological period of about half a century (Chapter 5). This multi-analytical approach allows for a clear and articulated framework of exchange dynamics, trade networks, and the cultural and economic implications that ensue.
Chapter 4 develops the fundamental section of the thesis, meticulously presenting the analysis of archaeological contexts that have yielded copper artefacts from various sites in southern Iraq, southwestern Iran, and the Arabian Peninsula (conducted on a total of 65 sites). Contextual analysis and data processing have taken into account both the variability of the archaeological record, including both settlement contexts and funerary evidence, and the heterogeneity of survey and redaction methodologies of contexts, providing as homogeneous and comprehensive a speculation of the known evidence as possible. This allowed to develop a solid classification of copper artefacts, with a clear typological articulation accompanied by a detailed description of the types. The typological classification is further reinforced by comparison and cross-referencing with archaeometric data (Chapter 9), particularly compositional analyses of copper artifacts available in the literature. The distributive analysis of various morphological/functional typologies and groupings defined on a compositional basis in Mesopotamian and Omani contexts supports the hypothesis (previously advanced by other authors) of a mining origin from the Gulf area through solid considerations based on a multivariate analysis of diversified yet comparable data, supported by statistical elaborations.
The connection between these two exchange areas is further addressed in Chapter 6, dedicated to the examination of textual data, with references to trade towards the Gulf area in Sumerian-Akkadian literature and, more specifically, to the mention of copper as a commodity imported from the "copper mountain" in the country of Magan. The analysis of specific terminology related to copper modelling enriches the part focused on typological analysis and copper metallurgy.
In conclusion, the thesis aims to advance in defining trade relations with the Gulf area, providing several interesting points for consideration. By using diversified investigative methodologies, the achieved research goal paints the complex theme of commercial exchanges between central-southern Mesopotamia and the Gulf through a multidisciplinary approach. A bidirectional perspective is adopted to reconstruct the transformations occurring in a crucial period that sees the consolidation of the urban model in southern Mesopotamia and the parallel emergence of marked socioeconomic differences in Mesopotamian and Gulf areas. The hypothesis of a change between Period I (3100-2900 BCE) and Period II (2900-2600 BCE) in the processing of Omani copper is highlighted within the elaboration, presupposing either the importation of ingots and raw material and subsequent fusion on-site (with less efficient technological furnaces) of the mineral for the production of finished objects, or the local manufacture using diversified copper sources or recycled material. The hypothesis of the relocation of manufacturing would align with the more pronounced typological diversification of copper objects in the Protodynastic II-IIIA period in the two areas; towards the mid-3rd millennium BCE, a typological convergence of Mesopotamian artefacts with the Levant and northern Mesopotamia is also observed.
The utilization of Network Analysis, applied here primarily in a bilateral framework, facilitated the identification of directional trends and connectivity patterns among these communities based on the spatial distribution of artifacts (Chapter 10). In the concluding phase of the research, particular attention is given to the expansion of trade networks and the socio-economic and cultural interconnections among Mesopotamia, Dilmun, Magan, and Meluhha.