This volume brings together innovative research to explore the profound impact of resources on the development of early societies. Divided into three major themes – lifeworlds in resource landscapes, skill and embodied knowledge, and the role of resources within complex systems – the volume draws on diverse case studies, from Bronze Age Chinese mining to Iron Age preurban resource management and the metallurgy-pastoralism nexus. Contributors reveal how materials were not merely extracted ...

The Iranian highlands are characterized by very special resource conditions: although being dominated in large parts by aridity, the presence of ecological niches and specific weather phenomena, along with rich deposits of minerals and raw materials, provide livelihoods for pre-modern societies. These conditions have favoured the development of different but also specific practices based on intricate knowledge of individual resources. Ancient communities in this region have developed very spe...

The Iranian highlands are characterized by very special resource conditions: although being dominated in large parts by aridity, the presence of ecological niches and specific weather phenomena, along with rich deposits of minerals and raw materials, provide livelihoods for pre-modern societies. These conditions have favoured the development of different but also specific practices based on intricate knowledge of individual resources. Ancient communities in this region have developed very spe...