Copper Age: Regional Rituals

 

Timeline 

• First Hominins Period:  The earliest, dating 7-6 million years ago.
•  
• Early Hominins Period: From 2.7 - 1.5 million years ago.
• Paleolithic Period: Roughly from 2.5 million years ago to 10,000 B.C.
• Neolithic Period: From around 4300 BC down to 2000 BC

Indigenous Caribbean 1492 AD (Spider web idea)

Syncretic Caribbean  2022 AD (Spider web idea)

•  Copper or Chalcolithic Age: 3500 to 2300 BCE.

 

 

I

Unit: Copper Age

Theme: Ritual Practices

Introduction

The Chalcolithic or Copper Age is the transitional period between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age. It is taken to begin around the mid-5th millennium BC, and ends with the beginning of the Bronze Age proper, in the late 4th to 3rd millennium BC, depending on the region. Furthermore, it is an archaeological period characterized by regular human manipulation of copper, but prior to the discovery of bronze alloys.

 

II

Learning Objectives

 

•  Understand the importance of the discovery of copper
•  Explain the relationship between sedentary life, regional cults and rituals
• Gather an awareness of the influence that the discovery of smelting ore had on the production of music in Egypt's Copper Age.
•  Experience the reproduction of the movements represented in the chosen illustrations.

 

 

III

 Main Lesson

1

Copper Age

Link: 

https://draft.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/1576925318821129707/8788887432996039976

(3:15 - 22:37)

After watching this video:

Question 1

Why was the discovery of copper an important aspect in the development of human society? 

 the relationship between sedentary life, regional cults and rituals

2

(Min. 24:30 - 41:25)

After watching this video, explain in your own words:

Question 2

What do you think is the relationship between sedentary life, regional cults and rituals?

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IV

A Note to Remember

The idea that there was a Copper Age between the Neolithic and Bronze Age was inspired by the discovery of copper use in prehistoric North America. 

Its currency in European prehistory owes much to the 1861 observations by William Wilde that copper artifacts preceded bronze tools in Ireland, though he himself did not postulate a Copper Age per se. 

Acceptance of the existence of a Copper Age was a long process, not least as it seemed to contradict the premises of the Three Age System and was conflated with arguments for the local development of copper metallurgy, but the 1876 and 1880 international prehistoric archaeology congresses were key moments in its recognition. 

By the mid-1880s its validity was widely accepted in Europe. In contemporary dating schemes, the definition of the Copper Age varies according to regional and national traditions. 

V

Case Study

 

 

 

The Evolution of Finger Cymbals

 by Dawn Devine – Davina

Scholars of dance love to theorize on the origins of our art form. We contemplate the regions that may have given rise to unique body motions or the cultures that developed different musical styles.  But there is one component of our dance that has been definitively proven to date back to pre-literate antiquity.  These are our much beloved favorite music instrument, the mighty finger cymbal.  

Copper Age

Our journey begins back in the 4th millennium or 3000 BCE.  It’s a time when our ancestors were still making music with wooden clappers, skinned drums, and simple stringed instruments which rarely survive. 

The smallest, most portable, and easiest to make instruments were simple concussive idiophones. This is a category of musical instruments that produce resonant sound from the intrinsic property of the item. 

Our forbearers used materials such as wooden sticks, lengths of ivory or bone, and precious stones to produce pleasing resonant sounds to their ears.

 The discovery of smelting ore, and humankind’s first practical metal, copper, allowed people to craft stronger and more practical work tools, kitchen utensils, and weapons. 

It also added a new material for making musical instruments.  Some of the earliest finger cymbals are made from copper or simple copper alloys.  Examples of these earliest instruments survive because of their value and importance in daily life. 

They have been found in the graves of wealthy and important individuals ranging from Anatolia (modern Turkey) around the Eastern Mediterranean to Egypt.  

Egyptian Finger Cymbals of Copper Alloys and Bronze, 1000 BCE – 500 CE Louvre Exhibit, Alisha Westerfeld

Source:

 https://draft.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/1576925318821129707/8788887432996039976

 

 Question 2

How did the discovery of smelting ore influence the production of music in Egypt's Copper Age?

VI

 

Activity

 

Students get in group (one per illustration) and reproduce the movements represented in the chosen illustration. Then, they put them together in a phrase that they will share with the rest of the class.

 

The Dance: Historic Illustrations of Dancing 

 

from 3300 B.C. to 1911 A.D.

BY
AN ANTIQUARY

LONDON
JOHN BALE, SONS & DANIELSSON, LTD.
83-91, GREAT TITCHFIELD STREET, OXFORD STREET, W

Respectfully dedicated to Dr. Eleanor Maxwell.

1911

   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/17289/17289-h/17289-h.htm

1

Amongst the earliest representations that are comprehensible, we have certain Egyptian paintings, and some of these exhibit postures that evidently had even then a settled meaning, and were a phrase in the sentences of the art. Not only were they settled at such an early period (B.C. 3000, fig. 1);

Fig. 1

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2

they appear to have been accepted and handed down to succeeding generations (fig. 2). The accompanying illustrations from Egypt and Greece exhibit what was evidently a traditional attitude. The hand-in-hand dance is another of these [traditional attitudes]. The earliest accompaniments to dancing appear to have been the clapping of hands, the pipes, the guitar, the tambourine, the castanets, the cymbals, the tambour, and sometimes in the street, the drum. 

 "The dresses of the females were light and of the finest texture, a loose flowing robe reaching to the ankles, sometimes with a girdle.

"In later times, it appears more transparent and folded in narrow pleats. Some danced in pairs, holding each other's hand; others went through a succession of steps alone, both men and women; sometimes a man performed a solo to the sound of music or the clapping of hands. 

The following account of Egyptian dancing is from Sir Gardiner Wilkinson's "Ancient Egypt."

"The dance consisted mostly of a succession of figures, in which the performers endeavored to exhibit a great variety of gesture. Men and women danced at the same time, or in separate parties, but the latter were generally preferred for their superior grace and elegance. Some danced to slow airs, adapted to the style of their movement; the attitudes they assumed frequently partook of a grace not unworthy of the Greeks; and some credit is due to the skill of the artist who represented the subject, which excites additional interest from its being in one of the oldest tombs of Thebes (B.C. 1450, Amenophis II.).

 

 

Fig. 2

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3

Others preferred a lively step, regulated by an appropriate tune; and men sometimes danced with great spirit, bounding from the ground, more in the manner of Europeans than of Eastern people. On these occasions the music was not always composed of many instruments, and here we find only the cylindrical maces and a woman snapping her fingers in the time, in lieu of cymbals or castanets. 

Fig. 3: The hieroglyphics describe the dance.

In later times, it appears more transparent and folded in narrow pleats. Some danced in pairs, holding each other's hand; others went through a succession of steps alone, both men and women; sometimes a man performed a solo to the sound of music or the clapping of hands. "A favourite figure dance was universally adopted throughout the country, in which two partners, who were usually men, advanced toward each other, or stood face to face upon one leg, and having performed a series of movements, retired again in opposite directions, continuing to hold by one hand and concluding by turning each other round (see fig. 3)

 

Fig.  3

 

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4

"Graceful attitudes and gesticulations were the general style of their dance, but, as in all other countries, the taste of the performance varied according to the rank of the person by whom they were employed, or their own skill, and the dance at the house of a priest differed from that among the uncouth peasantry, etc.

"It was not customary for the upper orders of Egyptians to indulge in this amusement, either in public or private assemblies, and none appear to have practiced it but the lower ranks of society, and those who gained their livelihood by attending festive meetings.

"Fearing lest it should corrupt the manners of a people naturally lively and fond of gaiety, and deeming it neither a necessary part of education nor becoming a person of sober habits, the Egyptians forbade those of the higher classes to learn it as an amusement.

"Many of these postures resembled those of the modern ballet, and the pirouette delighted an Egyptian party 3,500 years ago. 

That the attitude was very common is proved by its having been adopted by the hieroglyphic (fig. 4) as the mode of describing 'dance.'"

Many of the positions of the dance illustrated in Gardner Wilkinson are used at the present day.

 

Fig. 4: Egyptian hieroglyphic for "dance."         ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   5    The ASSYRIANS probably danced as much as the other nations, but amongst the many monuments that have been discovered there is little dancing shown, and they were evidently more proud of their campaigns and their hunting than of their dancing. A stern and strong people, although they undoubtedly had this amusement, we know little about it. Of the Phoenicians, their neighbours, we have some illustrations of their dance, which was apparently of a serious nature, judging by the examples which we possess, such as that (fig. 5) from Cyprus representing three figures in hooded cowls dancing around a piper. It is a dance around a centre,

5

(5:20)

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6

 

 It is a dance around a centre, as is also (fig. 6) that from Idalium in Cyprus. The latter is engraved around a bronze bowl and is evidently a planet and sun dance before a goddess, in a temple; the sun being the central object around which they dance, accompanied by the double pipes, the harp, and tabour. The Egyptian origin of the devotion is apparent in the details, especially in the lotus-smelling goddess (marked A on fig. 6) who holds the flower in the manner shown in an Egyptian painting in the British Museum (fig. 7). 

6

 

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7

From the Phoenicians we have illustrated examples, but no record, whereas from their neighbours the Hebrews we have ample records in the Scriptures, but no illustrations. It is, however, most probable that the dance with them had the traditional character of the nations around them or who had held them captive, and the Philistine dance (fig. 6) may have been of the same kind as that around the golden calf (Apis) of the desert (Exodus xxxii. v. 19).

 

 

7

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8

8

 

 

 

 

 

Music

 

Music Source: https://hellomusictheory.com/learn/egyptian-instruments/

VII

Journaling

 

 

 

VIII

 

Glossary 

girdle: A girdle is a form-fitting foundation garment that encircles the lower torso, extending below the hips, and worn often to shape or for support. It may be worn for aesthetic or medical reasons. In sports or medical treatment, a girdle may be worn as a compression garment. 

 

Sir John Gardner Wilkinson: He was an English traveler, writer and pioneer Egyptologist of the 19th century. He is often referred to as "the Father of British Egyptology."

 

 Idalium: Idalion or Idalium was an ancient city in Cyprus, in modern Dali, Nicosia District. The city was founded on the copper trade in the 3rd millennium BC.

 

Assyrians: Assyrians are an indigenous ethnic group native to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians descend from Ancient Mesopotamians such as ancient Assyrians and Babylonians.

 

Phoenicians: Phoenicia, or Phœnicia, was an ancient Semitic thalassocratic civilization originating in the coastal strip of the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon

 

thalassocratic: A thalassocracy or thalattocracy, sometimes also maritime empire, is a state with primarily maritime realms, an empire at sea, or a seaborne empire. Traditional thalassocracies seldom dominate interiors, even in their home territories.

 

Philistines: The Philistines were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan during the Iron Age in a confederation of city-states generally referred to as Philistia. The Philistines originated as an immigrant group from the Aegean that settled in Canaan circa 1175 BC during the Late Bronze Age collapse.

IX

Sources

An Antiquary (1911). The Dance: Historic Illustrations of Dancing from 3300 B.C. to 1911 A.D. London: John Bale, Sons & Danielsson, Ltd. 83 - 91, Great Titchfield Street, Oxford Street, W. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/17289/17289-h/17289-h.htm

 

X

 

Student's Work 

 

 

Class/ Fall 2023

 

Spring 2024

Previous Semester

 

Josh Roit

 

The Bronze Age was a pivotal period in human history characterized by the widespread use of bronze tools and artifacts. this era had many advancements: including metallurgy, trade, and societal complexity. The importance of the Bronze Age is underscored by its transformative impact on technology, warfare, and cultural exchange. I think there was an interplay between technological progress and spiritual ideologies that made the Bronze Age significant. These ideas and advancements laid the groundwork for future civilizations

 

Lauren Tierney

I found it important to recognize the value of nature in ancient cultures. In this case, the Sun became a symbol to represent their God. While other natural features may differ across the geography of the world, the Sun would always remain the same for all people to see. Therefore, it is important to understand the importance of the Sun in many different cultures as well as to recognize any similarities and differences between them and how isolation or trade may affect those metaphors.

 

 

Abigail Shultz

The most important thing I learned today was that while all of these ages were happening, they were happening at different times in different locations. Even though the Bronze Age started somewhere in central Asia, it did not occur everywhere at that time. The Bronze Age showed the introduction of the first metal alloy, bronze, as welll as wheat and barley. Additionally, it is important to understand that the Yaman culture is theorized to be the origin of the Indo-European languages. The Yamans are still found in DNA today, specifically in Finland and northern European people.

 

Jiya Arora

The mention of the Yamnaya migration highlights the role of migration in shaping human history. The Yamnaya, a highly mobile steppe culture, migrated as pastoral nomads, influencing regions with their practices, including dairy farming. This movement emphasizes the dynamic nature of cultures and the impact of migrations on societies. Regarding dance forms, the examples provided, such as the Lezginka, a folk dance originating in the Caucasus, showcase the transmission of cultural elements across regions. The movement of people often carries with it unique forms of expression, like dance, reflecting the diversity and interconnectivity of human cultures as they traverse geographical boundaries. This cultural exchange through migration contributes to the rich variety of dance traditions observed in various parts of the world.

 

Make Up Work

 

Jason Fiske

Jason Fiske's 2/13 Makeup Response (5/1):

The discovery of copper was pivotal for human society, facilitating tool and weapon crafting, which in turn enhanced agriculture and warfare. As societies transitioned to sedentary life, they developed regional cults and rituals centered around local deities and agriculture, fostering community unity and cultural identity. Smelting ore in Egypt's Copper Age not only revolutionized metalworking but also likely influenced artistic expression, potentially shaping the production of music through technological advancements and societal changes.

 

Renato Franchi Filho 

 

Renato Franchi Filho - 2/13

Through extensive agriculture, the Neolithic Age saw the transition from a nomadic to a sedentary way of life. Food surpluses, permanent villages, and sophisticated societies resulted from this. Metalworking, most notably the use of copper for tools, was introduced during the Copper Age. This shift maintained reliance on agriculture while enhancing economic activity with more effective instruments. It promoted greater trade, specialization, and community connectivity.

 

 

 

Nicholas Marino

Nick Marino 2/13

The discovery of copper advanced metallurgy, technology, and trade, important for human society.

Sedentary life creates regional cults and rituals by allowing permanent settlements and localized religious practices.

Smelting ore probably broadened music in Egypt's Copper Age by allowing for diverse instrument crafting.

 

 

Hailey Scarantino 

Both the Neolithic Age and Copper Age were important in history and had its own distinctive characteristics.  

While learning about the Neolithic Age, we learned about the importance of hunting and gathering within their societies for survival. This age was composed of more farm communities with products made from animals. 

Then there was a major shift from the Neolithic age and Copper age, which is known for the switch from stone tools to metal tools. This evolution was very important for people at this time. 

Meanwhile, the Copper Age was when societies began using tools made of copper.  

The switch from primary to secondary revolution was recognized by the use of staple animal products such as drinking milk from cows. The secondary product is known for products such as cheese and yogurt, which are not directly taken from the animal and instead had to be made from staple ingredients.