Pyrometallurgical Transformation in Mesopotamia from Chalcolithic Sumer to Amorite Babylonia

The utilization of metals marked a major transition point in the history of human technology, as man learned to explore the special properties of the material. The field of archaeometallurgy arose not only to study the archaeological characteristics of metal artifacts, but also to research the history of civilization through the lens of metal technologies such as ore mining, smelting, metal production, and trade. This book focuses on the period between the rise of the Chalcolithic period to the beginning of the Iron Age (c. 5500 BC - 1500 BC) in Mesopotamia, and provides an overview of the evolution of copper technology and the molecular chemistry behind metallurgy techniques.

Lucas Braddock Chen's research focuses on the archaeometallurgical history of ancient Mesopotamia. His technique of using electromagnetic signatures to identify metals was published in the Journal of Experimental Techniques and Instrumentation and the International Journal of Innovative Studies in Sciences and Engineering Technology. More recently, his method of using a magnetometer to differentiate bonze artifacts was published in Archaeological Discovery.