The implication of diachronic changes reflected in LBA bronze assemblages of Central Kazakhstan

Abstract

The Late Bronze Age in central Kazakhstan may be considered an incubation time for significant social and political changes that would soon transpire with the coming of the Early Iron Age. In seeking material evidence that might predict the imminence of such changes, differences in technology and artifact makeup were noted in the visual and microscopic investigation of local LBA bronze assemblages separated in time by one to three centuries. During this period, tin alloying in copper became more prominent while there was growing dependence on casting for fabrication. This change in technology apparently came with the increasing demand for weapons and decorative items, signifying the emergence of conflicts and social differentiation. No evidence was noted, however, of the fabrication of the metallic horse harness or of the use of lead or arsenic in copper alloys. The diachronic differences, clearly visible when viewing the LBA bronze assemblages in comparative perspectives, indicate that the emergence of conspicuous technological and social transformations at the turn of the EIA era could be regarded as an intensification of the changes already in progress in central Kazakhstan during the LBA period.