Bronze and iron weapons from Luristan

Abstract: The 30,000 km2 province of Luristan is situated in western Iran and encompasses the upper valleys of the Zagros Mountains. Even today, local tribesmen inhabit Luristan with their settlement patterns similar to ancient times. Several scientific excavations in the Luristan region have uncove...

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Autor principal: Moshtagh Khorasani, Manouchehr
Formato: Artículo
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Departamento de Historia. Centro de Estudios de Historia del Antiguo Oriente 2019
Materias:
EXCAVACIONES ARQUEOLOGICAS
OBJETOS ARQUEOLOGICOS
EDAD DE BRONCE
EDAD DE HIERRO
Acceso en línea:https://repositorio.uca.edu.ar/handle/123456789/7229
Aporte de:
Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA) de Universidad Católica Argentina
id I33-R139123456789-7229
record_format dspace
institution Universidad Católica Argentina
institution_str I-33
repository_str R-139
collection Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA)
language Inglés
topic EXCAVACIONES ARQUEOLOGICAS
OBJETOS ARQUEOLOGICOS
EDAD DE BRONCE
EDAD DE HIERRO
spellingShingle EXCAVACIONES ARQUEOLOGICAS
OBJETOS ARQUEOLOGICOS
EDAD DE BRONCE
EDAD DE HIERRO
Moshtagh Khorasani, Manouchehr
Bronze and iron weapons from Luristan
topic_facet EXCAVACIONES ARQUEOLOGICAS
OBJETOS ARQUEOLOGICOS
EDAD DE BRONCE
EDAD DE HIERRO
description Abstract: The 30,000 km2 province of Luristan is situated in western Iran and encompasses the upper valleys of the Zagros Mountains. Even today, local tribesmen inhabit Luristan with their settlement patterns similar to ancient times. Several scientific excavations in the Luristan region have uncovered evidence that this particular region was a major attraction for human settlements from the Paleolithic era onwards. In Ancient Iran, the existence of rich mines together with discoveries made by innovative and inventive artisans spurred the growth of the metalworking culture as an art and a skill among early human communities in Ancient Iran. The art of Luristan can be described as the art of nomadic herdsmen and horsemen with an emphasis on the crafting of small, easily portable objects, among these a number of bronze daggers, swords and other weapons. Throughout its history, Luristan was never an ethnic or political entity because Luristan has been occupied by various tribes and races, throughout its history. Next to Elamites, other tribes who inhabited Luristan were the Hurrians, Lullubians, Kutians, and Kassites. As local tribesmen of Luristan were illiterate, information about their history can only be partially reconstructed from the literature of their southern neighbors: the Elamites and Babylonians. Luristan smiths made weapons for both civilizations. The region was later invaded by Assyrians and finally the Iranians settled the area and absorbed the local tribes. Following an accidental find by the local inhabitants in Luristan in 1928 CE, a number of unlawful diggings reveal a number of metal objects made of bronze and iron that showed a high level of craftsmanship. These objects were offered for sale on the art market with fancy names to hide their origin. The subsequent scientific excavations several decades after the initial discovery provided fascinating information about the culture of Luristan. The metalworking art of Luristan spans a time period from the third millennium BC to the Iron Age. The artifacts from Luristan seem to possess many unique and distinctive qualities, and are especially noteworthy for the apparently endless, intricate diversity and detail that they characteristically depict. The bronze artifacts found in or attributed to Luristan can be each be classed under five separate heads: a) arms and armor, including swords, dirks, daggers, axes, mace heads, spearheads, shields, quiver plaques, protective bronze girdles, helmets; b) implements related to horsemanship, including decorative or ornamental objects for horses as well as bits and snaffles; c) items for personal adornment and hygiene, including anklets, bangles, bracelets, finger rings, earrings and tweezers; d) ceremonial and ritual objects, including talismans, idols, pins, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines; and e) utilitarian objects comprising various vessels and tools, including beakers, bowls and jugs. The scope of this article is limited to a discussion of the bronze and iron weapons made in Luristan. The techniques used for making bronze weapons in Luristan included: casting with open molds, casting with close molds, and casting with lost wax process. For metal sheets used for quiver plaques and bronze protective belts, the hammering technique was used. Edged weapons made in Luristan can be classified into: a) daggers, dirks, and swords with tangs; b) daggers, dirks, and swords with flanges; and c) daggers, dirks, and swords with cast-on hilts. Next to bronze, iron was also used for making weapons such as the characteristic weapon from this area, the iron mask sword.
format Artículo
author Moshtagh Khorasani, Manouchehr
author_facet Moshtagh Khorasani, Manouchehr
author_sort Moshtagh Khorasani, Manouchehr
title Bronze and iron weapons from Luristan
title_short Bronze and iron weapons from Luristan
title_full Bronze and iron weapons from Luristan
title_fullStr Bronze and iron weapons from Luristan
title_full_unstemmed Bronze and iron weapons from Luristan
title_sort bronze and iron weapons from luristan
publisher Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Departamento de Historia. Centro de Estudios de Historia del Antiguo Oriente
publishDate 2019
url https://repositorio.uca.edu.ar/handle/123456789/7229
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