Nathaniel L Erb-Satullo
Biographic Data
| ID | 668339 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Nathaniel L Erb-Satullo |
| GIVEN NAMES | Nathaniel L |
| FAMILY NAME | Erb-Satullo |
| SIGNATURE | ERB-SATULLO N L |
| AFFILIATIONS | Cranfield University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6463-3120 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 92 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 20 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Archaeological investigations at the late 2nd millennium BCE site of Kimirek-Kum 1, Uzbekistan
Iron in copper metallurgy at the dawn of the Iron Age
Mega-fortresses in the South Caucasus
Recent research on the organisation and growth of large settlements (both urban and non-urban) has prompted a reassessment of factors driving population aggregation. Systematic aerial and ground survey of the South Caucasus mega-fortress Dmanisis Gora, described here, contributes to the understanding of large fortress settlements in the South Caucasus (c. 1500-500 BC) as part of this wider debate. Substantial defensive walls and stone architectur…
Neutron tomography reveals extensive modern modification in Iron Age Iranian swords
Early Iron Age Iranian bladed weaponry plays a significant role in discussions of metallurgical development in the ancient Near East. Due to its ubiquity in museum collections, as well as co-occurrence of bronze, iron, and bimetallic forms, it figures prominently in debates about the early ironworking techniques in the late 2nd and early 1st millennia BCE. However, dispersed collections, often lacking secure archaeological context, have made comp…
Obsidian exchange networks and highland-lowland interaction in the Lesser Caucasus borderlands
Obsidian sourcing studies have a long history in the Near East, but relatively few have focused on obsidian exchange after the Early Bronze Age. Here, we present a multi-technique analysis of an assemblage of 111 obsidian artifacts from excavated Late Bronze and Early Iron Age (LBA-EIA; c. 15th-6th c BCE) contexts at Mtsvane Gora, southern Georgia. Because the site is situated in the lowland Kura Valley and the nearest obsidian sources are in the…
Fortified Communities in the South Caucasus
Fortresses are defining features of the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age landscape in the South Caucasus, with hundreds of sites recorded in archaeological surveys in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and northeastern Turkey. Yet, research on how these communities functioned is dominated by evidence from the small fraction of these sites that have been excavated, and regional variability remains underexplored. This paper discusses excavations at two…
Towards a Spatial Archaeology of Crafting Landscapes
Discussions of spatial relationships are persistent features of research on the organization of craft production. Despite the centrality of spatial issues, the correspondence between spatial patterning and economic organization remains relatively under-theorized, especially around questions of power and control. Drawing from the literature on craft ecology, specialization and landscape archaeology, I develop an approach that considers spatial sca…
Spatial investigation of technological choice and recycling in copper‐base metallurgy of the South Caucasus
Recent research has brought the prolific bronze industry of Bronze Age Colchis (modern western Georgia) into focus, but many aspects are still poorly understood. This study synthesizes and reinterprets legacy Cu alloy compositional data to investigate technological choices and spatial patterning. It reveals a massive injection of fresh copper into the system during the Late Bronze–Early Iron Age, and a high degree of selectivity in the alloys use…
Archaeomaterials, Innovation, and Technological Change
The field of archaeomaterials research has enormous potential to shed light on past innovation processes. However, this potential has been only partially recognized outside its immediate practitioners, despite the fact that innovation and technology change are topics of enduring interest in archaeology and the broader social sciences. This review explores the relationship between archaeomaterials research and the interdisciplinary study of innova…
Direct evidence for the co-manufacturing of early iron and copper-alloy artifacts in the Caucasus
The metal behind the myths
The Innovation and Adoption of Iron in the Ancient Near East
This review synthesizes field research, textual analysis, and archaeometric data to evaluate different explanations for the spread of iron in the ancient Near East. Current evidence supports an Anatolian origin for extractive iron metallurgy on a limited scale sometime in the early 2nd millennium BC. However, the first major expansion of iron, both in Anatolia and across the wider Near East, occurred in the late second and early first millennium …
Investigating the spatial organisation of Bronze and Iron Age fortress complexes in the South Caucasus
The Ebb and Flow of Copper and Iron Smelting in the South Caucasus
The Eastern Black Sea region of the South Caucasus contains an extremely rich record of metallurgical remains that is poorly known outside of the former Soviet Union. Large numbers of relatively small smelting sites dot the foothill regions, forming a dispersed, yet large-scale metallurgical landscape. New fieldwork in the region has followed up on earlier Soviet period research, relocating and reanalyzing previously known sites and identifying n…
Copper production landscapes of the South Caucasus
Iron and copper production at Iron Age Ashkelon
Crucible technologies in the Late Bronze–Early Iron Age South Caucasus
Late Bronze and Early Iron Age copper smelting technologies in the South Caucasus
Chemical and Mineralogical Approaches to the Organization of Late Bronze Age Nuzi Ware Production
In order to investigate the nature and organization of high‐status ceramic production in the Late Bronze Age, samples of Nuzi Ware from four different sites were analysed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM–EDS) and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP–AES). Chemical and mineralogical evidence suggests that Nuzi Ware was produced in at least two distinct regions, one probably in the Adhaim Basin in northern Iraq and an…
Isotopic Discriminants Between Late Bronze Age Glasses From Egypt and the Near East
This paper presents oxygen, strontium and neodymium isotopic analysis from a series of Late Bronze Age glasses from Egypt and Mesopotamia. It was found that oxygen and neodymium isotopes alone cannot readily distinguish between glasses from the various sites. However, combined Sr and Nd isotope analysis separate the data into three groups: an Egyptian group with relatively low Sr and Nd ratios; a Late Bronze Age (LBA) Nuzi group with high Sr and …
Crucible technologies in the Late Bronze–Early Iron Age South Caucasus
Late Bronze and Early Iron Age copper smelting technologies in the South Caucasus
Isotopic Discriminants Between Late Bronze Age Glasses From Egypt and the Near East
This paper presents oxygen, strontium and neodymium isotopic analysis from a series of Late Bronze Age glasses from Egypt and Mesopotamia. It was found that oxygen and neodymium isotopes alone cannot readily distinguish between glasses from the various sites. However, combined Sr and Nd isotope analysis separate the data into three groups: an Egyptian group with relatively low Sr and Nd ratios; a Late Bronze Age (LBA) Nuzi group with high Sr and …
Direct evidence for the co-manufacturing of early iron and copper-alloy artifacts in the Caucasus
Iron and copper production at Iron Age Ashkelon
Archaeomaterials, Innovation, and Technological Change
The field of archaeomaterials research has enormous potential to shed light on past innovation processes. However, this potential has been only partially recognized outside its immediate practitioners, despite the fact that innovation and technology change are topics of enduring interest in archaeology and the broader social sciences. This review explores the relationship between archaeomaterials research and the interdisciplinary study of innova…
Investigating the spatial organisation of Bronze and Iron Age fortress complexes in the South Caucasus
The Ebb and Flow of Copper and Iron Smelting in the South Caucasus
The Eastern Black Sea region of the South Caucasus contains an extremely rich record of metallurgical remains that is poorly known outside of the former Soviet Union. Large numbers of relatively small smelting sites dot the foothill regions, forming a dispersed, yet large-scale metallurgical landscape. New fieldwork in the region has followed up on earlier Soviet period research, relocating and reanalyzing previously known sites and identifying n…
Neutron tomography reveals extensive modern modification in Iron Age Iranian swords
Early Iron Age Iranian bladed weaponry plays a significant role in discussions of metallurgical development in the ancient Near East. Due to its ubiquity in museum collections, as well as co-occurrence of bronze, iron, and bimetallic forms, it figures prominently in debates about the early ironworking techniques in the late 2nd and early 1st millennia BCE. However, dispersed collections, often lacking secure archaeological context, have made comp…
Fortified Communities in the South Caucasus
Fortresses are defining features of the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age landscape in the South Caucasus, with hundreds of sites recorded in archaeological surveys in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and northeastern Turkey. Yet, research on how these communities functioned is dominated by evidence from the small fraction of these sites that have been excavated, and regional variability remains underexplored. This paper discusses excavations at two…
Towards a Spatial Archaeology of Crafting Landscapes
Discussions of spatial relationships are persistent features of research on the organization of craft production. Despite the centrality of spatial issues, the correspondence between spatial patterning and economic organization remains relatively under-theorized, especially around questions of power and control. Drawing from the literature on craft ecology, specialization and landscape archaeology, I develop an approach that considers spatial sca…
Spatial investigation of technological choice and recycling in copper‐base metallurgy of the South Caucasus
Recent research has brought the prolific bronze industry of Bronze Age Colchis (modern western Georgia) into focus, but many aspects are still poorly understood. This study synthesizes and reinterprets legacy Cu alloy compositional data to investigate technological choices and spatial patterning. It reveals a massive injection of fresh copper into the system during the Late Bronze–Early Iron Age, and a high degree of selectivity in the alloys use…
Iron in copper metallurgy at the dawn of the Iron Age
Obsidian exchange networks and highland-lowland interaction in the Lesser Caucasus borderlands
Obsidian sourcing studies have a long history in the Near East, but relatively few have focused on obsidian exchange after the Early Bronze Age. Here, we present a multi-technique analysis of an assemblage of 111 obsidian artifacts from excavated Late Bronze and Early Iron Age (LBA-EIA; c. 15th-6th c BCE) contexts at Mtsvane Gora, southern Georgia. Because the site is situated in the lowland Kura Valley and the nearest obsidian sources are in the…
Chemical and Mineralogical Approaches to the Organization of Late Bronze Age Nuzi Ware Production
In order to investigate the nature and organization of high‐status ceramic production in the Late Bronze Age, samples of Nuzi Ware from four different sites were analysed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM–EDS) and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP–AES). Chemical and mineralogical evidence suggests that Nuzi Ware was produced in at least two distinct regions, one probably in the Adhaim Basin in northern Iraq and an…
Isotopic Discriminants Between Late Bronze Age Glasses From Egypt and the Near East
This paper presents oxygen, strontium and neodymium isotopic analysis from a series of Late Bronze Age glasses from Egypt and Mesopotamia. It was found that oxygen and neodymium isotopes alone cannot readily distinguish between glasses from the various sites. However, combined Sr and Nd isotope analysis separate the data into three groups: an Egyptian group with relatively low Sr and Nd ratios; a Late Bronze Age (LBA) Nuzi group with high Sr and …
Chemical and Mineralogical Approaches to the Organization of Late Bronze Age Nuzi Ware Production
In order to investigate the nature and organization of high‐status ceramic production in the Late Bronze Age, samples of Nuzi Ware from four different sites were analysed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM–EDS) and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP–AES). Chemical and mineralogical evidence suggests that Nuzi Ware was produced in at least two distinct regions, one probably in the Adhaim Basin in northern Iraq and an…
Late Bronze and Early Iron Age copper smelting technologies in the South Caucasus
Crucible technologies in the Late Bronze–Early Iron Age South Caucasus
Copper production landscapes of the South Caucasus
Iron and copper production at Iron Age Ashkelon
The Ebb and Flow of Copper and Iron Smelting in the South Caucasus
The Eastern Black Sea region of the South Caucasus contains an extremely rich record of metallurgical remains that is poorly known outside of the former Soviet Union. Large numbers of relatively small smelting sites dot the foothill regions, forming a dispersed, yet large-scale metallurgical landscape. New fieldwork in the region has followed up on earlier Soviet period research, relocating and reanalyzing previously known sites and identifying n…
The Innovation and Adoption of Iron in the Ancient Near East
This review synthesizes field research, textual analysis, and archaeometric data to evaluate different explanations for the spread of iron in the ancient Near East. Current evidence supports an Anatolian origin for extractive iron metallurgy on a limited scale sometime in the early 2nd millennium BC. However, the first major expansion of iron, both in Anatolia and across the wider Near East, occurred in the late second and early first millennium …
Investigating the spatial organisation of Bronze and Iron Age fortress complexes in the South Caucasus
Archaeomaterials, Innovation, and Technological Change
The field of archaeomaterials research has enormous potential to shed light on past innovation processes. However, this potential has been only partially recognized outside its immediate practitioners, despite the fact that innovation and technology change are topics of enduring interest in archaeology and the broader social sciences. This review explores the relationship between archaeomaterials research and the interdisciplinary study of innova…
Direct evidence for the co-manufacturing of early iron and copper-alloy artifacts in the Caucasus
The metal behind the myths
Spatial investigation of technological choice and recycling in copper‐base metallurgy of the South Caucasus
Recent research has brought the prolific bronze industry of Bronze Age Colchis (modern western Georgia) into focus, but many aspects are still poorly understood. This study synthesizes and reinterprets legacy Cu alloy compositional data to investigate technological choices and spatial patterning. It reveals a massive injection of fresh copper into the system during the Late Bronze–Early Iron Age, and a high degree of selectivity in the alloys use…
Fortified Communities in the South Caucasus
Fortresses are defining features of the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age landscape in the South Caucasus, with hundreds of sites recorded in archaeological surveys in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and northeastern Turkey. Yet, research on how these communities functioned is dominated by evidence from the small fraction of these sites that have been excavated, and regional variability remains underexplored. This paper discusses excavations at two…
Towards a Spatial Archaeology of Crafting Landscapes
Discussions of spatial relationships are persistent features of research on the organization of craft production. Despite the centrality of spatial issues, the correspondence between spatial patterning and economic organization remains relatively under-theorized, especially around questions of power and control. Drawing from the literature on craft ecology, specialization and landscape archaeology, I develop an approach that considers spatial sca…
Obsidian exchange networks and highland-lowland interaction in the Lesser Caucasus borderlands
Obsidian sourcing studies have a long history in the Near East, but relatively few have focused on obsidian exchange after the Early Bronze Age. Here, we present a multi-technique analysis of an assemblage of 111 obsidian artifacts from excavated Late Bronze and Early Iron Age (LBA-EIA; c. 15th-6th c BCE) contexts at Mtsvane Gora, southern Georgia. Because the site is situated in the lowland Kura Valley and the nearest obsidian sources are in the…
Neutron tomography reveals extensive modern modification in Iron Age Iranian swords
Early Iron Age Iranian bladed weaponry plays a significant role in discussions of metallurgical development in the ancient Near East. Due to its ubiquity in museum collections, as well as co-occurrence of bronze, iron, and bimetallic forms, it figures prominently in debates about the early ironworking techniques in the late 2nd and early 1st millennia BCE. However, dispersed collections, often lacking secure archaeological context, have made comp…
Archaeological investigations at the late 2nd millennium BCE site of Kimirek-Kum 1, Uzbekistan
Iron in copper metallurgy at the dawn of the Iron Age
Mega-fortresses in the South Caucasus
Recent research on the organisation and growth of large settlements (both urban and non-urban) has prompted a reassessment of factors driving population aggregation. Systematic aerial and ground survey of the South Caucasus mega-fortress Dmanisis Gora, described here, contributes to the understanding of large fortress settlements in the South Caucasus (c. 1500-500 BC) as part of this wider debate. Substantial defensive walls and stone architectur…
Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (17 works) · Archaeology (15 works) · Geography (14 works) · Materials Science (10 works) · Geology (9 works) · Metallurgy (9 works) · Metallurgy and Cultural Artifacts (9 works) · Bronze (8 works) · Bronze Age (7 works) · History (7 works)