Thanks to advanced management skills, the Araba industry became the copper powerhouse of the ancient world
A new study by Tel Aviv University states that thanks to advanced management methods and impressive technological creativity, the copper industry in the Arava three thousand years ago was able to prosper and become the largest and most advanced smelting center in the ancient world. The research was conducted by David Luria From the Department of Archeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures named after Yaakov M. an alcove at the Lester and Sally Antin Faculty of Humanities, and was published these days in the journal PLoS ONE.
The trial and error method of the ancient world
According to Luria, the copper industry in Canaan at that time was focused on two large factories: one in Timna (north of Eilat), and the other in Pinan (in the north of the Arava, in the territory of Jordan). Previous studies dealing with the subject claimed that the high technological level was made possible thanks to Egyptian technologies that were imported to the region during the campaign of Shishak, King of Egypt, in 925 BC. This approach was strengthened in 2014, following the discovery of a scarab bearing the image of Shishak in Pinan, and later in 2019, following the development of a new model that argued for a sudden technological leap that occurred close to Shishak's journey.
Luria, on the other hand, claims that the great economic and technological success is not related to the Egyptian abilities, but to the talent of the people of the Arabah who knew how to use two methods known today as "trial and error" (Trial and error), and "controlled increase" (Scaling up). "The Shishak campaign was not intended to physically take over the copper factories in the Arava, but to forge a long-term agreement with the people of the Arava, with the aim of strengthening local production and thus increasing the export of copper to Egypt, which at the time was suffering from local production difficulties. It is clear that these terms of 'trial and error' were not used in the ancient period, but the application of their practical principles was possible from a basic engineering understanding and 'common sense', known in the ancient world in other places as well", says Luria.
According to him, the "trial and error" method allowed the metal plows of the Arava to slowly improve the technological processes as well as to increase the scope and quality of production. In addition, the "controlled enlargement" made it possible to increase the dimensions of the existing means of production, using materials and processes that were acceptable at the time, thus developing advanced production equipment with a minimum of time, cost and technological risk.
The secret is in a competent technological level
Luria explains that "it seems that the secrets of the success of the ancient copper industry in the Arava must be sought in the skills and ability of the efficient management level, which is assisted at every stage in its decisions by a competent technological level. Archeology cannot currently identify those in charge, but a careful analysis of the remains left in the field is able to tell the story for sure. These findings relate to the remnants of production that accumulated as piles of waste, which can be dated and whose size can be used to estimate the scope of production at any given time. In addition, through a chemical analysis of the copper content remaining in the waste, it is possible to determine the nature of the production, and as the copper in the waste decreased, it can be concluded that the process became more sophisticated."
Also, according to him, traces left in the field show that throughout the production period the management team was able to close inefficient mines and open more efficient ones. Furthermore, for some of the time it was decided to reuse waste from earlier periods, which were produced in less efficient processes and which left a lot of copper in the waste, instead of directly using natural ore. These decisions could not have been made without an excellent technical level, which backed up the management's decisions with regular technological tests. The administrative level was also involved in the wide marketing of the copper that was produced throughout the ancient world. "The important lesson from this technological success is that the high-tech of individuals, educated and energetic who lived here in the first millennium BC succeeded, just like today, in bringing about a huge revolution in the economy of the Arava. After all, it has already been said: there is nothing new under the sun", Luria concludes.
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