An overview of the important technological and organization aspects of the carnelian bead industry that will be useful in developing interpretive models regarding the role of agate bead production in early urban societies.
Khambhat in Gujarat province provides a unique opportunity to study the organization of a specialized craft and understand how different aspects of social, economic and political organization relating to such crafts might be reflected in the archaeological record because of the long continuity of bead-making in this region,
Archaeologists interested in ancient craft production, both those aided by ancient historical sources and those bound to the interpretation of material residues, are currently involved in major critical efforts to improve the quality of their interpretation of the archaeological record.
This paper discusses some theoretical questions and present some observations on the role of ethnoarchaeological studies of craft production in contemporary stratified social contexts, in the study of protohistoric societies.
This paper summarizes the state of drilling research and defines two categories of drills that were used in antiquity: tapered cylindrical drills and constricted cylindrical drills. Directions for future research on the relationship between drilling and other contemporaneous technologies are also discussed.