Animals and Animated Objects in the Early Middle Ages
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Book Series
New Approaches in Archaeology, vol. 8
Number, Measurement and the Search for the Concept of Weight in Prehistory
Aleksander Dzbyński
- Pages: approx. 278 p.
- Size:156 x 234 mm
- Illustrations:35 b/w, 12 col., 3 tables b/w.
- Language(s):English
- Publication Year:2026
- € 110,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE
- ISBN: 978-2-503-62017-6
- Hardback
- Forthcoming (Aug/26)
- € 110,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE
- ISBN: 978-2-503-62116-6
- E-book
- Forthcoming
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BIO
Aleksander Dzbyński was born in 1972 in Warsaw and studied Prehistoric Archaeology, Anthropology and Ancient Art History at universities in Warsaw, Basle and Freiburg. He received his PhD degree from the University of Basle in 2004. He worked as a Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Rzeszów and at the University of Zürich. He is currently working as a Privatdozent at the University of Zürich and a full time Associate Professor at Warsaw University, where he teaches prehistoric archaeology and archaeological methods and theories.
Summary
This monograph offers a groundbreaking perspective on prehistoric metrology by introducing the concept of portioning systems as a precursor to weighing and the balance scale. Drawing on archaeological evidence from the Near East and Europe, it develops a holistic framework for understanding independent phases of metrological development across prehistoric societies more broadly. At its core lies a fundamental question: were many of the artefacts considered to have functioned as measure of metal in the Copper and Bronze Ages, among them ingots, bars, and aes formatum, actually measured and perceived of in terms of weight? Taking this question as its starting point, the book traces the intellectual journey toward the concept of weight as a pivotal threshold between tangible, anthropomorphic measures and abstract numerical thinking. By identifying and analyzing previously overlooked portioning systems, this study fills a critical gap in archaeological interpretation, offering a comprehensive account of how number and measure evolved in prehistory.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Illustrations
Foreword
Chapter I. Some Theoretical Issues
Biology
Culture
Philosophy
Chapter II. The Palaeolithic
Incised Bones
Dealing with Time
Discussion
Chapter III. The Neolithic
Tokens of the Near East
Linguistic Evidence
Number in the Near East
Neolithic Europe
Chapter IV. The Metal Age
Beginnings
A Proto-Indo-European Story
Beads, Sheets and Wires
Chapter V. Towards Abstract Numbers and Measures
First Standards
Form and Value
The Epistemic Functions of Weight
The Role of Bronze Age Metallurgy for Development of Technology
Weight, Money — Consequences
Chapter VI. Summaries
The Problem of the Half
In Search for Weight
Back to Portion
Number or Measure?
Europe and the Near East
Chapter VII.Conclusions
Works Cited
Index
