Fifty shades of green: the irresistible attraction, use and significance of jadeitite and other green Alpine rock types in Neolithic Europe

Resource type
Book chapter
Creator (person)
Sheridan, J A
Pétrequin, Pierre
Pétrequin, A-M
Cassen, S
Errera, M
Gauthier, Estelle
Prodéo, Frédéric
Abstract
This chapter summarizes the results of two major international projects JADE and JADE 2. These examined the exploitation, circulation, use and significance of artefacts made from jadeite and other green rocks from the Western Alps in Neolithic Europe. The most-widely travelled of all the prehistoric materials, these Alpine jades seem to have been accorded special significance by many and diverse communities, particularly in Western Europe. This "Europe of jade" contrasts, however, with the "Europe of copper" in eastern and southeast Europe, where copper (along with gold) was the main material of choice in terms of socially-valued substances, while objects of Alpine jade are scarce.
Book title
A taste for green: a global perspective on ancient jade, turquoise and variscite exchange
Editor
Rodràƒ­guez-Rellàƒ¡n, Carlos
Nelson, Ben A
Valcarce, Ramàƒ³n Fàƒ¡bregas
Publisher
Oxbow
Place of publication
Oxford
Official URL
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