The Metalworker as Social Agent: A longue durée Approach from Northwestern Iberia Atlantic Façade (Ninth–First Centuries bce)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyse the role of the metalworker in the northwest Iberian Iron Age. By adopting a holistic and diachronic perspective, a broad review of the influence of metalworking and its agents on the social structuring of the communities of the Atlantic seaboard is presented. With the aim of exploring the implications of metallurgy and the blacksmith's activity, a new perspective of metalworking is suggested. Thus, an exploration of perspectives beyond the technical aspects will be addressed, considering the ‘technological dimension’ as part of all the elements that define this activity. The objective of the work is to present a narrative that allows analysis of the role of the metalworker throughout different historical periods, focusing on the social, technical and symbolic dynamics that have shaped its development.