ABSTRACT
This chapter explores and constructively engages with previous research into metalworking technology. Thinking about technology from a human perspective has deep roots. One of the first archaeologists to take a human-centred approach and write about the social aspects of metalworking and the individuals involved was Gordon Childe, who argued for his itinerant smith. The typical tenet of cultural reason approaches is an awareness of the dichotomies and a recognition of the contextual characteristics of technology because technology is practised by people at a specific time within a specific culture. The technological sequence of metalworking is perceived as purpose orientated towards the creation of the actual object, and herein it typically is taken for granted that this process is rational and efficient in terms of modern epistemologies. Regarding the research and interpretation of Bronze Age metalworking technology in Europe, most of the older literature follows practical reason epistemologies.
