Colin P. Quinn

“The Land Past” is a deep history of social change and resistance in Transylvania. This book tells the story of people living in mining landscapes during the first metal boom: the Bronze Age, from 2700 to 1300 BCE. Transylvania, in modern day Romania, is home to the largest deposits of natural resources, including gold, copper, tin, and salt, that fueled social inequality during the Bronze Age. The demand for Transylvanian metal thrust the communities in these mining areas into an increasingly globalized economy. Drawing upon a decade and a half of archaeological research, the book traces how Transylvanian mining communities navigated the social consequences of new technologies, climate change, mass migration, and warfare. Ultimately, this is a story of disruption, and what comes next.