There's Method in the Fragments: A Damage Ranking System for Bronze Age Metalwork

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Matthew G. Knight
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Material Properties ◽  
Copper Alloy ◽  
Copper Alloys ◽  
Ranking System ◽  
Wear Analysis ◽  
Unintentional Action

Broken and damaged Bronze Age metalwork has long been studied, but there is no methodology for identifying signs of intentional versus unintentional action. Past approaches have tended to rely on assumptions about how such finds were damaged. Drawing on the material properties of copper alloys, as well as on recent research into wear-analysis and experimental fragmentation of bronze implements, this article presents a working methodology for identifying deliberate damage. Seven ‘Destruction Indicators’ are presented, with associated criteria, for making informed interpretations about archaeological artefacts. These contribute to a ‘Damage Ranking System’, an index for ranking damage on Bronze Age copper alloy objects based on the likelihood that damage was intentional. Two case studies illustrate how this system can be applied.

The Production of Copper Alloys in Iron Age Britain

1996 ◽  
Vol 62 ◽  
pp. 399-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.B. Dungworth
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Analytical Method ◽  
Copper Alloy ◽  
Copper Alloys ◽  
Roman Period ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Tin Bronze ◽  
Quantitative Analyses ◽  
Selection Of

This paper presents a selection of compositional analyses of Iron Age copper alloy artefacts from northern Britain. The results were obtained as part of a larger project which examined Iron Age and Roman copper alloys in northern Britain (the region from the Trent-Mersey to the Forth-Clyde). The quantitative analyses were carried out using EDXRF on drilled or polished samples. Comparisons are made with results from the late Bronze Age and early Roman period in northern Britain. The results are also compared with those already published from a range of Iron Age sites in southern England. The large total number of copper alloy analyses from the British Iron Age has made possible a synthesis of the data which has largely been assembled piecemeal. It is now clear that a tin bronze was the principal copper alloy for much of the Iron Age. The composition of this alloy is distinct from the alloys used in the Late Bronze Age and during the Roman period although there is considerable ‘blurring’ at the transitions. A brief outline of the analytical method employed and the analytical results are included.

COPPER ALLOY No. 185

Alloy Digest ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Corrosion Resistance ◽  
Physical Properties ◽  
Tensile Properties ◽  
Copper Alloy ◽  
Copper Alloys ◽  
Circuit Breaker ◽  
Heat Treating ◽  
Age Hardening ◽  
Good Strength

Abstract Copper Alloy No. 185 has fairly high electrical and thermal conductivity in combination with good strength and hardnes. It is an age-hardening type of alloy containing nominally 0.10% silver; it formerly was known as one of the Chromium Copper alloys. Among its many applications are circuit breaker parts, electrode holder jaws, switch contacts and electrical and thermal conductors requiring greater strength than copper. This datasheet provides information on composition, physical properties, hardness, elasticity, and tensile properties. It also includes information on corrosion resistance as well as forming, heat treating, machining, and joining. Filing Code: Cu-390. Producer or source: Copper and copper alloy mills.

ULTRONZE

Alloy Digest ◽  
1981 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Corrosion Resistance ◽  
Stress Relaxation ◽  
Physical Properties ◽  
Copper Alloy ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Copper Alloys ◽  
Heat Treating ◽  
Bend Strength ◽  
Excellent Corrosion Resistance ◽  
Relaxation Characteristics

Abstract ULTRONZE is a copper alloy also known as Olin Alloy 654. It bridges the gap between standard high-performance copper alloys and beryllium-copper alloys, thus enabling the design of parts with properties previously only attainable with more expensive materials. The alloy has superior stress-relaxation characteristics, good bend performance and excellent corrosion resistance. Among its typical uses are electrical connectors, fuse clips and relay springs. This datasheet provides information on composition, physical properties, hardness, elasticity, tensile properties, and bend strength. It also includes information on corrosion resistance as well as forming, heat treating, and machining. Filing Code: Cu-417. Producer or source: Olin Brass.

scholarly journals The Emergence of Coercive Societies in Northwestern Scandinavia During the Late Neolithic–Early Bronze Age

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-37
Author(s):  
Knut Ivar Austvoll
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Organizational Strategy ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Natural Ecology

AbstractThis paper discusses how coastal societies in northwestern Scandinavia were able to rise in power by strategically utilizing the natural ecology and landscape in which they were situated. From two case studies (the Norwegian regions of Lista and Tananger), it is shown that it was possible to control the flow of goods up and down the coast at certain bottlenecks but that this also created an unstable society in which conflict between neighboring groups occurred often. More specifically the paper outlines an organizational strategy that may be applicable cross-culturally.

From Texts and Iconography to Use-Wear Analysis of Ceramic Vessels

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-210
Author(s):  
Bartłomiej Lis ◽  
Trevor Van Damme
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Wear Analysis ◽  
Use Wear ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Ceramic Vessels ◽  
Repeated Use ◽  
Funerary Rites

While handwashing is attested in the Bronze Age cultures of the eastern Mediterranean and appears in both Linear B records and Homeric epics, the custom has not been discussed with regard to the material culture of Mycenaean Greece. On analogy with Egyptian handwashing equipment, we explore the possibility that a conical bowl made of bronze and copied in clay was introduced in Greece early in the Late Bronze Age for this specific use. We integrate epigraphic, iconographic and formal analyses to support this claim, but in order to interrogate the quotidian function of ceramic lekanes, we present the results of use-wear analysis performed on 130 examples. As use-wear develops from repeated use over a long time, it is a good indicator of normative behaviour, particularly when large datasets are amassed and contrasted with other shapes. While not conclusive, our results allow us to rule out a function as tableware for food consumption, and in combination with all other analyses support the interpretation of lekanes as handwashing basins. We then trace the development of this custom from its initial adoption by elite groups to its spread among new social classes and venues after the collapse of the palace system: at home, as part of communal feasting and sacrifice or as an element of funerary rites. The widespread distribution of handwashing equipment after 1200 bc closely mirrors the situation in our earliest surviving Greek Iron Age texts and joins a growing body of evidence pointing to strong continuity in social practices between the Postpalatial period and the early Iron Age in Greece.

scholarly journals Antiparasitic Effect of Copper Alloy Surface on Cryptocaryon irritans in Aquaculture of Larimichthys crocea

2018 ◽  
Vol 85 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei Yin ◽  
Peibo Bao ◽  
Xiao Liu ◽  
Youbin Yu ◽  
Lei Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Copper Alloy ◽  
Copper Ions ◽  
Copper Alloys ◽  
Antimicrobial Properties ◽  
Alloy Surface ◽  
Larimichthys Crocea ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cryptocaryon Irritans ◽  
Metal Levels

ABSTRACT Copper and alloys containing >60% copper by weight are antimicrobial. In aquaculture, copper alloys are used as part of corrosion-resistant cages or as part of copper coating. To test whether a copper alloy surface prevents the outbreak of parasitosis in the aquaculture of Larimichthys crocea, we covered the bottom of the aquaculture tank with sheets of copper alloy containing 74% to 78% copper, and we cultured L. crocea juveniles that had been artificially infected with the protozoan parasite Cryptocaryon irritans. Our results showed that these copper alloy sheets effectively blocked the infectious cycle of C. irritans within a 1-week period and significantly reduced the number of C. irritans trophonts and tomonts, thereby decreasing the mortality rate of L. crocea. In in vitro assays, the cytoplasmic membranes of protomonts disintegrated and the cytoplasm overflowed after just 5 minutes of contact with copper alloy surfaces. Although the same cytoplasmic membrane disintegration was not observed in tomonts, the tomonts completely lost their capacity for proliferation and eventually died following direct contact with copper alloy sheets for 1 h; this is likely because C. irritans tomonts took in >100 times more copper ions following contact with the copper alloy sheets than within the control aquaculture environment. Exposure to copper alloy sheets did not lead to excessive heavy metal levels in the aquacultured fish or in the culture seawater. IMPORTANCE Cryptocaryon irritans, a parasitic ciliate that penetrates the epithelium of the gills, skin, and fins of marine fish, causes acute suffocation and death in cultured fish within days of infection. Much of the existing research centers around the prevention of C. irritans infection, but no cure has been found. Studies demonstrate that copper has strong antimicrobial properties, and fish grown in copper-containing cages have lower rates of C. irritans infection, compared to those grown in other currently used aquaculture cages. In this study, we found that an alloy containing 74% to 78% copper by weight effectively killed C. irritans cells and prevented cryptocaryoniasis outbreaks within a 1-week period. These findings offer a new perspective on the prevention and control of cryptocaryoniasis.

Key to C2 production: selective C–C coupling for electrochemical CO2 reduction on copper alloy surfaces

2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (75) ◽  
pp. 9526-9529
Author(s):  
Xing Zhi ◽  
Yan Jiao ◽  
Yao Zheng ◽  
Shi-Zhang Qiao
Keyword(s):  
Electronic Structures ◽  
Copper Alloy ◽  
Copper Alloys ◽  
Co2 Reduction ◽  
Electrochemical Co2 Reduction

The OC–COH coupling is kinetically facilitated compared to OC–CHO coupling, which is induced by the optimized composition and electronic structures of copper alloys.

A Comparative Perspective on Minoan Urbanism

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quentin Letesson ◽  
Carl Knappett
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Urban Environment ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Prominent Feature ◽  
Quality Of Work ◽  
Strong Focus ◽  
Urban Settlements

Urban settlements are often presented as a prominent feature of Bronze Age Crete (McEnroe 2010). And yet, summarizing what is actually known about Minoan towns is much more challenging than one would expect, especially for non-palatial settlements. Many studies are narrowly focused and often take one urban element out of context in all communities (e.g. villas, classification of houses, street system, etc.), hence undermining an understanding of the urban environment as a whole. Furthermore, research on Minoan urban contexts has long been characterized by a strong focus on polite or palatial architecture and very specific urban features related to it (such as the so-called west courts, raised walks, theatral areas, etc.), while most case-studies have often had a rather limited dataset. There are clearly exceptions but, to date, our knowledge of Minoan urban settlements is partly built on a large collection of heterogeneous and disparate information. As already noted some fifteen years ago, the ‘nature and character’ of urban settlements ‘has seen much less discussion, particularly at a generalized level’ (Branigan 2001a: vii; but see chapters 7 and 9). Of course, this situation is also inextricably linked to the nature of our datasets. Research is clearly constrained by the low quality of work in the initial decades of Minoan archaeology when somany of the larger exposures of townscapes on the island were made. And yet, for more than a century now, the archaeology of Bronze Age Crete has thrived:many excavations initiated at the beginning of the twentieth century have either continued or been revived, providing descriptions of numerous settlements of various sizes; new projects have unearthed fascinating buildings and sites; and many regions of the island have now been systematically surveyed. As a consequence, Minoan archaeologists have at their disposal a solid and varied dataset. Of course, sampling issues do exist. Firstly, remains of Neopalatial urban settlements clearly outnumber those of other periods.

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