Lead Isotope Analyses of Metal Objects from the Apa Hoard and Other Early and Middle Bronze Age Items from Romania

The Early Nordic Bronze Age oak coffin burials include some of Europe’s best preserved human remains. Although traditional typological examinations thereof have not always found clear foreign references, recent provenance investigations from Egtved and Skrydstrup suggest that the two women were of non-local provenance. In order to investigate potential mobility patterns and how these might or might not be related to the archaeological evidence, we conducted comprehensive multi-analytical investigations on the Ølby Woman, another key female oak coffin burial. Her grave included large metal items, the remains of a corded skirt and a glass bead recently identified as of Egyptian origin. Strontium isotope analyses of the dental enamel of Ølby’s first, second and third molars investigate her provenance and potential mobility through childhood. Furthermore, we conducted lead isotope analyses and craft technical analyses of her belt plate and sword/dagger. Our results reveal that the Ølby female’s strontium isotope signatures fall within the local baseline, suggesting that she was of local origin. The metal provenance studies and craft technical studies of the belt plate and sword suggest that the objects were manufactured in Scandinavia, while the raw materials for each item were imported from different places in Europe.

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Experimental reconstruction of the casting of copper ‘oxhide’ ingots

Antiquity ◽

10.1017/s0003598x00059226 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 74 (284) ◽

pp. 275-276 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sven Van Lokeren

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Lead Isotope ◽

Average Weight ◽

Late Bronze Age ◽

Specialized Centre ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

The Rich ◽

Oxford Group ◽

Isotope Analyses

One of the most crucial elements in the dynamics of the Late Bronze Age metals trade in the Mediterranean was the production and exchange of copper 'oxhide' ingots (Knapp & Cherry 1994). These are basically flat, oblong slabs of nearly pure and unalloyed copper that weigh between 10 and 40 kg. The majority has an average weight of c. 29-30 kg however, and as a result this 'standard' has been traditionally equated with the existence of a 'talent'. They furthermore form a prominent part of the bulk cargo in shipwrecks discovered at Ulu Burun and Cape Gelidonya (Gale 1991). The results of an extensive programme of lead-isotope analyses aimed at determining the provenance of these ingots have led some archaeologists to propose that most of the ingots were produced from the rich copper resources on the island of Cyprus. Based on the same results, the Oxford group has also discussed the possibility of a specialized centre for their production in the Skouriotissa region of the island (Stos-Gale et ~ l . 1997

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Early Bronze Age metallurgy: a newly discovered copper manufactory in southern Jordan

Antiquity ◽

10.1017/s0003598x00090530 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 76 (292) ◽

pp. 425-437 ◽

Cited By ~ 58

Author(s):

Thomas E. Levy ◽

Russell B. Adams ◽

Andreas Hauptmann ◽

Michael Prange ◽

Sigrid Schmitt-Strecker ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Lead Isotope ◽

Near East ◽

Early Bronze Age ◽

Metal Production ◽

Important Data ◽

Trade Networks ◽

Metal Processing ◽

New Evidence ◽

Isotope Analyses

Recent excavations in southern Jordan have revealed the largest Early Bronze Age (c. 3600-2000 BC) metal manufactory in the ancient Near East. On-site Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analyses of the finds provide new evidence concerning the scale and organization of metal production at a time when the first cities emerged in this part of the Near East. Materials and lead isotope analyses of the metallurgical finds provide important data for reconstructing ancient metal processing and for identifying trade networks.

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Sending Laurion Back to the Future: Bronze Age Silver and the Source of Confusion

Internet Archaeology ◽

10.11141/ia.56.9 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jonathan Wood ◽

Yi-Ting Hsu ◽

Carol Bell

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Iron Age ◽

Lead Isotope ◽

Late 20Th Century ◽

Classical Greece ◽

First Millennium ◽

Host Rocks ◽

Isotope Analyses ◽

Silver Extraction ◽

The Bronze Age

Silver-bearing lead ores at Laurion in Attica were considered to have been first exploited with the introduction of coinage sometime around the birth of Classical Greece. However, in the late 20th century this chronology was radically revised earlier, to the Bronze Age, largely supported by lead isotope analyses (LIA). Here, we acknowledge that lead and silver metallurgy emerged from the earliest times but we propose that any correlation between these metals in the archaeological record is not a consequence of a geological association between lead and silver in ores such as galena until the middle of the first millennium BCE. We suggest that ancient metallurgists recognised that silver minerals (such as horn silver) dispersed in host rocks could be concentrated in molten lead and that LIA signatures of Bronze Age silver artefacts reflect the use of exogenous lead to extract silver, perhaps applying processes similar to those used to acquire silver in Bronze Age Siphnos. We further propose that lead from Laurion used for silver extraction resulted in the inadvertent transfer of its LIA signature (probably aided by roving silver prospectors) to silver objects and metallurgical debris recovered around the Aegean. New compositional analyses for the Mycenaean shaft-grave silver (c. 1600 BCE) support these conclusions. We believe that reverting to the mid-first millennium BCE for the first exploitation of silver from argentiferous lead ores is consistent with the absence of archaeological evidence for centralised control over Laurion until the Archaic period, the paucity of lead slag associated with silver-processing debris at Bronze Age sites, the scarcity of silver artefacts recovered in post-shaft grave contexts at Mycenae and throughout the Early Iron Age Aegean, the few Attic silver coins with LIA signatures consistent with Laurion until after 500 BCE and a single unambiguous mention of silver in the Linear B texts.

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Early bronze in two Holocene archaeological sites in Gansu, NW China

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1016/j.yqres.2009.07.004 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 72 (3) ◽

pp. 309-314 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

John Dodson ◽

Xiaoqiang Li ◽

Ming Ji ◽

Keliang Zhao ◽

Xinying Zhou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Lead Isotope ◽

Archaeological Sites ◽

Eastern Asia ◽

Copper Ore ◽

Nw China ◽

Mine Site ◽

Unidentified Source ◽

Isotope Analyses ◽

The Bronze Age

AbstractUnderstanding of the origin and development of bronze technology in eastern Asia remains unresolved. Here we report on the distribution of copper and associated cations in sediments from Huoshiliang in northwestern Gansu, China, strontium and lead isotope analyses of ore and slag samples, and some artifact fragments at archaeological sites at Ganggangwa and Huoshiliang in the Black River valley.We conclude that bronze production began perhaps as early as 2135 BC and that the Baishantang modern mine site at Dingxin was a possible source of copper ore. There was at least one other, but currently unidentified, source of ore. The Bronze Age people were also farmers and planted cereals such as wheat, and they may have abandoned the region when wood was exhausted and desertification took over.

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Archaeology, science-based archaeology and the Mediterranean Bronze Age metals trade: a contribution to the debate

European Journal of Archaeology ◽

10.1179/eja.2001.4.1.113 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 113-130

Author(s):

Noel Gale

Keyword(s):

Special Reference ◽

Bronze Age ◽

Lead Isotope ◽

Isotope Composition ◽

Ore Deposits ◽

Provenance Studies ◽

Lead Isotope Composition ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

Isotope Analyses

The current consensus is outlined about the application of lead isotope analyses to metal provenance studies and to the unravelling of the Mediterranean Bronze Age copper trade, with special reference to copper oxhide ingots. Various misconceptions, especially some of those contained in Knapp (1999, 2000), are corrected. It is shown that there is no need to fall back on hypotheses based upon the Mediterranean-wide mixing/recycling of copper metals to explain the lead isotope characteristics of post-1250 BC copper oxhide ingots, since there is a good isotopic coincidence between these ingots and the Apliki region ore deposits in Cyprus. Weaknesses are exposed in the hypotheses of direct or indirect pooling of Cypriot ores, and of the proposed widespread recycling of metals in a Mediterranean-widekoine, particularly since there is no evidence for a homogeneity of lead isotope composition in artefacts and no tin in the oxhide ingots.

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The Anatolian Middle Bronze Age kingdoms and Alalakh: Mukish, Kanesh and trade

Anatolian Studies ◽

10.1017/s0066154600008577 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 57 ◽

pp. 151-160 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

K. Aslıhan Yener

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Lead Isotope ◽

Precious Metals ◽

Analytical Techniques ◽

Artistic Expression ◽

Exchange Relationships ◽

Local Resources ◽

Middle Bronze Age ◽

The Bronze Age ◽

Lines Of Evidence

AbstractThe comparisons at the heart of this article concern the varying roles of cuneiform texts, instrumental analysis and artefacts at the Bronze Age capital of Alalakh, located in the northeastern Mediterranean region of southern Turkey. The production of fine artefacts, such as sophisticated metallurgy, glass, faience, ivory carving and, especially, bronze, was under palace patronage, while trade and the networks of inter-regional relations facilitated the transport of materials across great distances in the ancient Near East. Several lines of evidence suggest that exchange relationships between Alalakh and the Middle Bronze Age central Anatolian kingdoms, such as Kanesh, were established prior to the arrival of Hattusili I. One category of artefact, ivory and bone with metallic embellishments, is emphasised here since the crafting of ivory and bone entails the use of local resources, while the plating with precious metals reflects artistic expression and exploitation that is international in scope. Several analytical techniques are presented, such as lead isotope ratios, scanning electron microscopy and polarizing light microscopy, which have aided in defining the artistic expression of Alalakh and the production of artefacts of power and prestige.

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