Pub Date : 2024-02-20DOI: 10.46586/metalla.v27.2023.i2.167-219
Michael Bode, M. Kiderlen, Giorgos Mastrotheodoros, Moritz Jansen, E. Ben‐Yosef, O. Yagel, Martina Renzi, E. Filippaki, Y. Bassiakos, Anno Hein, Andreas Hauptmann
The copper deposits of Faynan and Timna have been exploited in two major economic cycles: a Chalcolithic – Early Bronze Age cycle, and a Late Bronze Age – Early Iron Age cycle. The present study focuses on the Late Bronze Age - Early Iron Age cycle of the two districts and analyses a relatively large sample of smelting remains from their main smelting sites (slag, raw copper, archaeological ores). The analytical results from lead isotope analysis (LIA; n = 145), copper isotope analysis (CIA; n = 49), chemical analysis (n = 52) and microstructural analysis (n = 5) are compared with the current geological and mining archaeological knowledge and confirm earlier results according to which in Faynan only the ore type DLS was smelted in this phase and in Timna almost exclusively the ore type Amir/Avrona. Based on the analytical data, multidimensional models of these two copper types are developed, which presumably come relatively close to the copper types marketed in reality. Our models are intended to serve as a basis for comparison in future provenance studies.
{"title":"New Archaeometallurgical Fingerprints of Copper and Slag from Early Iron Age Smelting Sites in Faynan and Timna","authors":"Michael Bode, M. Kiderlen, Giorgos Mastrotheodoros, Moritz Jansen, E. Ben‐Yosef, O. Yagel, Martina Renzi, E. Filippaki, Y. Bassiakos, Anno Hein, Andreas Hauptmann","doi":"10.46586/metalla.v27.2023.i2.167-219","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46586/metalla.v27.2023.i2.167-219","url":null,"abstract":"The copper deposits of Faynan and Timna have been exploited in two major economic cycles: a Chalcolithic – Early Bronze Age cycle, and a Late Bronze Age – Early Iron Age cycle. The present study focuses on the Late Bronze Age - Early Iron Age cycle of the two districts and analyses a relatively large sample of smelting remains from their main smelting sites (slag, raw copper, archaeological ores). The analytical results from lead isotope analysis (LIA; n = 145), copper isotope analysis (CIA; n = 49), chemical analysis (n = 52) and microstructural analysis (n = 5) are compared with the current geological and mining archaeological knowledge and confirm earlier results according to which in Faynan only the ore type DLS was smelted in this phase and in Timna almost exclusively the ore type Amir/Avrona. Based on the analytical data, multidimensional models of these two copper types are developed, which presumably come relatively close to the copper types marketed in reality. Our models are intended to serve as a basis for comparison in future provenance studies.","PeriodicalId":477958,"journal":{"name":"METALLA","volume":"1105 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140446068","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-22DOI: 10.46586/metalla.v27.2023.i2.149-166
Guntram Gassmann, Sabine Klein, Andreas Schäfer, Elias Welk, Katrin Wester
The wealth of pre-Columbian gold, copper and guanín (an alloy consisting mainly of gold and copper; also tumbaga) artwork of Costa Rica suggests that exploitation of its abundant ore deposits goes back way before the Spanish conquest. The name of Costa Rica itself in fact alludes to the large numbers of golden metal objects worn by the indigenous peoples upon arrival of the conquistadors. Up to now, however, very little is known about pre-Columbian mining in the country or the raw material provenance of these artefacts.In a transdisciplinary project, we aim to reconstruct the metallurgical process chain by combining (mining) archaeological research with geochemical analysis of local ores and metal artefacts using a combination of different techniques. We identified four major gold and copper districts with different mineralisation types, which are the focus of our fieldwork-based research. They are surveyed for potential signs of pre-Columbian metal production and sampled for ores and their processing remains. On the other side of the process chain, we focus on the metal artefacts in museum collections. They are systematically registered in a database, which serves as a basis to identify correlations with the geochemical signatures of the artefacts, and to retrace potential links to possible areas of origin or different workshops. Once the necessary basic data have been collected, we will focus on economic and socio-cultural aspects of metal production and circulation. The results from Costa Rica will be put into perspective of New World early metallurgy and can provide a starting point for future research between Mesoamerica and the Isthmo-Colombian region.
{"title":"Investigating Pre-Columbian Gold and Copper in Costa Rica – Ores, Mines and Artefact Production","authors":"Guntram Gassmann, Sabine Klein, Andreas Schäfer, Elias Welk, Katrin Wester","doi":"10.46586/metalla.v27.2023.i2.149-166","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46586/metalla.v27.2023.i2.149-166","url":null,"abstract":"The wealth of pre-Columbian gold, copper and guanín (an alloy consisting mainly of gold and copper; also tumbaga) artwork of Costa Rica suggests that exploitation of its abundant ore deposits goes back way before the Spanish conquest. The name of Costa Rica itself in fact alludes to the large numbers of golden metal objects worn by the indigenous peoples upon arrival of the conquistadors. Up to now, however, very little is known about pre-Columbian mining in the country or the raw material provenance of these artefacts.In a transdisciplinary project, we aim to reconstruct the metallurgical process chain by combining (mining) archaeological research with geochemical analysis of local ores and metal artefacts using a combination of different techniques. We identified four major gold and copper districts with different mineralisation types, which are the focus of our fieldwork-based research. They are surveyed for potential signs of pre-Columbian metal production and sampled for ores and their processing remains. On the other side of the process chain, we focus on the metal artefacts in museum collections. They are systematically registered in a database, which serves as a basis to identify correlations with the geochemical signatures of the artefacts, and to retrace potential links to possible areas of origin or different workshops. Once the necessary basic data have been collected, we will focus on economic and socio-cultural aspects of metal production and circulation. The results from Costa Rica will be put into perspective of New World early metallurgy and can provide a starting point for future research between Mesoamerica and the Isthmo-Colombian region.","PeriodicalId":477958,"journal":{"name":"METALLA","volume":"55 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139606757","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-20DOI: 10.46586/metalla.v27.2023.i2.119-148
Simon Timberlake
The characteristic artefacts of Early Bronze Age metal ore mining are cobble stone mining tools. The current study suggests that within these tool assemblages it is normal to see some sort of use specialisation and opportunistic re-use of broken tools, whilst the wear pattern and modification to these suggests the creation of ad hoc tool kits, and the use of both hand-held and hafted hammers. At some of the sites more than 90 % of cobbles used show only minor evidence for purposeful modification (such as a pecked groove designed for hafting), yet extensive experimentation has demonstrated that many of these tools could have been, and probably were used with handles. Some sort of discrimination in the collection of cobbles at source is suggested by the evidence for consistency in size, shape, weight and lithology of the stones. In West Wales we find suitable cobbles brought up to 25 km inland from the storm beaches on the coast to be used at these upland sites. Experimental archaeology has been successful in predicting the types of tools to be found during the archaeological excavation of sites; this includes the use of antler picks and bone scrapers and chisels which often don’t survive within acidic mining environments. As regards stone tools, experiments have also shown how the most rudimentary artefacts might be used in the processing and concentration of metal ores, including those of copper and gold. The current paper presents a body of archaeological evidence and experimental research, which is likely to be universally relevant to the study of some of the most ancient mines and mining areas in Europe.
{"title":"Cobble Stone Mining Tools - Evidence of Their Use in the Bronze Age Mines of Britain and in Current Archaeological Experiments Investigating Ancient Mining and the Processing of Metal Ores","authors":"Simon Timberlake","doi":"10.46586/metalla.v27.2023.i2.119-148","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46586/metalla.v27.2023.i2.119-148","url":null,"abstract":"The characteristic artefacts of Early Bronze Age metal ore mining are cobble stone mining tools. The current study suggests that within these tool assemblages it is normal to see some sort of use specialisation and opportunistic re-use of broken tools, whilst the wear pattern and modification to these suggests the creation of ad hoc tool kits, and the use of both hand-held and hafted hammers. At some of the sites more than 90 % of cobbles used show only minor evidence for purposeful modification (such as a pecked groove designed for hafting), yet extensive experimentation has demonstrated that many of these tools could have been, and probably were used with handles. Some sort of discrimination in the collection of cobbles at source is suggested by the evidence for consistency in size, shape, weight and lithology of the stones. In West Wales we find suitable cobbles brought up to 25 km inland from the storm beaches on the coast to be used at these upland sites. Experimental archaeology has been successful in predicting the types of tools to be found during the archaeological excavation of sites; this includes the use of antler picks and bone scrapers and chisels which often don’t survive within acidic mining environments. As regards stone tools, experiments have also shown how the most rudimentary artefacts might be used in the processing and concentration of metal ores, including those of copper and gold. The current paper presents a body of archaeological evidence and experimental research, which is likely to be universally relevant to the study of some of the most ancient mines and mining areas in Europe.","PeriodicalId":477958,"journal":{"name":"METALLA","volume":"43 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138957416","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-20DOI: 10.46586/metalla.v27.2023.i2.95-117
I. Montero-Ruiz, X. Clop, Manuel Edo, Josep Gallart, Pablo Martínez Rodríguez, Miquel Molist, Andreu Monforte, M. Murillo-Barroso, Teresa Orozco, Nuria Rafel, X. Terradas, Josep Vallverdu
This paper examines the use of galena, beginning in the Middle Paleolithic, before the onset of metallurgy in the Iberian Peninsula, and shows that it was a well-known raw material during the Neolithic, both in funeral and in household contexts. The identification of probable provenance suggests a non-long distance movement, with the Molar-Bellmunt-Falset mining district in Tarragona as the main source area for extracting this ore since the Palaeolithic. Although southern France and other European regions share a similar use of galena in Neolithic times, each took different approaches to the use of the raw material. In some areas (southern France, Sardinia) lead was used for metal production, while in others (Iberia, continental Italy) it was not. These differences can be explained by different social choices in each region, reinforcing the idea that innovation is not simply a question of technology.
{"title":"From Galena to Lead: Divergent Paths in Early Metallurgy in the Western Mediterranean","authors":"I. Montero-Ruiz, X. Clop, Manuel Edo, Josep Gallart, Pablo Martínez Rodríguez, Miquel Molist, Andreu Monforte, M. Murillo-Barroso, Teresa Orozco, Nuria Rafel, X. Terradas, Josep Vallverdu","doi":"10.46586/metalla.v27.2023.i2.95-117","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46586/metalla.v27.2023.i2.95-117","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines the use of galena, beginning in the Middle Paleolithic, before the onset of metallurgy in the Iberian Peninsula, and shows that it was a well-known raw material during the Neolithic, both in funeral and in household contexts. The identification of probable provenance suggests a non-long distance movement, with the Molar-Bellmunt-Falset mining district in Tarragona as the main source area for extracting this ore since the Palaeolithic. Although southern France and other European regions share a similar use of galena in Neolithic times, each took different approaches to the use of the raw material. In some areas (southern France, Sardinia) lead was used for metal production, while in others (Iberia, continental Italy) it was not. These differences can be explained by different social choices in each region, reinforcing the idea that innovation is not simply a question of technology. ","PeriodicalId":477958,"journal":{"name":"METALLA","volume":"112 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138954016","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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