Form and flow: the ‘karmic cycle’ of copper

Bray, Peter; Cuenod, Aurélie; Gosden, Chris; Hommel, Peter; Liu, R.; Pollard, A. Mark

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2014.12.013

Cited by 111 publications

(103 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…In this way, also as a consequence of the little control that ancient metalworkers had over the smelting and/or the reducing atmosphere during melting and annealing treatments, the use of arsenical copper scraps as raw material could easily have led to a considerable variability of As in the final alloy (Bray and Pollard 2015;Budd 1990;Hauptmann 2007;Jung 2003;Lechtman and Klein 1999;McKerrell and Tylecote 1972;Sabatini 2015;Tylecote et al 1977).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Non-destructive characterization of archeological Cu-based artifacts from the early metallurgy of southern Portugal

Bottaini

Brunetti

Bordalo

et al. 2017

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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In this study, Monte Carlo (MC) simulations combined with energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectroscopy have been used to characterize nondestructively a collection of Cu-based artifacts recovered from two archeological sites in southern Portugal: (a) the Chalcolithic E.T.A.R. site of Vila Nova de Mil Fontes and (b) the Middle Bronze Age site of Quinta do Estácio 6. The metal artifacts show a multilayered structure made up of three distinct layers: (a) brownish carbonate soil-derived crust, (b) green oxidized corrosion patina, and (c) bulk metal. In order to assess the reliability of the EDXRF-based Monte Carlo simulations to reproduce the composition of the alloy substrate in archeological bronze artifacts without the need to previously remove the superficial corrosion and soil derived patinas, EDXRF analysis together with scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) was also performed on cleaned and patina-/crust-coated areas of the artifacts. Characterization of the mineralogical composition of the corrosion products in the surface patinas was further determined by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD). Results suggest that the adopted EDXRF/Monte Carlo protocol may represent a safe and fast analytical approach in the quantitative characterization of the bulk chemical composition of Cubased metal artifacts even in the presence of fairly thick corrosion patinas and/or soil-derived encrustations at the surface of the archeological objects.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Non-destructive characterization of archeological Cu-based artifacts from the early metallurgy of southern Portugal

Bottaini

Brunetti

Bordalo

et al. 2017

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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“…This has important implications for the development of a Bali/Java metallurgical tradition in that, in addition to it probably being ideologically stimulated by Mainland examples, there was a willingness not just to imitate foreign elite material culture but to entirely subsume and reorient both the form (techniques) and flow (materials) of imported metal for local needs (see Bray et al . ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Copper‐base Metallurgy in Metal‐Age Bali: Evidence from Gilimanuk, Manikliyu, Pacung, Pangkung Paruk and Sembiran

et al. 2018

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The Indonesian Archipelago extends over 5000 km of latitude, from 95°E to 141°E, and hosts some of the world's largest active metal mines. While some fascinating ethnographic and historical sources exist, virtually nothing is known of the country's prehistoric metallurgical traditions. Given Indonesia's scale, this situation cannot be remedied in short order, but with this paper we seek to elucidate some metal production and consumption behaviours on Bali, located around 115°E, during the last centuries of the first millennium bc and the early to middle first millennium ad. The studied early Metal Age assemblage of 27 copper‐base artefacts from the sites of Pacung, Sembiran, Bangkah, Pangkung Paruk, Gilimanuk and Manikliyu includes bangle, bowl, drum, hook, mirror and ornamental typologies, and fragments thereof. Fourteen of the 27 samples were suffering from corrosion, but a strong tendency towards leaded copper alloys (21 of 27) can be distinguished, with some bronzes, a high‐tin bronze and a leaded high‐tin bronze. The high proportion of leaded artefacts mean that lead isotope data cannot be used to identify possible sources of copper, but there is good consistency with Mainland South‐East Asian Iron Age leaded alloy signatures for the bulk of the assemblage, possibly indicating the existence of long‐range (~2000–3000 km one way) exchange systems at the outset of the Island South‐East Asian Metal Age, and perhaps as far as China and India in the case of the mirror and bowl, respectively. Of particular note, the Manikliyu ‘Pejeng’ drum, a stylistically idiosyncratic type known from Bali and Java, and for which there is local production evidence, transpired to be consistent in terms of elemental composition and lead signature with Mainland ‘Dong Son’ drums. This could suggest that Pejeng drums were produced not just from metal imported from the Mainland but with melted down Mainland drums; an intriguing case of local reinterpretation of foreign elite material culture and iconography.

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“…Others, such as Liversage (2000) and de Marinis (1979;2006), have used Waterbolk and Butler's (1965) frequency distribution histograms. Bray and Pollard have recently suggested using the presence/absence (based generally on a cut-off at 0.1%, renormalizing to account for alloying) of Arsenic, Antimony, Silver and Nickel to define groups (Bray and Pollard 2012;Bray et al 2015). These approaches are of course limited to the lowest common denominator of the elements determined by the greatest number of analytical programmes, and it is by no means sure that these elements are those with the greatest heuristic value, but they have arguably yielded important results.…”

Section: Using Data From Past Analytical Programmesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Archaeology and archaeometallurgy: some unresolved areas in the interpretation of analytical data

Pearce

2016

STAR: Science & Technology of Archaeological Research

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This paper uses examples from Mediterranean and in particular Italian prehistory to explore the interface between prehistoric archaeology and metals analysis by examining three areas: the usefulness of data from past analyses ('what is it made of?'), lead isotope analysis and the problem of unpublished data ('where is it from?'), and the interpretation of analytical data ('what does it mean?'). Issues discussed include big data, the integration of datasets from different analytical programmes (especially where analytical results are in disagreement), and open access and the withholding of data through incomplete publication, which means that conclusions cannot be verified. It offers some suggestions as to how communication between archaeologists and archaeometallurgists can be improved. Statement of significanceInvestigation is science when it asks specific questions and when its conclusions can be repeated and verified. This paper applies the important themes of big data (the integration and mining of disparate datasets) and open access (the free availability of scientific data) to the study of ancient metallurgy. It argues that communication between archaeologists and archaeometallurgists needs to be improved, and offers practical suggestions as to how that may be achieved, in order to integrate analytical findings more effectively into archaeological discourse.

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Form and flow: the ‘karmic cycle’ of copper

Cited by 111 publications

References 9 publications

Non-destructive characterization of archeological Cu-based artifacts from the early metallurgy of southern Portugal

Non-destructive characterization of archeological Cu-based artifacts from the early metallurgy of southern Portugal

Copper‐base Metallurgy in Metal‐Age Bali: Evidence from Gilimanuk, Manikliyu, Pacung, Pangkung Paruk and Sembiran

Archaeology and archaeometallurgy: some unresolved areas in the interpretation of analytical data

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