Iron metallurgy of the Xianbei period in Tuva (Southern Siberia)

Vodyasov, Evgeny V.; Stepanov, Ivan; Sadykov, T. R.; Asochakova, Evgeniya M.; Rabtsevich, Evgeniya S.; Zaitceva, Olga V.; Blinov, Ivan A.

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.103160

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…That the earliest furnaces are located in the Minusinsk Basin is not surprising, considering the region's long and flourishing bronze industry -the necessary experience and pyrotechnological knowledge was already present. However, the Xiongnu polity established at the end of the third century BCE in the Mongolian Plateau was the driver behind the expansion of eastern Eurasia's iron industry during the second and first centuries BCE (Vodyasov et al 2021). But, while this boom has previously been noted for the first century BCE and first century CE (Vodyasov et al 2021), the new data from Baga Nariĭn Am in central Mongolia underscores that this process had already started in the second century BCE and correlates with the establishing of the steppe empire.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…61). And just outside the post-Xiongnu settlement Katylyg 5, two pits measuring 2.8 m in diameter and more than one meter deep testify to the production of charcoal (Vodyasov et al 2021, 2-3 Fig. 2).…”

Section: Graphics Ernst Pohl and Anna Stefanischinmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A recent and comprehensive study of iron metallurgy in Tuva concerns the period after the demise of the Xiongnu Empire (Vodyasov et al 2021). The fortified Kokel' culture site of Katylyg-5 was used between the second and fourth centuries CE (Sadykov 2018, 72 Table 1).…”

Section: After the Xiongnumentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is even more true when it comes to research on the Mongolian Plateau. Targeted studies on craft production in pastoralist communities and the steppe empires are rare (Brosseder and Miller 2011, 27-28;Reichert 2018Reichert , 2020Ishtseren et al 2020;Vodyasov et al 2021), despite the fact that it is widely recognized as an important field of research. Iron metallurgy is no exception, despite huge advances over the past years (Ishtseren et al 2020;Reichert 2020, 99-110;Vodyasov et al 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because of the abundance of metallurgical sites in the Minusinsk Basin this region has been viewed as the center, from where iron-smelting technology was adopted in Mongolia, before it was further developed locally (Sasada andAmartuvshin 2014, 1023;Sasada 2015, 50;Sasada and Ishtseren 2020, 12). In addition, while it has been noted that the iron's total adoption in Eastern Eurasia is associated with the Xiongnu polity, this process is dated to the late first century BCE and the early first century CE, thus only during the empire's later phase (Amzarakov 2015a;Vodyasov et al 2020Vodyasov et al , 2021.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The innovation of iron and the Xiongnu – a case study from Central Mongolia

et al. 2023

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This article presents the oldest iron smelting furnaces of the Xiongnu Empire period in central Mongolia and argues that a significant smelting center existed at the site of Baga Nariĭn Am. Five iron smelting furnaces and four smelting installations were excavated, with a total 26 furnaces further identified through SQUID magnetometry. In combination with a review of data on iron production in contemporary Mongolia, the Transbaikal region, Tuva, the Minusinsk Basin and the Altai, we argue that this new data alters existing narratives of the adoption of iron in eastern Eurasia. While iron smelting as such was adopted from the Minusinsk Basin, where the oldest iron smelting furnaces in eastern Eurasia are currently found, we suggest that the driving force behind the massive boom in iron metallurgy from the second century BCE onward was the Xiongnu Empire. During the course of the Xiongnu Empire, the development of more efficient iron technology is evident, with the steppe empire also inventing a new furnace type. These findings are significant for understanding the dynamics of iron industries in the eastern Eurasian Steppe and paves the way for necessary work on metallurgical installations in the Minusinsk Basin and Tuva.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Graphics Ernst Pohl and Anna Stefanischinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: After the Xiongnumentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The innovation of iron and the Xiongnu – a case study from Central Mongolia

et al. 2023

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Characterization of the Bloomery Iron Slags and Ores from the Zotinsky Ancient Mine, Middle Trans-Urals, Russia

Stepanov

Blinov

Artemyev

2022

Springer Proceedings in Earth and Environmental Sciences

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By the hand of the smelter: tracing the impact of decision-making in bloomery iron smelting

Stepanov

Sauder²,

Keen³

et al. 2022

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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Slag analyses from archaeological iron smelting sites are common. Rigorous analyses of iron and slag from successful experimental smelting, however, are still rare. Furthermore, thorough analyses from a series of smelts, and of the slag produced in different phases of the smelt, are exceedingly rare. The present study investigates the effect of an iron smelter’s decision-making and skills on the products of the smelting process: iron and slag. Four smelting experiments were carried out in a shaft furnace with slag tapping using iron ores from the Southern Levant. Using various analytical techniques, including portable X-ray fluorescence, optical and electron microscopy, metallography, and hardness tests enabled us to correlate the properties of the final products with adjustment of various parameters during the smelting process. The latter include airflow and charging rate, temperature, residence time in the reducing zone, ore-charcoal ratio, and control of the slag characteristics. Results obtained allowed us to empirically demonstrate the direct impact of decisions made by the smelter during the complex technological practice of bloomery smelting. Analysis also highlights the benefits of moderately reducing conditions controlled by the smelter to produce good-quality, low-carbon iron, which is particularly relevant within the geological setting of the Southern Levant.

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Iron metallurgy of the Xianbei period in Tuva (Southern Siberia)

Cited by 6 publications

References 25 publications

The innovation of iron and the Xiongnu – a case study from Central Mongolia

The innovation of iron and the Xiongnu – a case study from Central Mongolia

Characterization of the Bloomery Iron Slags and Ores from the Zotinsky Ancient Mine, Middle Trans-Urals, Russia

By the hand of the smelter: tracing the impact of decision-making in bloomery iron smelting

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