Lead isotope study of Zn-Pb ore deposits associated with the Basque-Cantabrian basin and Paleozoic basement, Northern Spain

Velasco, Francisco; Pesquera, Alfonso; Herrero, J. M.

doi:10.1007/bf00225398

Cited by 47 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…The lead isotopic ratios of the artifacts we attribute to the Coronado expedition fall well within the range of values reported for lead and copper ores in Mexico ( Fig. 3; Cumming et al, 1979;Hosler and MacFarlane, 1996), but are distinct from most of the values reported for Iberian ore deposits (Arribas and Tosdal, 1994;Klein et al, 2009;Marcoux, 1998;Pomiès et al, 1998;SantosZalduegui et al, 2004;Stos-Gale et al, 1995;Velasco et al, 1996). However, the lead isotopic ratios of some copper ores from the Sierra Morena (Klein et al, 2009) overlap with the signatures of the crossbow boltheads measured in this study, and lead ores from the Betic Cordillera (Arribas and Tosdal, 1994;Stos-Gale et al, 1995) also have similar (although not overlapping) values to the lead objects we propose belonged to the Coronado expedition.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 53%

Lead isotope analysis as a new method for identifying material culture belonging to the Vázquez de Coronado expedition

Thibodeau

Chesley

Ruíz

2012

Journal of Archaeological Science

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 53%

Lead isotope analysis as a new method for identifying material culture belonging to the Vázquez de Coronado expedition

Thibodeau

Chesley

Ruíz

2012

Journal of Archaeological Science

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“…11. Comparison of 206/207 Pb isotope ratios for lead and copper ores from different regions of Europe, with additional data for Devon and Cornwall(Arias et al, 1996;Baron et al, 2006;Brevart et al, 1982;Klein et al, 2009;Marcouz and Moelo, 1991;Oh et al, 1989;Rohl, 1996;Rohl and Needham, 1998;Stos-Gale et al, 1995;Tornos et al, 1996;Velasco et al, 1996;Zalduegui et al, 2004) plotted against those for the Tor Royal cores.…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

First comprehensive peat depositional records for tin, lead and copper associated with the antiquity of Europe's largest cassiterite deposits

Meharg

Edwards

Schofield

et al. 2012

Journal of Archaeological Science

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a b s t r a c tTin, as a constituent of bronze, was central to the technological development of early societies, but cassiterite (SnO 2 ) deposits were scarce and located distantly from the centres of Mediterranean civilizations. As Britain had the largest workable ore deposits in the ancient Western world, this has led to much historical speculation and myth regarding the long-distance trading of tin from the Bronze Age onwards. Here we establish the first detailed chronology for tin, along with lead and copper deposition, into undisturbed ombrotrophic (rain-fed) peat bogs located at Bodmin Moor and Dartmoor in the centre of the British tin ore fields. Sustained elevated tin deposition is demonstrated clearly, with peaks occurring at 100e400 and 700e1000 calendar years AD e contemporaneous with the Roman and AngloSaxon periods respectively. While pre-Roman Iron Age tin exploitation undoubtedly took place, it was on a scale that did not result in convincingly enhanced deposition of the metal. The deposition of lead in the peat record provides evidence of a pre-Roman metal-based economy in southwest Britain. Emerging in the 4th century BC, this was centred on copper and lead ore processing that expanded exponentially and then collapsed upon Roman colonization during the 1st century AD.

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“…3). Other major sources of lead in Spain include the Betic Cordillera in the southeast (14), the western Pyrenees and BasqueCantabrian basin in the north (15), the Rubiales ore deposit in the northwest (16), and the Catalonian Coastal Ranges in the northeast (17). However, the lead isotope ratios of these deposits (14-17) do not match those of the La Isabela galenas.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

The strange case of the earliest silver extraction by European colonists in the New World

Thibodeau

Killick

Ruíz

et al. 2007

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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La Isabela, the first European town in the New World, was established in 1494 by the second expedition of Christopher Columbus but was abandoned by 1498. The main motive for settlement was to find and exploit deposits of precious metals. Archaeological evidence of silver extraction at La Isabela seemed to indicate that the expedition had located and tested deposits of silver-bearing lead ore in the Caribbean. Lead isotope analysis refutes this hypothesis but provides new evidence of the desperation of the inhabitants of La Isabela just before its abandonment.archaeological science ͉ historical metallurgy ͉ La Isabela ͉ lead isotopes T he first expedition of Cristóbal Colón (Christopher Columbus) to the Caribbean, from 1492 to 1493, returned to Spain with some gold taken from the Taíno inhabitants of the island of Hispaniola (now divided between Haiti and the Dominican Republic). Columbus's tales of the abundance of gold in the New World induced King Ferdinand and Queen Isabela of Spain to fund a second and much larger expedition (1). In early 1494, Columbus and Ϸ1,500 followers established the town of La Isabela on the northern coast of the present Dominican Republic (Fig. 1). His followers were eager to make their fortunes but were rapidly disillusioned by their failure to find any ores of precious metals (1, 2). La Isabela was beset by hunger, disease, hurricanes, mutiny, and conflicts with the Taíno. In 1496 Columbus was recalled to Spain to account for his misadministration of the expedition. The few hundred remaining inhabitants of La Isabela struggled until early 1498, when they abandoned the town and marched across the island to found new settlements on the south coast.The archaeological site of La Isabela was intensively excavated in the late 1980s and early 1990s (1, 2). Among the finds were 58 triangular graphite-tempered assaying crucibles † † and 1 kg of liquid mercury, which was brought for the extraction of gold from powdered ore by amalgamation. The mercury was excavated from the ruins of the alhóndiga, a fortified structure erected for storage and protection of royal property (2). Within and immediately north of the alhóndiga, archaeologists also recovered Ϸ90 kg of galena (PbS), in blocks weighing up to 2 kg, and Ϸ200 kg of material classified in the field as metallurgical slag. Much of the ore and supposed slag was associated with a fired pit that appears to be the remnant of a small furnace that was located just north of the alhóndiga (2). Results and DiscussionWe examined polished sections of the galena and slag by using optical petrography and metallography, SEM, and electron microprobe analysis. Electron microprobe analysis of galena reveals highly variable silver content, ranging from Ϸ210 ppm to below the detection limit (Ϸ29 ppm) [see supporting information (SI) Table 2 and SI Methods]. The materials that are classified as slag can be divided into two groups. The first type, of which Ϸ15 kg was recovered, is crystalline and strongly magnetic. Optical and SEM analyses reveal abundant grai...

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Lead isotope study of Zn-Pb ore deposits associated with the Basque-Cantabrian basin and Paleozoic basement, Northern Spain

Cited by 47 publications

References 33 publications

Lead isotope analysis as a new method for identifying material culture belonging to the Vázquez de Coronado expedition

Lead isotope analysis as a new method for identifying material culture belonging to the Vázquez de Coronado expedition

First comprehensive peat depositional records for tin, lead and copper associated with the antiquity of Europe's largest cassiterite deposits

The strange case of the earliest silver extraction by European colonists in the New World

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