Metallurgical analysis of copper artifacts from Cahokia

Chastain, Matthew; Deymier-Black, Alix C.; Kelly, John; Brown, James A.; Dunand, David C.

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2011.03.004

Cited by 16 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…1). We raise the possibility that copper deposited in the sediment during this time may, in part, be derived from metalworking (e.g., annealing [Peterson, 2003; Chastain et al, 2011]) and biomass burning for several reasons. The concomitant increase in sorbed Pb and K concentrations are consistent with a prehistoric metalworking signal recorded in lake sediments near prehistoric copper mines in North America (Pompeani et al, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The environmental impact of a pre-Columbian city based on geochemical insights from lake sediment cores recovered near Cahokia

et al. 2018

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Cahokia is the largest documented urban settlement in the pre-Columbian United States. Archaeological evidence suggests that the city, located near what is now East St. Louis, Illinois, began to rapidly expand starting around AD 1050. At its height, Cahokia extended across 1000 ha and included large plazas, timber palisade walls, and hundreds of monumental earthen mounds. Following several centuries of occupation, the city experienced a period of gradual abandonment from about AD 1200 to 1400. Here, we present geochemical data from a 1500-year-old sediment core from nearby Horseshoe Lake that records watershed impacts associated with the growth and decline of Cahokia. Sedimentary analysis shows a distinctive 24-cm-thick, gray, fine-grained layer formed between AD 1150 and 1220 and characterized by low carbonate δ13C, elevated sorbed metal concentrations, and higher organic matter δ15N. The deposition of this layer is contemporaneous with archaeological evidence of increased agricultural activity, earthen mound construction, and higher populations surrounding the lake. We hypothesize that these human impacts increased soil erosion, producing new sediment sources from deeper soil horizons, and shifted dissolved transport to the lake, producing lower carbonate δ13C values, higher concentrations of lead, copper, potassium, and aluminum, and increased δ15N, likely due to contributions of enriched nitrogen from sewage.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The environmental impact of a pre-Columbian city based on geochemical insights from lake sediment cores recovered near Cahokia

et al. 2018

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“…There is evidence from the diversity of copper implements that Algonquian Indians worked copper deposits for hundreds to thousands of years [69,70]. Recent findings at Ojibwe Hopewell Culture burial mounds, 2000 years old, confirm active expeditions to Lake Superior for native copper and exchange among extensive North American trading networks.…”

Section: Treaty Interpretations and Tribal Rightsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coastal Environments: Mine Discharges and Infringements on Indigenous Peoples’ Rights

Kerfoot

Swain

Veríssimo

et al. 2023

JMSE

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Over a century ago, copper mills on the Keweenaw Peninsula of Lake Superior sluiced 64 million metric tonnes (MMT) of tailings into coastal waters, creating a metal-rich “halo”. Here we show that relatively small discharges can spread widely in time and space. Mass Mill (2.9 MMT) dumping into Lake Superior also illustrates the complexity of interactions with Indigenous Peoples. A combination of aerial photos, LiDAR, and a microscope technique for distinguishing end-member particles traces the migration of tailings. The clay fraction spread rapidly across Keweenaw Bay and curled into terminal L’Anse Bay, within tribal Reservation boundaries. The coarse stamp sand fraction moved more slowly southward as a beach sand deposit onto Sand Point, a sacred burial ground. Despite the partial recovery of northern beaches and southern sediments, concerns continue about chemical contamination. Mass Mill provides an excellent example of Indigenous Peoples’ territorial and resource issues with mining. A major difficulty with “legacy” discharges is that there are no longer any “responsible parties”. Initially, federal and state officials were fearful that treaty rights might warrant reparations. Recently, multiple agency/state funding programs supported international (IJC) award-winning restoration efforts by tribal members, illustrating how Indigenous Peoples and governments can work together to safeguard treaty rights.

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“…that contain metallic copper as well as mineral deposits that contain naturally occurring metallic copper. 2 Figure 1 illustrates a generic schematic of a DGR, including possible horizontal and vertical emplacements of a used fuel container (UFC).…”

Section: Introduction Canada's Used Nuclear Fuelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design and development of copper coatings for long term storage of used nuclear fuel

Keech

Ramamurthy

et al. 2014

Corrosion Engineering, Science and Technology

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Within ongoing work, Canada's Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) is demonstrating that copper coatings can be developed as viable corrosion barriers for used fuel nuclear containers, emplaced in a deep geological repository. As a means of assessing container design and feasibility, coated samples, manufactured via cold spray and electrodeposition have been produced and characterised. Corrosion testing for coated samples and wrought samples reveals that cold spray samples behave similar to wrought samples in 3 mol L 21NaCl solution at room temperature. When oxygen is absent, corrosion has not been observed.

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Metallurgical analysis of copper artifacts from Cahokia

Cited by 16 publications

References 12 publications

The environmental impact of a pre-Columbian city based on geochemical insights from lake sediment cores recovered near Cahokia

The environmental impact of a pre-Columbian city based on geochemical insights from lake sediment cores recovered near Cahokia

Coastal Environments: Mine Discharges and Infringements on Indigenous Peoples’ Rights

Design and development of copper coatings for long term storage of used nuclear fuel

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