Ernst Pernicka
Dados Biográficos
| ID | 631752 |
|---|---|
| NOME | Ernst Pernicka |
| PRENOMES | Ernst |
| SOBRENOME | Pernicka |
| ASSINATURA | PERNICKA E |
| AFILIAÇÕES | Curt Engelhorn Centre Archaeometry |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-4746-9239 |
| VERIFICADO | Sim |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 70 |
| TOTAL DE CITAÇÕES | 804 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 69 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 1 |
| PRIMEIRO ANO DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 1990 |
| ANO MAIS RECENTE DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2025 |
| ÍNDICE H | 17 |
The Early Bronze Age grave from the site of Svinjaricka cuka, South-Eastern Serbia
During the excavations of the multi-layered prehistoric site of Svinjaricka Cuka in south-eastern Serbia, a single burial was recorded. According to the grave goods, the burial custom, and an absolute date, the burial can be positioned into the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. The remains of the deceased female individual were recorded within a stone cist, accompanied by pieces of gold jewellery and red ochre. Altogether, the burial custom a…
Challenging the boom-and-bust models? The fourth millennium BC copper mine of Curak in south-west Serbia
Despite an early surge in copper-ore mining during the sixth and fifth millennia BC (the 'boom'), evidence for metal production in the Balkans dwindles in the fourth millennium (the 'bust'). Here, the authors present new evidence for copper mining at Curak in south-west Serbia, c. 3800 cal BC, during this apparent downturn. By integrating field surveys, excavations and provenance analyses, they explore activity at the site, challenging the visibi…
Exploring the rhenium-osmium isotopic system and metal trace-elements analysis for iron provenance
Copper-alloy belt fittings and elite networking in Early Medieval Central Europe
This paper attempts to change the traditional view of the Late Avar belt fittings, which in the 8th century AD delineated an extremely dense communication network within the Carpathian Basin and beyond, by using a groundbreaking combination of iconography, energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), lead isotope analysis, digital morphometry and 3D comparative prototyping. It presents a complex analysis of br…
Bc
This article presents the results of a comprehensive investigation of Fårdrup and Valsømagle-type shafthole axes from Denmark and southern Sweden. The combination of artefact style and typology with trace element and lead isotope data in the analysis has provided new insights into the chronological relationship between these two axe types. This way, we open a new window to long-standing debates surrounding these artefact types. Did Fårdrup and Va…
Composition, raw material provenance, and manufacture of a unique late Roman silver folding stand (quadripus) from Kőszárhegy, Hungary
The late Roman silverquadripusfrom Kőszárhegy (Fejér County, Hungary) is the only known silver folding stand from the Late Roman Imperial Age, dated to the fourth century AD. Archaeological evidence indicates that thequadripusis closely related to the Seuso Treasure. Elemental composition and lead isotope analyses of samples taken from the various parts of the folding stand were performed by using LA-QICP-MS and MC-ICP-MS methods in order to dete…
Portable laser ablation sheds light on Early Bronze Age gold treasures in the old world
The Salcombe metal cargoes
The bronze cup from Dohnsen in the light of old and new evidence
The bronze cup found in Dohnsen (Lower Saxony, Northern Germany) in the 1950s is an enigmatic artefact that bears striking similarities with the metalwork of the Late Aegean Bronze Age. We provide an accurate review of the primary sources of information on the cup's find history and context, and present the results of previously unpublished chemical and Pb isotope analyses. The latter suggest that the vessel might have been produced from Central …
Identifying mixtures of metals by multi‐isotope analysis
This pilot study addresses the analytical characterisation of 26 well‐known bronze objects of the Early and Middle Bronze Age of Central and Northern Europe. Besides swords and axes of the hoards from Apa, Téglás and Hajdúsámson, the investigation includes the famous Sky Disc and its accompanying finds from the Nebra hoard and several full‐hilted swords from Period I in Denmark. In contrast to former publications, the isotopic systematics of lead…
Shiny bronze in glassy matter
This paper aims at contributing to a better understanding of the beginnings of tin and bronze metallurgy in Central Asia by investigating a hitherto unique piece of a bronze slag. The object was originally discovered as a stray find only 4 km away from the large copper-tin deposit of Mušiston in Tajikistan. It contains many prills of bronze and copper as well as small charcoal particles. Radiocarbon dating of the charcoal places the slag in a per…
An Early Bronze Age Burial with a Golden Spiral Ring from Ammerbuch-Reusten, Southwestern Germany
A women’s burial of the Early Bronze Age that was uncovered near Ammerbuch-Reusten, Tübingen district in autumn 2020 shows clear relations to burial rites of the Final Neolithic in central Europe. The only grave good was in the rear of the burial. A small spiral ring made of gold wire at the left side of the burial at hip level, which can be considered to be the earliest securely dated precious metal find in southwestern Germany. The find fits in…
Revealing ancient gold parting with silver and copper isotopes
Gold parting enabled the production of very pure gold for various purposes from the sixth century BC onwards, but analytical proof of this pyrotechnical process is difficult. We describe a new analytical approach for the identification of purified gold combining silver and copper isotopic with trace element analyses. Parting experiments were performed with gold-silver-copper alloys using the classical salt cementation process to investigate poten…
Development of metallurgy in Eurasia
Why the Nebra Sky Disc Dates to the Early Bronze Age. An Overview of the Interdisciplinary Results
It is not unusual that archaeological finds come under renewed scrutiny. This is actually an important part in the progress of scientific research. All the more so when important and ground-breaking discoveries are involved, like the Nebra Sky Disc, which is listed among the UNESCO â Memory of the Worldâ . However, in most cases a new assessment is based on new data or insights. None of this is presented in a recently published article by Gebhard…
Lead isotope ratios and the provenance of medieval silver
Kinship-based social inequality in Bronze Age Europe
Ancient DNA informs on past cultures Archaeology has used analysis of the artifacts and remains of people to uncover their past behaviors and to infer their cultural practices. However, establishing genetic relationships has only recently become possible. Mittnik et al. examined the kinship and inheritance of the remains of people from the German Lech River Valley over a time period spanning the Late Neolithic Corded Ware Culture, the Bell Beaker…
On the trail of Scandinavia’s early metallurgy
The rich and long-lasting Nordic Bronze Age was dependent throughout on incoming flows of copper and tin. The crucial turning point for the development of the NBA can be pinpointed as the second phase of the Late Neolithic (LN II, c. 2000-1700 BC) precisely because the availability and use of metal increased markedly at this time. But the precise provenance of copper reaching Scandinavia in the early second millennium is still unclear and our kno…
On smelting cassiterite in geological and archaeological samples
(Re)sources
The Provenance, Use, and Circulation of Metals in the European Bronze Age
Bronze is the defining metal of the European Bronze Age and has been at the center of archaeological and science-based research for well over a century. Archaeometallurgical studies have largely focused on determining the geological origin of the constituent metals, copper and tin, and their movement from producer to consumer sites. More recently, the effects of recycling, both temporal and spatial, on the composition of the circulating metal sto…
Tin isotope fractionation during experimental cassiterite smelting and its implication for tracing the tin sources of prehistoric metal artefacts
Provenance and recycling of ancient silver. A comment on “Iridium to provenance ancient silver” by Jonathan R. Wood, Michael F. Charlton, Mercedes Murillo-Barroso, Marcos Martinón-Torres. J. Archaeol.…
Copper for the Pharaoh
Repealing the Çatalhöyük extractive metallurgy
Chemical Composition and Lead Isotopy of Copper and Bronze from Nuragic Sardinia
We present data on the chemical and lead isotope composition of copper and bronze objects from Nuragic Sardinia. The sample suite comprises, inter alia, objects from the hoard finds at Arzachena (21 objects), Bonnanaro (10), Ittireddu (34), and Pattada (20), all in northern Sardinia. With one exception, all ingot fragments (49) consist of unalloyed copper; the exception comes from Ittireddu and contains 11 per cent tin. In contradistinction, all …
On the origins of extractive metallurgy
Bronze Age Copper Produced at Mitterberg, Austria, and its Distribution
The rich copper ore deposits in the eastern Alps have long been considered as important sources for copper in prehistoric central Europe. However, the role that each deposit played is not clear. To evaluate the amount of prehistoric copper produced from the various mining regions, we attempted to link prehistoric metal artefacts with copper ores based on the geochemical characteristics of the ore deposits that were exploited in ancient times. Alo…
The Provenance, Use, and Circulation of Metals in the European Bronze Age
Bronze is the defining metal of the European Bronze Age and has been at the center of archaeological and science-based research for well over a century. Archaeometallurgical studies have largely focused on determining the geological origin of the constituent metals, copper and tin, and their movement from producer to consumer sites. More recently, the effects of recycling, both temporal and spatial, on the composition of the circulating metal sto…
The Determination of Lead Isotope Ratios by Multiple Collector Icp‐Ms
Lead isotope analyses of Early Bronze Age metal artefacts from the Aunjetitz (Únĕtice) culture in central Germany and Bohemia were determined in order to find out whether they could be related to ore sources of the Erzgebirge. Historical mining began only in the 12th century ad , but despite the lack of convincing field evidence it has frequently been suspected that this region was already being exploited in prehistoric times. For the determinati…
Large scale smelting of speiss and arsenical copper at Early Bronze Age Arisman, Iran
More questions than answers
Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age copper artefacts from the Balkans and their relation to Serbian copper ores
Article Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age copper artefacts from the Balkans and their relation to Serbian copper ores was published on January 1, 1993 in the journal Praehistorische Zeitschrift (volume 68, issue 1)
Prehistoric Copper Production in the Inn Valley (Austria), and the Earliest Copper in Central Europe
In recent years archaeological finds and scientific analyses have provided increasing evidence for a very early beginning of copper production in the rich mining area of the Tyrolean Alps. The earliest findings derive from an excavation of a multi‐phase settlement on the Mariahilfbergl in Brixlegg, which revealed evidence that a small amount of fahlores, probably of local provenance, was at least heated if not even smelted there in the Late Neoli…
Copper for the Pharaoh
Energy Dispersive X‐ray Fluorescence Analysis of Ancient Copper Alloys
Energy dispersive X‐ray fluorescence (EDXRF) analyses are compared with neutron activation as well as atomic absorption analyses of ancient copper‐based alloys in order to examine their accuracy and to estimate realistic values for precision and sensitivity of EDXRF. The results show that it is possible to obtain reliable data of the surface composition of objects non‐destructively. Better results for bulk composition are usually obtained with dr…
Isotopic and technological variation in prehistoric Southeast Asian primary copper production
Copper processing in the oases of northwest Arabia
Very little is known about early metallurgical activity in the north-western part of the Arabian Peninsula, despite the region's cultural importance. To begin to address this research lacuna, metallurgical remains including crucible fragments, metal dross and a copper artefact were sampled from two oases in northwest Arabia, Qurayyah and Tayma. The metallurgical activity in Qurayyah is dated to the Late Bronze Age, and in Tayma to the Roman/Late …
Provenance of Iron Age iron in southern Germany
On the Composition and Provenance of Metal Artefacts From Poliochni on Lemnos
The majority of the well‐stratified Early Bronze Age metal objects from Poliochni, with the exclusion of one hoard find, was analyzed for their chemical and lead isotope composition. The results show that a major change occurred in the metal used at Poliochni during periods contemporary with Troy I and Troy II. Unalloyed or arsenical copper with relatively high lead contents during the earliest two periods ‘azzurro’ and ‘verde’ is gradually repla…
The Salcombe metal cargoes
Early Cambodian gold and silver from Prohear
Tin isotope fractionation during experimental cassiterite smelting and its implication for tracing the tin sources of prehistoric metal artefacts
La plata de la Cultura de El Argar del Sur de la Península Ibérica
Se han documentado más de 700 objetos de plata de la cultura argárica del Bronce Medio. Esta cifra contrasta con la realidad del II milenio AC europeo, donde la plata es muy escasa. Esto se ha explicado tradicionalmente por la dificultad de extraer plata de minerales complejos mediante la técnica de copelación y la relativa abundancia de plata nativa y cloruros de plata fácilmente accesibles en el sur de la Península Ibérica. Sin embargo, hasta a…
On smelting cassiterite in geological and archaeological samples
Lead Isotope Analyses of Metal Objects from the Apa Hoard and Other Early and Middle Bronze Age Items from Romania
Altogether 29 Early and Middle Bronze Age metal objects from Romania including six from the famous Apa hoard were analysed for their chemical compositions and lead isotope ratios. In order to determine the provenance of the copper, these geochemical signatures were compared with copper ores from geological deposits in central and southeastern Europe, which had been exploited in the Bronze Age. It can be concluded that the copper of the implements…
Coins, Artefacts and Isotopes—archaeometallurgy and Archaeometry
Archaeometallurgy is one of the earliest manifestations of archaeometric research, using science‐based approaches to address cultural–historical questions. This review first outlines the extent of the field, defining in some detail the main branches of archaeometallurgy, and their specific methodological approaches. It then looks at some of the early publications pioneering archaeometallurgical research, to set the scene for the publication patte…
Obsidian from Anatolian sources in the Neolithic of the Middle Euphrates region (Syria)
A la suite de nouvelles fouilles dans le Moyen Euphrate, des échantillons d'obsidienne ont été analysés provenant des villages néolithiques et des gîtes anatoliens. La diversification des sources d'approvisionnement, l'Anatolie orientale venant se joindre à la Cappadoce, est ici confirmée pour le PPNB ancien et s'accroît au Pré-Halaf. La présence d'obsidienne du Nemrut Dag sur le Moyen Euphrate est prouvée pour la première fois à partir du PPNB a…
Tin Isotopy—a New Method for Solving Old Questions
Tin was a vital commodity in times past. In central Europe, the earliest finds of tin‐bronze date to about 2200 bc , while in Greece they are c. 400–500 years earlier. While there is evidence for prehistoric copper mining—for example, in the Alps or mainland Greece, among other places—the provenance of the contemporary tin is still an unsolved problem. This work deals with a new approach for tracing the ancient tin via tin isotope signatures. The…
Shiny bronze in glassy matter
This paper aims at contributing to a better understanding of the beginnings of tin and bronze metallurgy in Central Asia by investigating a hitherto unique piece of a bronze slag. The object was originally discovered as a stray find only 4 km away from the large copper-tin deposit of Mušiston in Tajikistan. It contains many prills of bronze and copper as well as small charcoal particles. Radiocarbon dating of the charcoal places the slag in a per…
On the Composition and Provenance of Metal Artefacts From Poliochni on Lemnos
The majority of the well‐stratified Early Bronze Age metal objects from Poliochni, with the exclusion of one hoard find, was analyzed for their chemical and lead isotope composition. The results show that a major change occurred in the metal used at Poliochni during periods contemporary with Troy I and Troy II. Unalloyed or arsenical copper with relatively high lead contents during the earliest two periods ‘azzurro’ and ‘verde’ is gradually repla…
Comment on the Discussion of Ancient Tin Sources in Anatolia
Métallurgie susienne I
Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age copper artefacts from the Balkans and their relation to Serbian copper ores
Article Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age copper artefacts from the Balkans and their relation to Serbian copper ores was published on January 1, 1993 in the journal Praehistorische Zeitschrift (volume 68, issue 1)
The Composition of Gold from the Ancient Mining District of Verespatak/Roşia MontanĂ, Romania
Ore Mining in Prehistoric Europe
Crisis or Catharsis in Lead Isotope Analysis
Since the nineteenth century, views on the possibility of determining the provenance of metal artefacts seems to have gone through periodic cycles like those of the economy. The introduction of a new analytical method is usually greeted with enthusiasm and high hopes. In the initial phase, new insights are provided and the solution of many problems seems to be near; some researchers and many observers begin to rely so heavily on one single techni…
Thermi on Lesbos
Provenance studies on archaeological metal objects rely on their trace element abundance pattern and lead isotopic composition. A comparison of these features in artifacts from different archaeological sites often requires a comparison of results reported by different laboratories. In this case reasonable conclusions can only be expected if it is assured that the respective laboratories produce compatible results. A comparison of some twenty copp…
Energy Dispersive X‐ray Fluorescence Analysis of Ancient Copper Alloys
Energy dispersive X‐ray fluorescence (EDXRF) analyses are compared with neutron activation as well as atomic absorption analyses of ancient copper‐based alloys in order to examine their accuracy and to estimate realistic values for precision and sensitivity of EDXRF. The results show that it is possible to obtain reliable data of the surface composition of objects non‐destructively. Better results for bulk composition are usually obtained with dr…
Concerning the Metal Artifacts from Thermi on Lesbos
Obsidian from Anatolian sources in the Neolithic of the Middle Euphrates region (Syria)
A la suite de nouvelles fouilles dans le Moyen Euphrate, des échantillons d'obsidienne ont été analysés provenant des villages néolithiques et des gîtes anatoliens. La diversification des sources d'approvisionnement, l'Anatolie orientale venant se joindre à la Cappadoce, est ici confirmée pour le PPNB ancien et s'accroît au Pré-Halaf. La présence d'obsidienne du Nemrut Dag sur le Moyen Euphrate est prouvée pour la première fois à partir du PPNB a…
Pre-Pottery Neolithic Clay Figurines from Nevali Çori
A mineralogical and chemical study of clay figurines excavated in Turkey is presented with the aim of characterising the raw materials used and to suggest possible provenances. These figurines may be amongst the earliest examples of fired clay, and the suggestion of the use of pyrotechnology to harden the clay is investigated
Chemical Composition and Lead Isotopy of Copper and Bronze from Nuragic Sardinia
We present data on the chemical and lead isotope composition of copper and bronze objects from Nuragic Sardinia. The sample suite comprises, inter alia, objects from the hoard finds at Arzachena (21 objects), Bonnanaro (10), Ittireddu (34), and Pattada (20), all in northern Sardinia. With one exception, all ingot fragments (49) consist of unalloyed copper; the exception comes from Ittireddu and contains 11 per cent tin. In contradistinction, all …
Troia and the Troad
An Assessment of Osmium Isotope Ratios as a New Tool to Determine the Provenance of Gold with Platinum‐Group Metal Inclusions
The sudden increase in the amount of Celtic gold coins circulating in central Europe during the second century bc coincides with the appearance of platinum‐group mineral (PGM) inclusions in the Celtic gold. It has been proposed that large amounts of gold were introduced from the eastern Mediterranean by mercenaries following the conquest by Alexander the Great, but another hypothesis might be the discovery of entirely new gold sources in central …
Dating Archaeometallurgical Slags Using Thermoluminescence
Thermoluminescence has a great potential for dating archaeometallurgical slags, because the smelting process leads to a well‐defined resetting of the ‘luminescence clock’. However, the complex compositions of slags have unpleasant consequences for TL measurements if the bulk slag substance is used. To overcome this problem, quartz has been separated out of slag matrices by chemical and physical procedures. The TL measurements were carried out on …
The Determination of Lead Isotope Ratios by Multiple Collector Icp‐Ms
Lead isotope analyses of Early Bronze Age metal artefacts from the Aunjetitz (Únĕtice) culture in central Germany and Bohemia were determined in order to find out whether they could be related to ore sources of the Erzgebirge. Historical mining began only in the 12th century ad , but despite the lack of convincing field evidence it has frequently been suspected that this region was already being exploited in prehistoric times. For the determinati…
Radiocarbon Dating of Iron Artifacts at the Erlangen AMS Facility
One problem in preparing iron for radiocarbon dating is the low carbon content which makes the sample size needed too large for some sample combustion systems. Also, the metallic character of the samples complicates sample combustion or oxidation. The Erlangen accelerator mass spectrometry group uses an elemental analyzer for the sample combustion, directly followed by a reduction facility. As the carbon content and sample size for iron samples a…
Prehistoric Copper Production in the Inn Valley (Austria), and the Earliest Copper in Central Europe
In recent years archaeological finds and scientific analyses have provided increasing evidence for a very early beginning of copper production in the rich mining area of the Tyrolean Alps. The earliest findings derive from an excavation of a multi‐phase settlement on the Mariahilfbergl in Brixlegg, which revealed evidence that a small amount of fahlores, probably of local provenance, was at least heated if not even smelted there in the Late Neoli…
The Provenance of Iron Artefacts From Manching
Iron finds from the Celtic oppidum of Manching in southern Bavaria (Germany) are analysed in view of their possible provenance. The exceptional size and the location of Manching are usually attributed to the presence of abundant iron ores in its vicinity. After a review of previous approaches for source determination of iron artefacts, we introduce lead isotope analysis as a new approach. However, only by combining the trace element patterns of s…
Chemical and lead isotope compositions of lead artefacts from ancient Thracia (Bulgaria)
On the Origin of Stamped Amphorae From Thrace (Bulgaria)
The contents of 25 elements in 74 stamped (and some unstamped) amphora finds from nine Thracian sites in Bulgaria dated to the fifth–third century BC have been determined using INAA. The samples investigated were grouped by cluster analysis on the basis of the similarity in their chemical composition. The chemical profiles of the 16 clusters formed were determined and common production centres for some of the stamped amphorae are identified
Coins, Artefacts and Isotopes—archaeometallurgy and Archaeometry
Archaeometallurgy is one of the earliest manifestations of archaeometric research, using science‐based approaches to address cultural–historical questions. This review first outlines the extent of the field, defining in some detail the main branches of archaeometallurgy, and their specific methodological approaches. It then looks at some of the early publications pioneering archaeometallurgical research, to set the scene for the publication patte…
Introduction of the Deh Hosein Ancient Tin-Copper Mine, Western Iran
Iran'in orta kesiminin batisinda bulunan eski bakir ve kalay isletmesi Deh Hosein'in kesfinin ardindan yapilan yeni arastirmalar, bati Asya uygarliklarinin yararlandiklari kalay kaynaklarinin neresi oldugu sorusuna onemli yeni bir acilim kazandirmistir.. Deh Hosein bakir-kalay madeninden elde edilen cevher orneklerinin analizi yapilmis ve bu sonuclar, Luristan ile Mezopotamya'daki tunc buluntular ile karsilastirilarak aralarindaki iliski sorgulan…
Helium, uranium and thorium analyses of ancient and modern gold objects
Authenticating archaeological gold objects is a major problem, as gold is probably the most difficult material in terms of detecting modern forgeries. In 1996 we published the results of the study of faked and genuine gold crystals from the Santa Elena gold mine in Venezuela, and demonstrated that the U/Th – He dating method is a powerful tool for detecting forgeries among gold objects. U and Th decay by emitting He atoms that remain stored in go…
Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (51 obras) · Archaeology (49 obras) · Geology (44 obras) · Geography (42 obras) · Metallurgy and Cultural Artifacts (33 obras) · History (30 obras) · Metallurgy (30 obras) · Materials Science (28 obras) · Geochemistry (26 obras) · Bronze (24 obras)