Spatial investigation of technological choice and recycling in copper‐base metallurgy of the South Caucasus
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8354648 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Joyce W I Ho (0000-0003-1612-5759, School of Archaeology University of Oxford 1 South Parks Road Oxford OX1 3TG UK, corresponding author), Nathaniel L Erb-Satullo (0000-0001-6463-3120, Cranfield Forensic Institute Cranfield University College Road, Cranfield MK43 0AL UK) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 63 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 1306-1326 |
| Publication date | 2021-12-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Archaeometry (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0003-813X • E-ISSN: 1475-4754 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/arcm.12668 |
| OpenAlex | W3134469377 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 32 |
Recent research has brought the prolific bronze industry of Bronze Age Colchis (modern western Georgia) into focus, but many aspects are still poorly understood. This study synthesizes and reinterprets legacy Cu alloy compositional data to investigate technological choices and spatial patterning. It reveals a massive injection of fresh copper into the system during the Late Bronze–Early Iron Age, and a high degree of selectivity in the alloys used for different objects, with colour being as important as hardness in determining these choices. Spatial analyses show significant geographical variability in alloying practices, which map onto topographical zones in unexpected ways. We also explore recycling practices and argue that the term encompasses a range of different reuse activities, which may be employed under differing economic conditions. Finally, the data suggest relatively extensive primary alloying of tin and copper in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages, which further substantiates the speculation that some local tin sources were exploited
Alloy · Archaeology · Bronze · Bronze Age · Business · Copper · Geography · Metallurgy · Reuse · Speculation · Tin · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies · Engineering · Materials Science · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
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Iron in copper metallurgy at the dawn of the Iron Age
Before Meeting the Greeks
New scientific analyses reveal mixing of copper sources in the early Iron Age metal production at Ili, western China
Towards a Spatial Archaeology of Crafting Landscapes
Introduction
Archaeological Chemistry
Copper production landscapes of the South Caucasus
The “Tin Problem” in the Prehistoric Near East
Partitioning of trace elements between the ores, fluxes, slags and metal during the smelting of copper
Crucible technologies in the Late Bronze–Early Iron Age South Caucasus
Direct evidence for the co-manufacturing of early iron and copper-alloy artifacts in the Caucasus
Large scale smelting of speiss and arsenical copper at Early Bronze Age Arisman, Iran
Late Bronze and Early Iron Age copper smelting technologies in the South Caucasus
Quantitative comparisons of the color of CuAs, CuSn, CuNi, and CuSb alloys
The production of speiss (iron arsenide) during the Early Bronze Age in Iran
Form and flow
Arsenic Bronze
Cape Gelidonya
The Ebb and Flow of Copper and Iron Smelting in the South Caucasus
Physical Barriers, Cultural Connections
Elements for an Anthropology of Technology
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Andean Value Systems and the Development of Prehistoric Metallurgy
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A new interpretative approach to the chemistry of copper-alloy objects
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Ancient West Mexican Metallurgy
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2021 - 2025 (5) |
| Highly cited | No |