This article presents the results of a comprehensive provenance study based on a combined geochemical-isotopic and archaeological approach, comprising 98 analyses of 97 copper-alloy objects from the Danish Bronze Age. When it comes to the question of the origin of the metal, our interpretations diverge somewhat from earlier established theories about the origin of copper imported to Denmark, which mainly pointed to Central and Eastern Europe. Clear geochronological patterns in the Danish dataset are interpreted as being due to shifts in ore sources; reflecting varying areas of origin as well as the utilization of varying ore types. This again relates to shifting trade networks/suppliers and shifting technological trends. Plausible sources for Danish copper-alloys identified in the current study are ore regions in the British Isles, Alpine ore districts in Italy and Austria, as well as ore regions in the western part of the Mediterranean and to some degree the Slovak Carpathians. The comparison includes hundreds of recently published lead isotope data for ores in Slovakia, the Iberian Peninsula and the Italian and Austrian Alps.

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Following animated discussions in the 1990–2010 period concerning the validity and potential application of Pb isotope data to yield information on ancient metallurgy, recently lead isotope analysis has been extensively applied with alternate success and difficulty to the early stages of copper/lead/silver/tin metal flow in the Central Mediterranean area, arbitrarily defined as including Italy, the Mediterranean Islands, and the surrounding regions for comparison purposes. A wealth of data are now available in the literature, many of them interpreted within local contexts and limited geographical extension, and often within a shifting conceptual modeling frame. A brief review of the recently published data indicate that the metal flow in prehistory and protohistory is far more dynamic than presumed on the basis of the traditionally assumed archaeological models. It is suggested that the isotopic tracers, if correctly applied and interpreted, may substantially help in decoding the metal exploitation and trade patterns at different scales, from the local links between mines and smelting sites to wider regional or long‐distance trades. The abundant dataset available are however in need of thorough interpretation in terms of wider archaeological and archaeo‐metallurgical questions, possibly by the use of advanced statistical methods and unconventional data mining protocols.

25 years after the discovery in the Ötztal Italian Alps, the 5,300-year-old mummy keeps providing key information on human biological and medical conditions, aspects of everyday life and societal organization in the Copper Age. The hand axe found with the body of the Alpine Iceman is one of the rare copper objects that is firmly dated to the early Copper Age because of the radiocarbon dating of the axe wooden shaft. Here we report the measurement of the lead isotope ratios of the copper blade. The results unambiguously indicate that the source of the metal is the ore-rich area of Southern Tuscany, despite ample evidence that Alpine copper ore sources were known and exploited at the time. The experimental results are discussed within the framework of all the available coeval archaeometallurgical data in Central-Southern Europe: they show that the Alps were a neat cultural barrier separating distinct metal circuits. The direct evidence of raw metal or object movement between Central Italy and the Alps is surprising and provides a new perspective on long-distance relocation of goods and relationships between the early Copper Age cultures in the area. The result is in line with the recent investigations re-evaluating the timing and extent of copper production in Central Italy in the 4th millennium BC.